Weeki Wachee Springs turf war still murky

The battle weighs on Swiftmud and the mermaid attraction.

By CHANDRA BROADWATER, Times Staff Writer
Published July 30, 2007

WEEKI WACHEE - Three-and-a-half years have passed, and the battle royale between Weeki Wachee Springs and the Southwest Florida Water Management District continues.

The attraction celebrated its 60th anniversary over the weekend, and its financial state appears favorable enough to keep the mermaids swimming.

But Swiftmud's legal wranglings with the attraction continue. And with the two sides heading back to court in August and a new judge on the case, the picture is anything but clear.

"Are we tired of this process? Absolutely," said Swiftmud spokesman Michael Molligan. "It needs to be resolved, and it's going to be resolved. Did we expect to spend almost four years of our lives on this? No. But it was thrust upon us. Our goal has always been to make sure the spring's protected."

Weeki Wachee general manager and Mayor Robyn Anderson sees it differently. Swiftmud, she says, has tried to shut down the attraction. "They say they want to protect the mermaids," she said. "But this all is the big guy beating up the little guy. We pay the lease on time; we fixed the safety issues. What is the problem?"

* * *

Officially, it all began March 31, 2004. After months of tensions, the water district board voted to sue Weeki Wachee Springs.

Then, as is the case now, the city of Weeki Wachee owns the mermaid attraction and adjacent Buccaneer Bay water park, donated by the previous owner. The land the attraction sits on is owned by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which leases it to Weeki Wachee.

When the suit was filed in 2004, at issue was whether the attraction broke its lease on the 27 acres it occupies around the spring. The water district argued three main points:

One, it questioned whether the city could legally own and operate the attraction. Two, the water district said it should have approved the donation of the attraction to the city. Three, an illegal "dredging" - attraction officials call it a "reclamation" - broke the lease and harmed the land.

Today, the district still wants answers. The attraction has since completed about $1-million in renovations deemed necessary for safety by Swiftmud.

Meanwhile, Weeki Wachee has continued to maintain that it never defaulted on the lease. And it says the acquisition of the attraction was legal and never required Swiftmud approval.

* * *

As of July 20, Swiftmud had spent $49,175 on outside legal counsel for the Weeki Wachee suit. According to Anderson, Weeki Wachee lawyer Joe Mason has yet to submit his bill.

When it comes to attraction finances, Anderson and Weeki Wachee spokesman John Athanason have always kept tight-lipped.

But since inheriting the attraction from the previous owner in 2003, Weeki Wachee has begun to make a profit, they said. Though the amount is not clear from records, it's apparently enough to pay the $260,000 annual rent to Swiftmud and to compensate 200 attraction employees.

A report by the state Auditor General's Office in May gives the clearest picture of Weeki Wachee's finances. It stated that the attraction was in debt by about $31,111 in 2005. In 2002, it had operating losses of about $177,000. In 2003, that number was $174,000.

* * *

As the legal case has evolved, Swiftmud and Weeki Wachee have come close to settling their differences. It almost happened in May 2006, when Anderson and water district board Chairman Tom Dabney met without lawyers and whittled their disagreements down to one main sticking point: an underwater lease.

Swiftmud wants the attraction to obtain permission from the state Department of Environmental Protection to use the springs and the river. But Weeki Wachee argues that its current lease already allows it to do that.

"That (underwater lease) would cost $20,000 extra a year," Anderson said.

The talks fell apart when Weeki Wachee missed a deadline to answer Swiftmud. Shortly afterward, district lawyers filed a request to go back to court, after Weeki Wachee requested more court mediation.

Last month, Hernando Circuit Judge Richard Tombrink recused himself at the request of Mason, who said Tombrink was no longer objective - biased against both him and the attraction.

Senior Marion County Judge William Swigert has since been assigned the case. He will meet with Swiftmud and Weeki Wachee on Aug. 16 for a case management hearing. A trial is scheduled for Aug. 21, but it is not clear whether it will begin then.

"We want it to work out for them and for us," Molligan said.

Anderson hopes for the same.

"All I ever wanted to do was save the attraction," she said.

A version of this story appears in some regional editions of the Times.

If you go

Where: Weeki Wachee Spring is at 6131 Commercial Way (U.S. 19 and State Road 50):

Admission to the attraction and the Buccaneer Bay water park is $22.95 for adults, $16.95 for seniors and $15.95 for children ages 3 to 10. Parking is $3.

For information: Call (352) 596-2062 or visit www.weekiwacheesprings.com.

[Last modified July 30, 2007, 00:48:27]