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1994-05-24 Workshop352 CITY OF OKEECHOBEE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP SUMMARY OF COUNCIL DISCUSSION A. Call workshop to order on May 24, 1994 at 7:00 P.M B. Mayor and Council attendance: Mayor James E. Kirk Councilmember Danny P. Entry Councilmember Michael G. O'Connor Councilmember Jerry E. Walker Councilmember Dowling R. Watford, Jr. Staff attendance: Attorney John R. Cook Administrator John J. Drago City Clerk Bonnie S. Thomas Deputy Clerk S. Lane Gamiotea C. Discuss the concept of a Utility Authority with the Utility Working Group and rate analysis experts. Mayor Kirk called the workshop to order at 7:02 p.m. on May 24, 1994. Present Present Present Present Present (entered chambers at 7:25 p.m.) Present Present Present Present Seated at the table with the Mayor and Councilmembers were the Utility Working Group members, Chairman John Abney, County Commissioner Chairman Charles Harvey, Mr. Frank Altobello, Okeechobee Beach Water Association Boardmember Mr. Jack Coker; Dr. Harold Bridges a rate analyst from Smith & Gillespie Engineers, Inc. hired by the Utility Working Group and Mr. Phil Gonot of PMG & Associates the City's rate analyst. Before discussion began, Mayor Kirk explained the rules of the workshop. He then opened the floor for discussion concerning a Utility Authority made up of the City's existing system, OBWA existing customers and $2 to $3 million cash from the County. X X X X X X X X X PAGE 1 OF 3 353 MAY 24, 1994 - WORKSHOP - PAGE 2 OF 3 C. Discussion continued: A lengthy discussion was held between Mayor, Councilm embers, Utility Working 11 Group members, Mr. Gonot, Dr. Bridges and Mr. Sonny Williamson. Councilmembers O'Connor and Entry, and Utility Working Group member Mr. Altobello stated they wanted the Utility Working Group to look into a Regional Utility Authority with the City as the "authority" and an advisory board made up of members from each entity. Mayor Kirk and Councilmember Walker stated they liked the idea a private Utility Authority. Councilmember Watford thought the idea of a private Utility Authority was a good one, however, he wanted more assurance the City would gain as much as the County and OBWA out of the "deal". It was agreed by Council and the Utility Working Group that at a later meeting in two weeks Council would bring what they wanted to see the Utility Working Group research relative to a "utility authority," with suggestions as to what the Utility Working Group would need to do to accomplish the entity. This being a workshop, no official action was taken on this matter, discussion will continue at the next regular City Council meeting scheduled for June 7, 1994. 354 ADJOURNMENT Mayor Kirk Notice is hereby given that if any person should decide to appeal any decision made at this meeting of the City Council, such person will need to insure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made which includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is base C ell James E. Kirk, Mayor ATTEST: Bonnie S..Thomas, CIVIC City ClierC MAY 24, 1994 - WORKSHOP - PAGE 3 OF 3 There being no further discussion, Mayor Kirk adjourned the workshop at 10:27 p.m. r,-10 1ql1 - 171-Y'n) (�fiM646H�) �8 1 112y Iqq g 9.6Zca.2 er,w — kt&j4 �� C�( ✓ ACMA.XL� q kuc bl RN LOLLILA"4w-A-Al �eacula rxznuulk�& Cg w , �l'rc �,� rxen-,q� c9�, du�uwJ �cAv�o,J, uJ-LO� rnacf.e cry,- (Jib--iA /v�Aurx_,I bLLA 2 �h5 UA Woe P �rZo �2 CLVuU inert a�f,-Lo-PtQ4- a4bul (lJcrl,v(Alx&CL9c) Z5110 1 A� dtb� 7a�ie� �' co,VJ� z-tlyorut (aLtuA cJCQ.P `JCuq /n¢c2.- ,.C�Jc�1j,Cl/1 Clc.cfl-) 44�6� . 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'1-' /4� -mom, "4. wd.�TCl.�9 -.gMW 0 tub w i esoeaW /V o-� --r- ` or Lam, " k i I Cape quits Lee ater authority WATER AUTHORITY ■ WHAT: Lee County Regional Water Supply Authority ■ WHO: Lee County government, cities of Sanibel and Fort Myers needs through the year 2030 and beyond. t NEWS -PRESS DAILY - - 130,000 FORT MYERS MAY 1 U 1991 CALOOSA BELLE WEEKLY. 5,500 LABELLE INVITATION TO BID :DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS Sealed bids will be accepted byy the :ndry County Board of County Com- 'ssioners at the Hendry County Clerk's fice, LaBelle, Florida until 3:00 pm da lun 1994 for Bid# 94-11 i ounty loneer Plantation) 'a- a,upay.cwcn[S,. %_Onslsting OI constructing drainage. swales appproxi. mately 3 miles and cleaning of 3 miles of road side swales, reset replace and install culverts as per specifications. A copy of the specifications and bid- ders instruction can be obtained from Hendry County Director of Special Dis- tricts, Jim Kulczy, Courts Annex Build - Florida. P.50 honeth B813-675- idge 525Sreet2LorB81i3- 983-I582. Bid opening will be held at 9:00 am in open session at a regular County Com- mission meeting on June 7, 1994. The Board of County Commission reserves the right to reject any or all bids with or without cause and/or to accept the bid that in its bestJudgement will be for the best interest of the County of Hendry. Board of County Commissioners Hendry County, Florida Cecil 0. Akin, Chairman CB - May 11, 1994 PO# 30161 City pulls out, saying rest of county is behind the times By MIKE HOYEM and KARA WINTON News -Press staff writers The Cape Coral City Council voted Monday to withdraw from the Lee County Regional Water Supply Authority, leaving needs =and shoulder their cost The authority was formed in 1990 to MIAMI HERALD DAILY - - 553,000 CONTRACT No. C-5038 ieNed bid. win bs