Who will fill Costco-related potholes?

As developers near completion of a Costco at Heritage Harbour, supervisors on the Heritage Harbour South Community Development District worry how the roadways leading into their community will handle the traffic.

At a June 4 meeting, supervisors said they needed to find out whether the developer, M&M Realty Partners, will pay to resurface or repair roads damaged from construction and whether they would share costs of road maintenance with the Heritage Harbour Master Association going forward.

The CDD owns the roadways (Stone Harbour Loop, River Heritage Way, Heritage Green Way and Grand Harbour Parkway) near entrances to the new Costco, and the master association maintains and assesses the property owners to pay for their maintenance.

The Stoneybrook, Lighthouse Cove and River Strand communities, as well as the commercial areas where Costco is being developed, all contribute to the master association’s roads’ budget.

The CDD board voted June 4 to contribute 25%, about $1,000, toward recent road maintenance, as requested by the Master Association. The board voted 3-1 in May to contribute $25,000 to the Master Association toward traffic calming measures.

Construction-related repairs are yet to be resolved.

“It’s a bouncing ball,” CDD Supervisor Michelle Patterson Bloom said. “Nobody has resolved who pays for what. You can’t burden the homeowners with all that. We don’t have the ability to assess these guys (M&M).”’

Supervisor Rick Lane agreed and noted the roadways already are getting potholes from construction traffic.

Supervisors have tasked their manager, Greg Cox, to reach out to the site’s developer and discuss a cost-sharing option for repairing or resurfacing roads torn up by construction. That report is due by the Aug. 6 meeting.

The board also asked for representatives of the CDD and Master Association to discuss cost allocations and formalize an agreement in writing.

“There are still a lot of gray areas,” Lane said.

Bloom said the goal is eventually to  have agreements in writing from both M&M and the Master Association so that there are no questions related to cost-sharing going forward.