North end utility authority hot potato to land in laps of Santa Rosa Commission

A bill that sought to create a North Santa Rosa regional utility authority modeled after Escambia County's Emerald Coast Utilities Authority has been set aside by the county's legislative delegation.

Rather than press forward with the unpopular bill, the three-member delegation has requested that the County Commission set up a committee to study "the best ways and means to meet the water and wastewater need of a growing county."

A letter addressed to Commission Chairman Sam Parker bearing the signatures of state Sen. Doug Broxson and state Reps. Alex Andrade and Joel Rudman was accompanied by an amended version of House Bill 1485, originally written to create the North Santa Rosa County Utilities Authority.

The revised language would establish a North Santa Rosa County Utilities Planning Commission, which is something the county could do without the state's assistance.

Rudman, R-Navarre, said he will know later this week whether the amended bill will be killed and "referred back to county jurisdiction."

"We definitely want forward-looking planning regarding water and wastewater, but that may be best handled by the county," he said.

The letter accompanying the bill language sounded very much as though the lawmakers had already decided to let the county handle future water and wastewater decisions.

More: Projected growth in Santa Rosa requires longterm planning for water quality | Sen. Broxson

Broxson indicated, though, that creating the commission as proposed might give the county a leg up on accessing state money to address water and wastewater needs.

"We gave them a long list of what they can do," he said. "When the budget comes out, there are ways to do some things to let them draw down money."

Milton City Manager Scott Collins said Broxson has discussed $50 million in rural development dollars that could come available when budget negotiations get underway this legislative session.

Broxson said the small utilities operating throughout North Santa Rosa County don't have the infrastructure to provide services to customers outside of their existing territory, and are unwilling to pay for the system improvements needed to meet growing demand as the county's population expands.

"The problem hasn't changed," he said.

The letter from the local lawmakers hinted that the 11 water utilities and three waste water utilities in North Santa Rosa County need to work together to secure state funding.

"The Santa Rosa legislative delegation proposed a local bill enacting a pathway toward a comprehensive utility management system," it said. "We believe the first step in this initiative should be for Santa Rosa County to take the lead in organizing a North Santa Rosa Utility Planning Commission."

Collins said financial incentives from the state could provide the push required to get the small water systems to work together to expand their customer bases.

"It's easy for a provider to be territorial when the dollars are limited," he said. "When the dollars become available it may open up discussions a little more, because I think everyone involved is well intentioned."

The six page HB 1485 does provide an outline for the commission the legislative delegation wants to see created. It would be made up of seven members to include the chairman of the Santa Rosa County Commission or his designee and the mayors of Milton and Jay or their designees.

It would also include the chair of the North Santa Rosa Utility Coalition; the director Northwest Florida Water Management District or a designee; a representative of the building trade, property development or real estate businesses; and a faculty member of the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Services West Florida Research and Education Center.

The committee, as envisioned by the legislative delegation, would be charged with producing a 20-year plan addressing existing and anticipated water and wastewater needs.

When Broxson initially proposed creating the North Santa Rosa County Utilities Authority, representatives from the eight utilities operating north of the Yellow River that would be brought under the authority's purview objected to its formation. The city of Milton did not, however, formally join the group united in opposition that billed itself the North Santa Rosa Utility Coalition.

Robert Smith, the spokesman for the coalition, said its membership has called upon the Santa Rosa County Commission to give it a voice in deciding how the committee the lawmakers wanted would ultimately look.

He said the group had three primary concerns.

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The first would be to ensure a representative of all seven coalition members is placed on the committee, the second that any building industry representative be left off the commission.

The third recommendation, Smith said, is that if the committee should find a utility authority is needed, assurances are provided that a public referendum will be held to decide whether it should be established.

Smith said he had requested the coalition be notified by county staff so that members could be present when the county convenes to discuss the delegation recommendation and formation of a North Santa Rosa County Utilities Planning Commission. County Administrator DeVann Cook, though, said it may be quite some time before the commission addresses the utilities' issue.

"If you look at these franchises, some of them have been going along for a long time with virtually no oversight, and for the most part that has been working very well," he said. "There's so many of them. We're going to go through these franchises and get some information to show the board of commissioners something and tell them 'this is how they're different.' There's a lot of homework to be done."

Parker, the commission chairman, said he's interested in discussing county water resources from the perspective of adding lines to provide fire hydrants and protection to developing rural areas.

"If we can try to help run water lines and help people protect their homes, that's a win-win," he said.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: North Santa Rosa County Utilities Planning Commission pitched HB 1485