Settlement may end legal battle over Spring Hill's water utility
If the agreement sticks, the county will be able to issue bonds to recover costs of the utility.
By WILL VAN SANT
Published January 14, 2004
BROOKSVILLE - In an endgame that involved a pair of payments to attorneys, a tentative legal settlement has been reached between the city of Weeki Wachee and Florida Water Services.
The settlement brings to an apparent close Weeki Wachee's bid for ownership of Florida Water's Spring Hill utility, which the county acquired in October. With the city's challenge to the acquisition extinguished, the county will be able to issue millions of dollars in bonds and refill coffers it drained when it purchased the utility.
"Today really was the final last gasp," County Attorney Garth Coller said at Tuesday's County Commission meeting, where news of the settlement was announced.
On Oct. 30, a judge ruled against Weeki Wachee's attempted condemnation of the water and sewer utility system. Weeki Wachee argued that city ownership would allow the utility to be run in a manner that would benefit the springs that are its lifeblood. Also, Weeki Wachee argued, it could use revenue from the utility to refurbish its tourist attraction, which has been under the scrutiny of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
At the same hearing, the judge ruled in favor of county ownership. Hours later, an emergency meeting was convened, and the county liquidated $36-million in assets and used the cash to take immediate possession of the utility from Florida Water, which had sought to sell to the county rather than Weeki Wachee.
Weeki Wachee appealed the judge's ruling, as county officials feared, making bond-rating agencies and bond insurers nervous. Without their blessing, the county had been unable to issue its bonds for weeks. Officials kept a close eye on interest rates in hopes they would not rise, costing taxpayers additional millions in debt payment.
Fortunately, officials said, rates have remained favorable.
Exact terms of the settlement that ended Weeki Wachee's challenge were not disclosed. Those close to the negotiations, however, including Weeki Wachee attraction manager and Mayor Robyn Anderson, said Florida Water had agreed to pay the city $125,000 to cover its legal fees.
The county agreed to pay Florida Water's attorney $30,000 for his efforts in the case.
The payment to attorney Bill Moore angered some at Tuesday's commission meeting. It was announced even as county lawyers conferred with one another regarding last-minute details of the negotiations. Critics charged that Weeki Wachee's legal challenge amounted to extortion and that the money given Moore was little more than a payoff to move things along.
"I think it's criminal," said Janey Baldwin, a Republican candidate for the County Commission seat now held by Democrat Betty Whitehouse.
Coller, the county attorney, said the decision to seek approval of a payment to Moore was largely his. The county had refused to give Weeki Wachee a dime to settle with Florida Water, he said, and Moore had fought well for the county's interest and should be "made whole."
"It was more a gesture of good faith more than anything else," Coller said.
Prior to approving the payment and closing costs for the bonds to be issued, Coller told the board that Mayor Anderson had requested that the commission urge legislators who are to gather Jan. 28 in Brooksville to consider limiting Weeki Wachee's municipal powers not to meet.
Citing Weeki Wachee's recent history of causing the county headaches, the board rejected the idea.
Anderson said Coller was mistaken. It was not her, Anderson said, but one of her attorneys who had asked the county to plead with legislators to back off. She blasted those who viewed Weeki Wachee's bid for the utility and its legal challenge to county ownership as a crass money grab.
"It was never about the money," Anderson said. "It was about protection of the springs."
The county hopes to issue $43.2-million in bonds to cover the $36-million price of the utility and assorted closing costs as quickly as possible. Based on the current market, officials said, payment on the bonds will amount to $81-million during the next 30 years.
Coller cautioned that the settlement agreement between Weeki Wachee and Florida Water, though apparently solid, had not been finalized. No order will be given to issue the bonds, he said, until the settlement is complete, which is expected in a matter of days.
"We will wait to see the final documents with signatures before telling you it's all over," Coller said.