repivet ry"Procuremw,t and Contras i'_: ,nt of toter Construction of aDprosim*tMy sipphr�t (t8 miles l structure (3� contra structure sites eon*isting of culverts with news. The work also Involvq removal of esisting structures. Drawings and specifications may be obtained bq� Mayning ay l i, 884 from tfie address *bowsor by call' " f407) 687-6381. Orw set :2 be furnished free of charge to P""PectIve bidders upon ODen t0 the Dubuc. plan for the co nty's water needs through Paul Van Buskirk, the water authori- the year 2030 and beyond. It's been devel- ty's executive director; called the move oping plans that would hook all of the "very unfortunate," but wouldn't specu- county's underground water aquifers into late how it will affect other local govern - one giant resource. But for the past few ments. months, Cape Coral residents have urged Chip Merriam, director of the South - the council to withdraw. west Florida Water Management Dis- thority would gin taxing the city and would sorry to hear the news. try to take ovpr its water supplies — two "We looked at this authority as a re- charges admillfistrators strongly denied. gional issue," Merriam said. "We have CLEWISTOWNEWS WEEKLY - 3,100 CLEWISTON INVITATION TO BID DRAINAGEIMPROVEMENTS Sealed bids win be accepted by the Hendry County Board d Coun- ty Commissioners at the Hendry County Clerk's Office. LaBelle. Florida until 3:00 p.m., Monte dav�June 6. 199a, fa BIDe 94.11 Mid oursysau (ioneer Plantation) Drainage Improve- ments. Consisting of constructing drainage swales approximately 3 miles and cleaning of 3 miles of road side swales, reset replace and install culverts as per specifi. cations. A copy of the specifications and bidders instruction can be obtained from Hendry County Director of Special Districts, Jim Kulczy, Courts Annex Building, 50 South Bridge Street. LaBelle, Florida Phone (813) 675.5252 or 813.981- 1582.' Bid opening will be held at 9.0o a.m. In open session at a regular County Commission meeting on June 7, 1994. The Board of Courh ty Commissioner reserves the right to reiect any of aii bins with or without cause. andlor to accept the bid that, in its best iudgemers, will be for the best interest of the coun- ty of Hendry. BOARD OF COUNTY comets. SK)NERS HENDRY COUNTY, FLORIDA CECIL O. AKIN, CHAIRMAN CN 94.202 May 11, 1994 regional water issues and we look for regional solutions. I'm disappointed they backedout" But most Cape city council members agreed Monday with Jim Conway, chair- man of the city's Water Resources Advi- sory Board. The authority "needs Cape Coral a lot more than Cape Coral needs the water spent mil - See WATER / 2B ATER: Authority will continue ;rom Page lions preparing for its future, he said, wlth projects such as the dual -water system, which uses recycled waste- water for lawns, and a reverse -osmo- sis water treatment plant. Meanwhile, the rest of the county lags behind, he said. "if we had a level playing field, then it would be a totally different matter," Conway said. "When other parts of the county catch up to where wire, then would he the time to talk." The authority's board of direc- tors has been considering ways to fund millions of dollars in projects. -One option is adding a 13-cent fee to customers' bills for every 1,000 gal- lons of water used. Van Buskirk wouldn't say how ,Cape Coral's withdrawal will affect ;such plans, saying board members ',haven't decided on the money needed or how it would be raised. Van Buskirk said the authority .can continue without Cape Coral, but he vowed to try to convince the coun- .cil to reconsider. Cape Coral, he said, will miss out on an opportunity to sell water to north Lee County If the city withdraws. He also said the city will be left without anyone,"to back up their system in the event of an emer- gency... But there was no talk of those issues at Monday's meeting. And the council vote to withdraw was 6-1 with only Councilman Bob Sethman vot- ing no. Councilman Paul Monroe, who made the motion to withdraw, said remaining in the water authority would be "duplicating resources with our " own water resources board." Mayor Roger Butler said the vote "doesn't mean it's not a good organi- zation." But he said the authority "will have to come up with a fairer way for Cape Coral to join." Councilwoman Marilyn Stout said she's been disturbed by Lee County's lack of action on a stormwa- ter drainage program. "Our withdrawal from the water authority will certainly send a signal that we're not willing to pay for their stormwater," Stout said. County Commissioner John Man- .ning, who's a Cape Coral resident, also was disappointed. "We realize the city is ahead of the curve, but we're looking at a long- term program to the year 2030," Manning said. "I just hope it's not a hasty decision." Fort Myers City Councilman Bruce Grady, a regional water au- thority board member, said he doesn't yet know what impact the move will have on rates paid by residents of communities that stay in the authority. "At first blush I'd say that maybe they'd increase slightly, but not nec- essarilyso—it just depends." Ile said it's dangerous to view the authority in terms of current needs. While Cape Coral may have adequate and cheap water supplies today, that may not continue into the future. "I think the basic concept is sound and very desirable," he said. "I'm hoping they look at it again in a year or two." Regardless, Grady said, "There can still be a very meaningful water authority if the county and Fort My- ers vote to continue with it."