MINUTES OF MEETING HICKS DITCH
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT

The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the Hicks Ditch Community Development District was held Wednesday, January 28, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at the Cooper Memorial Library, 2525 Oakley Seaver Drive, Clermont, Florida.

Present and constituting a quorum:

Tony Iorio	Chairman
Doug Beasley	Vice Chairman
Jonas Lonas	Assistant Secretary
Rocky Owen	Assistant Secretary
Shane Blanton	Assistant Secretary Also present were:
George Flint	District Manager, GMS
Sarah Sandy	District Counsel, Kutak Rock
Major Stacey by phone	District Engineer
Rob Szozda	Field Manager

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS	Roll Call
Mr. Flint called the meeting to order and called the roll. Five Board members were present constituting a quorum.

SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS	Public Comment Period
Mr. Flint stated that only Board members and staff were present at the meeting.

THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS	Organizational Matters
Administration of Oaths of Office to Newly Elected Supervisors
Mr. Flint stated the landowner election from last November had reelected Mr. Lonas, Mr. Beasley, and Mr. Owen to the Board. The oath of office forms had already been handled before the meeting.

Consideration of Resolution 2026-01 Canvassing and Certifying Results of Landowners Election
Mr. Flint reviewed Resolution 2026-01 to officially certify the election results, noting the vote totals and that Mr. Lonas and Mr. Beasley would serve four-year terms while Mr. Owen would serve a two-year term.

On MOTION by Mr. Iorio, seconded by Mr. Lonas, with all in favor, Resolution 2026-01 Canvassing and Certifying Results of Landowners Election, was approved.

Election of Officers
Mr. Flint stated after each election the Board had to review the officer positions again.

Consideration of Resolution 2026-02 Electing Officers
Mr. Flint reviewed Resolution 2026-02 and explained that they could either vote on each Board seat separately or approve all positions together as a slate. Mr. Iorio made a motion to keep all the seats the same.

On MOTION by Mr. Iorio, seconded by Mr. Beasley, with all in favor, 2026-02 Electing Officers Keeping the Same Officers, was approved.

FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Approval of Minutes of the August 27,
2025 Board of Supervisors Meeting
Mr. Flint stated that they had reviewed the August 27, 2025 meeting minutes and asked for any comments, corrections, or changes. The Board had no changes to the minutes.

On MOTION by Mr. Lonas, seconded by Mr. Beasley, with all in favor, the Minutes of the August 27, 2025 Board of Supervisors Meeting, were approved.

FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Approval of Minutes of the November 4,
2025 Landowners Meeting
Mr. Flint reviewed the November 4, 2025 landowner meeting minutes asked for any comments, corrections, or changes. The Board had no changes to the minutes.

On MOTION by Mr. Beasley, seconded by Mr. Blanton, with all in favor, the Minutes of the November 4, 2025 Landowners Meeting, were approved.

SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Consideration of Series 2024 Arbitrage
Rebate Proposal
Mr. Flint noted that the Board reviewed a proposal for arbitrage rebate calculation services for the Series 2024 bonds. He stated that the IRS required the District to prove it is not earning more interest than it pays on the bonds. Mr. Flint presented a five-year proposal from AMTEC at
$450 per year.

On MOTION by Mr. Iorio, seconded by Mr. Lonas, with all in favor, the Series 2024 Arbitrage Rebate Proposal, was approved.

SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Ratification of Landscape Maintenance
Agreement
Mr. Flint discussed ratifying the landscape maintenance agreement and stated that there had been extensive back-and-forth pricing before they finally agreed on an amount that matched the vendor's existing rate. Contours had been selected as the contractor, though it had originally been held under advisement while pricing details were worked out. The Board discussed a separate section currently maintained by the city and Mr. Flint stated they had negotiated the price down but were still not fully satisfied. If the District ever took over that area, they would rebid it and seek additional proposals.
Mr. Flint noted they had replaced the previous supervisor due to performance concerns and assigned a new supervisor, Dave Easter, who was described as attentive and already familiar with related work. Staff are now meeting with him at least monthly to review property conditions. It was also mentioned that a previously quoted walking trail repair had not yet been completed and that the new supervisor was directed to correct it soon.

On MOTION by Mr. Iorio, seconded by Mr. Beasley, with all in favor, the Landscape Maintenance Agreement, was ratified.

EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Ratification	of	Aquatic	Maintenance
Agreement
Mr. Flint reviewed the Solitude agreement. Three companies bid on the work, and although one company was cheaper, they didn’t have a solid track record. The Board chose Solitude who had proven experience and a competitive price. Staff said Solitude was already treating cattails and working on pond edges, and conditions should improve over time.

On MOTION by Mr. Beasley, seconded by Mr. Lonas, with all in favor, the Aquatic Maintenance Agreement, was ratified.

NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Staff Reports
Attorney
Ms. Sandy stated that the legislative session had started and that the Board would be getting email updates about bills and discussions that could affect Special Districts. She told everyone to reach out if they had questions about those updates and said she didn’t have anything else to report.

Engineer
Mr. Stacey stated that they were still working to resolve the stormwater permit transfer with the Water Management District because only one sequence had been transferred, and it had been assigned incorrectly. The amenity-related sequence was moved when it shouldn’t have been, while the other needed sequences were not. Mr. Stacey stated he would follow up with the permitting team to correct it. He noted that they also discussed the trail east of Hicks Ditch and agreed that the layout and design were done very well, giving credit to the designer and engineer. The Board clarified that the permit covered stormwater and drainage systems associated with roads and ponds, not the amenity buildings. It was confirmed that the HOA kept responsibility for the amenity facilities, while the CDD handled the roadway and pond-related stormwater infrastructure.

Field Manager’s Report
Consideration of Red Maple Replacement in Tract U
Contours Landscape Solution
Cherry Lake

Mr. Szozda stated that the property generally looked good overall. He noted two items were still outstanding: the trail area damaged by equipment still needed correction, and the work order was with Contours, with a reminder sent to them. He also reported that after 15 dead maples were replaced last summer with bald cypress, another eight red maples had since died. He got two replacement proposals and said bald cypress showed better survivability at about the same price as red maples. The new Contours quote was close to $4,000 and slightly higher than before, and he received a bid from Cherry Lake for roughly half the cost, about $2,195.

On MOTION by Mr. Iorio, seconded by Mr. Beasley, with all in favor, the Cherry Lake Proposal for Red Maple Replacement in Tract U, was approved.

District Manager’s Report
Balance Sheet and Income Statement
Mr. Flint presented the unaudited financials. The Board had no questions.

Ratification of Funding Request No. 43-47
Mr. Flint presented Funding Request Nos. 43-47 that were transmitted under the funding agreement. He requested that the Board ratify the funding requests.

On MOTION by Mr. Iorio, seconded by Mr. Owen, all in favor, Funding Requests Nos. 43-47, were ratified.

Approval of Funding Request No. 48
Mr. Flint presented Funding Request No. 48 and asked for approval from the Board.

On MOTION by Mr. Lonas, seconded by Mr. Beasley, with all in favor, Funding Request No. 48, was approved.

TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Other Business
There being no comments, the next item followed.

ELEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Supervisors'	Requests	and	Audience
Comments
There being no comments, the next item followed.

TWELFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Adjournment
Mr. Flint moved for an adjournment.

On MOTION by Mr. Iorio, seconded by Mr. Owen, with all in favor, the meeting was adjourned.

Secretary/Assistant Secretary	Chairman/Vice Chairman