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Florida Water buy delayed to gain input, more support
By JENNIFER FARRELL, Times Staff Writer A decision on the proposed government buyout of Florida Water Services, potentially the largest utility deal in state history, will likely take at least another month. Officials from the Florida Governmental Utility Authority, a four-county coalition mulling spending $520-million for the state's largest privately held utility network, said they will not vote on the purchase during today's public hearing in Sarasota; rather, they will hold off deciding until their next meeting on June 20. After putting off the decision on May 2, the FGUA board of directors set the vote for today, two weeks after a daylong public hearing in Bartow. At that meeting, representatives from affected counties and cities across the state lined up to complain that the price tag is too high and urged the FGUA to renegotiate. On Tuesday, FGUA lawyer Bob Nabors said delaying the vote until June would allow for more feedback, starting today, when the board accepts additional public comment. As for complaints about the purchase price and how it is divided, Nabors said they are inevitable, given the scope of the sale, which covers 150 systems in 26 counties and cities. "We're trying to facilitate the acquisition of a very complex company," Nabors said. "Whether it's a mincemeat pie, people are going to complain how you cut it." On Wednesday, Hernando County Commissioner Diane Rowden described the delay as a "bunker mentality" tactic by the FGUA intended to patch cracks in a crumbling alliance. "Why would they go take a vote when they have only one county that even wants to be on board with them?" she said, referring to the May 2 meeting attended by about 50 people, with all but one representative, from Palm Coast, opposing the tentative agreement with ALLETE, Florida Water's Minnesota-based parent company. "I think whatever they're doing, they're doing it because it's good for them," Rowden said. "They're not doing anything for Hernando County." By postponing the vote, the FGUA has already missed the May 14 deadline set with ALLETE in March to approve the sale. Technically, that triggered an end to the exclusive negotiation agreement with ALLETE, said Nabors. "They could sell it to someone else," he added. "That's the risk we run unless people get comfortable with the deal." -- Jennifer Farrell covers Spring Hill and can be reached at 848-1432. Send e-mail to farrell@sptimes.com.
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From today's Hernando Times Editorial Letters |
