About a month ago, the Hernando County legal staff and at least one county commissioner disparaged the city of Weeki Wachee's attempt to acquire Florida Water Services through condemnation. They regarded Weeki Wachee's legal action as hostile and foolhardy, likening it to an unsuccessful attempt earlier this year by two Panhandle towns to obtain the water and sewer utility.
"It's similar . . . and the results will be the same," Commissioner Nancy Robinson said at the time.
Now it appears Hernando County is bestowing the greatest form of flattery: imitation.
On Tuesday County Attorney Garth Coller sought and received the commission's unanimous approval to proceed with an eminent domain claim against Florida Water. The major difference seems to be the price, with the county preparing to undercut Weeki Wachee's $53-million offer, possibly by about $17-million.
Which begs the question: If it was a bad move for Weeki Wachee, why is the county poised to follow suit?
Coller explained to the commission the legal avenue he's pursuing is a "friendly condemnation," which means Florida Water representatives have agreed - so far, only verbally - not to contest the county's condemnation effort. That means the price the two parties agreed on previously will not change.
Coller says he will have a better chance of persuading a judge that Hernando County is more capable than Weeki Wachee of operating the Florida Water system. He also says his legal position is bolstered by the argument that the county's endeavor serves a greater public interest than Weeki Wachee, which regards acquisition of the utility as a much-needed moneymaking endeavor for the tiny, cash-strapped municipality where mostly mermaids and memories reside.
All that may be true, but it is not a "slam-dunk" outcome, as Coller characterized it in a recent Times article.
It is still possible Weeki Wachee could amend its initial offer, bringing it much closer to the county's. It also is possible Florida Water will retreat from its oxymoronic "friendly condemnation" stance and begin to regard the proceedings for what they are: the taking of property against one's will.
Remarkable in the commission's decision Tuesday to approve Coller's latest legal strategy was the lack of meaningful discussion about the request.
The commission has given Coller great leeway to negotiate on the county's behalf and to fortify its legal position. Another example of that autonomy and trust in Coller's methodology came when the commission approved, without comment, Coller's request to send up to six staff members to New York City to meet with prospective bonding companies, one of which eventually will finance the purchase. None of the commissioners asked who would go, or how much it would cost; they just agreed to it.
Coller says he did not brief the commissioners on these matters beforehand, so it is extraordinary, at least from a layman's perspective, that they can grasp his intent so easily and spend the public's money with such confidence.
The condemnation request may achieve exactly the result the county wants, which apparently is to eliminate any other suitors from Florida Water's door and seal a deal as soon as possible.
But the commission's decision to follow Weeki Wachee's lead, especially when contrasted with its earlier unconditional criticism of the city's legal maneuver, smacks of hypocrisy; it also merited greater scrutiny from the commissioners.
