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ROBERT KINGA tiny city's mayor, backed by supporters, says Weeki Wachee Springs can make payments and repairs. Its landlord says fine, show me how by Sept. 15.
BROOKSVILLE - Weeki Wachee Springs teetered perilously close to being shut down Wednesday before its landlord granted the park one last reprieve: two weeks to develop a survival plan.
The Southwest Florida Water Management District, which bought the property where the park sits in 2001, wants to know by Sept. 15 how Weeki Wachee intends to remain financially viable while making overdue repairs to the park.
The fate of Weeki Wachee - famous for its underwater mermaid shows - is expected to be decided when the governing board of Swiftmud, as the agency is known, meets again Sept. 23.
A sign of the gravity of the situation: Swiftmud's board asked its staff to come up with a contingency plan to govern what should happen to Weeki Wachee if the park must be shut down.
It looked as though that might happen Wednesday.
Board members referred to the attraction as a "Florida treasure" and said they would love to see it remain open. But they expressed doubts that the city of Weeki Wachee, with just nine residents and a $20,000 annual budget, was up to the task.
Some board members said that allowing the park to remain open during repairs could leave Swiftmud - and the taxpayers who support the state agency - vulnerable to legal liabilities.
Chief among them are concerns that visitors might be injured or that the park's aging sewer plant might malfunction and contaminate the spring-fed Weeki Wachee River.
Board members said Swiftmud would be justified in terminating the park's lease because its operator, Weeki Wachee LLC, was supposed to have shut down the sewer plant a year ago. Even after extending the deadline, nothing was done.
Indeed, Swiftmud appeared ready to lower the boom last month. But before it could, the owners of Weeki Wachee LLC donated their company to the city of Weeki Wachee in a transaction that became final on Monday.
Weeki Wachee Mayor Robyn Anderson, a former mermaid who now manages the tourist attraction, told the Swiftmud board that she can return the park to its former glory now that the city controls it.
She maintains that, whereas the former owners took profits from the park, the city of Weeki Wachee will pump them back in.
Both she and Weeki Wachee attorney Joe Mason say the city may be small but that the park's earning potential is strong enough to pay for repairs. And they said the park's $3-million of liability insurance is more than adequate, something acknowledged by Swiftmud staffers.
"I am asking for a chance," Anderson said. "We're doing the best we can and we're really trying to work together."
But several board members said the eleventh-hour lease transfer was confusing, leaving them to wonder whether they are now dealing with a city or a private company. The answer, it seems, is both. The city is now the sole owner of Weeki Wachee LLC.
"To me, something changes every time we discuss this," said board member Edward Chance.
When it appeared Wednesday that Weeki Wachee might be doomed, Swiftmud board chairman Thomas Dabney tried to reassure his colleagues. Dabney said he had met privately with Weeki Wachee officials on Monday and had come away assured that Swiftmud's goals were the city's goals. What's more, he said, Weeki Wachee Springs isn't broke.
"There is cash on hand in the attraction's accounts," he said.
His assurance led vice chairman Watson Haynes II to propose giving Weeki Wachee the time to come up with a plan outlining its financial, management and renovation strategies. But even Dabney warned that Weeki Wachee had better deliver the goods on Sept. 15.
"Anything short of that would be difficult," Dabney said.
Mason, the city's attorney, tried to reinforce the idea that Weeki Wachee Springs is on solid ground by giving Swiftmud a check for $119,812.50 - the attraction's latest lease payment. It wasn't due until Saturday.
Cold cash aside, the attraction's fans tried to put a human face on their park's fate.
A procession of Weeki Wachee devotees - teen lifeguards, middle-aged former mermaids and elderly season pass holders who swim daily in the cold spring - came before the Swiftmud board Wednesday to proclaim their faith in Anderson and their desire to see the park survive. Their stories seemed to hold at least some sway with Swiftmud.
"This level of commitment is rarely seen. It appeals to me," said Swiftmud board member Ronald Johnson. "I think we need to work with them and give them a chance."
In the end, Swiftmud's board voted 7-3 to give Weeki Wachee two weeks to come up with the plan. The members in the minority were Janet Kovach of Hillsborough County, Pamela Fentress of Highlands County and Chance, who is from Manatee County.
After the vote, about 20 Weeki Wachee supporters cheered Anderson outside the Swiftmud building. She broke down during an interview with a television reporter. Through tears, she said the devotion of the park's supporters - especially the employees who came out Wednesday - had overwhelmed her.
"We're going to make this work. You guys make me so proud out here today," she said. "But who is watching the park?"
- Robert King covers Spring Hill and can be reached at 848-1432. Send e-mail to rking@sptimes.com