Votes on water projects leave county unsure

Because of the closeness of the tally, the county may consider another round of voting on central water lines.

By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 19, 2001

INVERNESS -- Does no response mean "no"?

The county normally believes that it does. Ballots sent to residents voting on proposed water, sewer or road projects in their neighborhoods state that, "If we do not receive a vote back from you, this will be considered a "no' vote."

But with the tallies being so close for proposed central water lines in Lake Tsala Gardens and Davis Lake Golf Estates, also known as Inverness Golf and Country Club, the county may take a new count.

"If I just look at the "yes' and "no' votes, it's sort of close," said Assistant County Administrator Ken Saunders. He will recommend next month that the County Commission allow a new round of petitions to better gauge support.

Here are the results from ballots tallied this week:

In Davis Lake Golf Estates, 67 voted in favor and 64 voted against extending central city water to their community south of Inverness. Add in the 19 "no response" votes, however, and the project falls short of the majority needed to proceed.

In Lake Tsala Gardens, 42 residents opposed and 39 voted for receiving central city water in their winding subdivision just east of Inverness. But the majority of the community, 83 property owners, sent no response.

So what does this mean for the residents of both waterfront communities? The County Commission will sort it out at its Nov. 13 meeting.

The commission could decide that no response still means "no," in which case both central water projects would die because they lack the support of the majority.

Or the commission could follow Saunders' recommendation and allow residents to circulate new petitions in both communities. If the petition is signed by 50 percent of the property owners plus one, the commission would hold several public hearings and then vote on creating a special taxing district to pay for the central water lines.

The cost, if approved: an estimated $4,208 to $4,312 per lot in Davis Lake Golf Estates, and $2,360 per lot in Lake Tsala Gardens. Residents would also pay $937.50 in connection fees.

Central water has been an emotional and divisive issue in both communities. Some residents have murky drinking water or wells that are drying up; others are happy with their well water and see no reason to pay thousands of dollars to connect to the city's central water.

Now residents are divided over the next course of action for the County Commission.

Lake Tsala Gardens is filled with snowbirds who were out of town when the ballots were mailed out Sept. 24, said Bill Lambert, vice president of the homeowners association. Because the ballots had to be returned by Oct. 5, residents whose mail was forwarded north did not have enough time to respond, he said.

"No way did it give the opportunity to the people," Lambert said. "I'm not saying it wouldn't have (been voted) down, but maybe it wouldn't have been by that much."

Over in Davis Lake Golf Estates, resident Suzanne Fuller said some people who opposed the project did not send in their ballots because the county said no response equals a no vote. At any rate, she said, there is no need for a petition when a vote has already been taken.

"When people voted, they thought they were voting yes or no on the project, and that the majority would determine the outcome at that particular point," Fuller said. "We feel like we have been misled."

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