Sen. Broxson wants commission to decide
The town of Jay and the Mt. Carmel Water System were two nine public utilities that would be directly affected by a bill proposed by State Sen. Doug Broxson to take control away from local boards, but it appears the bill to do that has failed in the Florida Legislature and the Santa Rosa County legislative delegation is asking the county commission to move forward with the plan.
In a letter recently submitted to the Santa Rosa County Board of Commissioners, Sen. Broxson suggested the commission take the lead in forming the ‘North Santa Rosa Utility Planning Commission’ that would ‘study and make recommendations to the appropriate governing bodies as to the best ways and means to meet the water and wastewater needs of a growing county.’ Sen. Broxson cited reasonable growth, fire safety and economic opportunity as reasons, as they all depend on coordinated delivery of water and wastewater services. The letter was also signed by State Rep. Alex Andrade and State Rep. Joel Rudman.
The North Santa Rosa Utility Coalition has been active in opposing the state bill. According to North Santa Rosa County Utility Coalition Chairmen Robert Smith, the bill was scheduled for consideration in the Florida House sub-committee, however, State Rep. Rudman has withdrawn the bill from consideration.
In the bill, the governing body would consist of the following or a designee for such: the Santa Rosa Board of County Commissioners chair, the mayor of Milton, the mayor of Jay, the director of the Northwest Florida Water Management District, the chair of the North Santa Rosa Utility Coalition, a faculty member of UF’s Watershed Management Lab at the UF’s Food and Agricultural Sciences’ West Florida Research and Education Center and a resident of Santa Rosa County who is engaged in the building trade, in property development or in real estate. This commission would serve until June 2028 and submit an extensive assessment report to the citizens by June 30, 2026.
The assessment would include: current water and wastewater needs, fire protection needs, water quality and impacts from wells and septic systems, water and wastewater infrastructure currently used in the area, anticipated growth related to waster and wastewater needs, a 20-year plan to address the current and anticipated needs, adjacent systems that would benefit from consolidation and financial assessment, including ways to funds the recommended plan.
If passed, the act would become effective July 1, 2024.
