June 26, 1991OF C OKE
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Dear Mr. Powers:
City of Okeechobee
55 S.E. Third Avenue Okeechobee, Florida 34974 2932 813/763 -3372
June 26, 1991
Mr. Timer Powers, Interim Executive Director
South Florida Water Management District
PO Box 24680
West Palm Beach, Florida 33416 -4680
RE: Proposed Infrastructure Fund Project Okeechobee County
The purpose of this letter is to communicate the concerns of the
City of Okeechobee on the referenced project and the additional
backup material supplied to the Board of Governing Directors at
their June 14, 1991 meeting. Our concerns are briefly summarized
as follows:
1. We believe that it has been represented that the City, the
County and Okeechobee Beach Water Association (OBWA) have been
working very closely on the formation of an authority. It is
accurate that a task force has been formed to investigate the
feasibility of a utility authority. However, we have not been
appraised of the County's efforts to secure funding from the
District or FDER and have no knowledge of the fiscal viability
of exposure for even a portion of a $7,000,000 loan from FDER.
2. The June 14, 1991 memo appears to establish policies for the
authority related to system connections, i. e., mandatory
connections for septic tanks, etc. This may in fact occur,
but we are not aware of the discussion or adoption of any such
policy. Current efforts are related to the assessment of the
fiscal feasibility of utility authority formation. Discussion
of matters other than this have been deemed premature.
3. The motion allows the use of District funds for the utility
authority feasibility study. Since the City and OBWA are also
active participants in this effort, will the District also
fund their portion of the costs?
4. If the feasibility study proves that the formation of a
utility authority is not fiscally responsible, can the grant
awarded through this funding be transferred to the City and /or
OBWA? If not, are these entities eligible for re- application?
Mr. Timer Powers, Interim Executive Director
June 26, 1991
Page 2
5. We believe the memo may be somewhat misleading as it relates
to the City system, as follows:
a. The 21.38 percent unaccounted for water is more
indicative of a worst case than an average representation
of the system. The amount of water that is unaccounted
for in our system is higher than desired, but the City
has implemented corrective measures. If more detail is
required on programs being executed to address this
problem, please so advise.
b. The City sewer system is not operating at capacity. The
design capacity is 0.6 MGD and the plant is currently
operating at an Average Daily Flow of 0.34 MGD.
c. Neither the City's water or sewer systems are under
moratorium.
d.
e.
The City has agreed to enter into consent language with
FDER regarding the Water Treatment Plant. This agreement
is contingent upon receipt of a permit to expand the
existing plant. The City expects to receive the permit
within 7 days and subsequently execute the consent
agreement. Further, the City is underway with efforts to
provide a new Water Treatment Plant. A Consumptive Use
Permit has been issued and a contract for drilling the
wells has been awarded. Without going into great detail,
the net effect of the above is that the City has a
program in place that will resolve existing problems and
provide appropriate water service to the community.
Under the terms of the consent agreement, additional
capacity will be released within 30 days.
The initial planning efforts have apparently discussed
eleven miles of 24 -inch force main for the transmission
of sewage. This is an extremely large main for the
proposed 0.6 MGD plant. Has a definitive service area
been discussed?
6. The City is in the process of negotiating a contract for the
services of a consulting engineer for the expansion of the
Wastewater Treatment Plant. This project is expected to
proceed in a timely fashion and maintain plant capacity
sufficiently ahead of system demand.
7. We are unclear exactly what the source of matching funds will
-be o- r-- t -hi- -p o -ect. We understa -n4- th- is -to be a- criterion for
the grant, but we have no knowledge of the source.
Mr. Timer Powers, Interim Executive Director
June 26, 1991
Page 3
It is not the intent of the City to impede progress on any
worthwhile project, and we certainly are interested in pursuing
reasonable utility goals which can be shown to be fiscally
responsible. However, we are concerned that the negotiations and
discussions to date have apparently taken place with an entity that
has no existing infrastructure. Further, we are not aware of any
contact between the District and the City or OBWA to confirm the
current status of expansions and modifications to existing
facilities or the ability to extend service into other areas.
We will be very interested to hear your response to the above
issues and are available to discuss this matter further. Thank
you.
JEK /ssg /res
cc:
Sincerely,
l James E.
Mayor
Kirk
City Council
Okeechobee Beach Water Association
Allan Milledge, SFWMD
Valerie Boyd, SFWMD
Ken Adams, SFWMD
James Nall, SFWMD
Annie Betancourt, SFWMD
Franklin Mann, SFWMD
Leah Schad, SFWMD
Frank Williamson, Jr., SFWMD
M. Dale Milita, Okeechobee County
Okeechobee Board of County Commissioners