March 2007            

 

 I am a resident of Marion County, Florida.  I care about my government as well as the health and welfare of my family and neighbors.  I deeply care about the environment, the aquifer, and the quality of water that the citizens of Florida depend on every day. I fully realize that not only us, but generations to follow will depend on this water to sustain the quality of living that we have grown to expect from central Florida.   As a community we are imploring our government officials to please help us in our plea to our county commissioners to stop the mandatory implementation of centralized city sewer and water.

During a workshop December 6 th 2006 the Marion County Commissioners stated their intention to have the ENTIRE COUNTY dependant on Centralized Urban Water and Sewer Utilities.  Their intention was to make the Orange Blossom Hills subdivision an example to the rest of the citizens of the county.  At this meeting the full intention was to initiate a permanent source of revenue for the county in order to support their investments in private water and sewer treatment plants, which at the time of their purchase already needed extensive overhauls.                   

Parts of the Orange Blossom Hills subdivision is currently unpaved, It was only after the residents and land owners in the unpaved sections of Orange Blossom Hills passed a vote to pave the roads that the commissioners brought up the issues of implementing city water and sewer.  Since the road vote passed, the commissioners have stated that it was their intention is to transfer the additional financial burden of city water and sewers to those home owners.  A vote that passed almost a year ago for paving roads has been held up because of our commissioner’s agenda for implementing water and sewer.  This delay not only is frustrating to the residents but also financially detrimental due of the increase in price of the road project due to the idol time the commissioners are wasting.   

 Due to an extreme deficit regarding the purchase of treatment facilities on top of a need for additional long term revenues, the commissioners seam desperate to find a solution that would bail them out of this predicament.  One of our chief complaints is that our commissioners refuse look at recommendations, solutions, and studies regarding the protection of Marion County’s water resources.  They totally ignore the cost effective recommendations by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Risk Management Research Laboratory.  At the work shop it was stated that the only way to solve their lack of revenue is to mandate every homeowner in Marion County be dependent on city utilities.   

On December 6th it was recommended the cost per home be $21,000.00 stretched over a 20 year term not including the monthly utility bills.  The breakdown covers the cost of paving roads $7,000.00 and connection of water and sewer $14,000.00.  The excuse given is “it is much cheaper to implement this mandatory utility now rather then later after the roads are in”.  A large part of our community consists of senior citizens on a fixed income.  We are families, seniors and first time home buyers.  This single minded approach by the commissioners could take billions of dollars out of the Marion County economy and out of the hands of Marion County residents.  They plan for total implementation would take place over 20 years if started now.  According to the US Bureau of Census 24% are 65 years of age or older and on fixed income.  This would be devastating to our Senior Citizens. The median household income is $36,253.00 a year.  The impact would be a 5.81% reduction of their income.  The estimated household income for 65 years or older is $24,000.00 a year.  Implementation would result in a loss of 8.8% of their income.   

The commissioners state they want to be the first and only county in the state of Florida to strictly impose this on their residence.  This is being done on false premise that centralized water and sewer is the only way to protect the area’s springs and drinking waters.     

The Commissioners are ignoring the published and researched recommendations on a balanced approach by the US Department of Environmental Protection Agency and the Nation Risk Management Research Laboratory which states:   Centralized waste water collection and treatments systems, are not the most cost-affective or environmentally sound options for all situations. (e.g., sewage treatment plants can discharge high point source loadings of pollutants into receiving waters).    The only logical and scientific approach to protecting Florida's water supplies is a balanced approach between a combination of onsite septic systems, decentralized systems, and centralized systems where appropriate and necessary.  Lot size restrictions also serve as an inappropriate but defector approach to land use planning in many localities.  These are often seen as establishing the allowable number of housing units in a development without regard to other factors that might increase or decrease that number.  Soil conditions and septic system types are the controlling factors not housing densities.  Three years ago a treatment facility in Dunnellon Florida (Marion County) dumped thousands of gallons of raw sewage into a river. Large and small systems have failures; unfortunately our commissioners are not willing to see the possible errors in their plans.            

 I am a citizen in Marion County Florida, please listen to our voices, this will be a major issue at the next election that may determine our votes.  This is something that should not be ignored by our direct government officials.    

Sincerely,