Our Connection Fee Has Increased!

On December 27, 2019 our sewer system was approved for service

Noticing that one of our neighbors was recently connected to the new system, I visited the County Building Dept. this afternoon to pay my connection fee.  We have all been waiting for our Registered Mail notification and I wanted to secure a place in the queue.  Instead of writing a check I had a 1 hour conference with the Utility Connection Supervisor and staff.  Here are the highlights of that meeting:

• The connection fee as presented to us in hand-outs (and until recently on the county website) was $2,627.16.
• The connection fee effective Jan 8, 2020 is $3190 ( a $563 increase).
• Residents who were notified had the opportunity to pay the $2,627.16 – if paid by Jan 8th.
• Property owners who have not already paid the fee will be charged $3190 regardless of whether or not they were notified.

Timeline of Events

Oct 8, 2019 – Resolution No. 2019-205 was adopted by the SBCC by a 5-0 vote.

December 2019 – Customer Cost sheet for PCSSRP appears on the county website reflecting the $3,190.00 fee.

Dec 27, 2019 – Letter to Lori Carroll from J.T. Hickey, P.E. stating “The system is approved for service”.

Dec 31, 2019 – Approximately eighteen N3 residents were notified by phone that they were now eligible to be connected to the new system. These 18 customers were on an “emergency list” due to failing septic tanks, drain fields, etc.  At least one resident was hand delivered his Notice of Availability at the county office where he paid the $2,627.16 fee.

Jan 8, 2020 – The increased fee of $3,190 goes into effect.

Is there anything we can do?

So, if we had been given prior notice that the fee was going to go up on Jan 8th we could have gone to the county and paid the lesser amount, whether or not we had received a Notice of Availability letter… or a phone call.  The folks that received a phone call had that chance.  I don’t know how many of those contacted took advantage of those seven days, but the rest of us had no opportunity!

I don’t think that’s right.

The statement at the top of the Customer Costs sheet says “fees… may be amended and are subject to change.”  Maybe if enough of us call the County we can get a retroactive grace period.  They listened to us before… maybe they’ll listen again.

A comment on County Staff

I walked into the County complex today completely unannounced.  After speaking to the receptionist I was promptly greeted by a Permit Coordinator from the Utility Dept. and taken to a conference room.  After speaking with her for a few minutes we were joined by a representative from Utilities Connections.  A short time later Supervisor Paula Parsons Grubb came in.  So, all three of these folks afforded me almost an hour of their time.  I sincerely appreciate the courtesy and interest shown to me on behalf of our neighborhood.

NOTE:  Paula Parsons Grubb has offered to take phone calls/emails from interested residents.

 

Project Update: March 2019

Here’s the latest information from the County’s website:

 

“The Phillippi Creek Septic System Replacement Program (PCSSRP) was developed in 2000 to protect public health and to improve water quality in Phillippi Creek, by replacing individual septic systems and small private package waste water plants in many Sarasota County neighborhoods with central sewer service. Over 15,000 septic tanks will be replaced over the life of the project. Approximately, 200 residents will be connecting to central sewer in Area N3.

Area N3 is being designed as a hybrid gravity sewer system with two smaller lift stations within the project area. Homeowners will connect to the central sewer system using a conventional gravity lateral rather than maintaining individual low pressure units on each property, as originally planned.

 

Project Progress/Status 

Award of the construction contract was April 25, 2017 to Spectrum Underground. The construction Notice to Proceed was given on May 23, 2017.

Work continues in the 4th and final Phase of the project. Roads in Phase 4 include; Tanglewood Drive, South Seclusion Drive, Pinecrest Street, Pinecrest Way, Fair Oaks Place and Tuttle Avenue. Phase 4 includes gravity sewer mains and laterals, manholes and two sewer lift stations; one at the corner of Tanglewood Drive and South Seclusion Drive and the other in the cul de sac of South Seclusion Drive. Gravity lines and manhole installation have been completed on South Seclusion Drive and a majority of Pinecrest Street. Work will be starting on Pinecrest Way, Fair Oaks Place and Tanglewood Way in the month of March. The contractor as added additional forces to complete the project as quickly as possible. The estimated completion for the project is now May 2019.”

This article can be found at scgov.net>GOVERNMENT>Capital Projects>Selected County Projects>(scroll down to Phillippi Creek Area N3)

Additional information from Sarasota County

While you’re visiting scgov.net go back to the GOVERNMENT tab and click on Public Utilities/Water. On the left side vertical menu click on Phillippi Creek Septic System Replacement Program.  At the bottom of the page under DOCUMENTS click on Guides>Gravity Sewer System ADAc (simple, huh?)  This document pretty well details our responsibilities under the program.  There’s a table of costs that we’ll incur and on page five you’ll find details for the Early Connection Incentive Credit.  Basically this is a $1000 credit if you hook up within 90 days of your ready-to-connect notice.

There’s also information on credits available if you’ve had recent repairs to your septic system.

 

Talked to a plumber yet?

For those residents that haven’t already done so, this is a good time to start looking for a plumber. If you go back to the December 2017 post you’ll find some contact information that may be of some help.

 

Project Update 7.23.2018

N3 residents received this information today:

 

More information

The front side of the mailer included this statement:

“When the system is available for connection, Sarasota County Public Utilities will send the Notice of Sewer Availability and Mandatory Connection package, via USPS, Certified Mail to each property owner.”

N3 Sewers: Project Update 12.7.2017

The construction of our sewer system appears to be progressing smoothly. Tanglewood Dr. north of Fair Oaks is essentially complete and Rose St and Bougainvillea are almost finished, as is North Seclusion Dr.  There is some construction to be done on the south side of Webber St that is included in Phase 2. The plans show Homassassa Rd. to be Phase 3 and work there will begin upon completion of Phase 2.

What’s That Pipe in My Yard?

Some residents have asked “what is that green pipe sticking up in my yard?” Well, that is the connection point where the homeowner’s sewer line hooks up to the utility sewer. The finished installation will be cut off at grade level. Here are some photos:

This is what we’re looking at now…

 

This is a typical clean-out at the connection to the county sewer line.

Anybody Know a Good Plumber?

Although our actual hook-ups are months away, this is probably a good time to start talking to plumbers.  I have contacted several and here (in alphabetical order) are those that have indicated an interest in working in our neighborhood:

• Ty Clark Plumbing – (941) 322-2419
• Mast Plumbing – (941)365-0010
• PlumbingToday – (941) 921-5581
• Prestia Plumbing – (941) 685-6427
• Professional Plumbing & Design – (941) 355-5400

One advantage in making early contact with a plumber is to get their advice on the placement of the clean out at your property line.  The contractor (Spectrum Underground) has indicated that they will locate the connection pipe wherever you want it, but once it’s installed it can’t be relocated.  Determining the best location now could save you money down the road!  If you know of other plumbers that are interested, have them contact me and I’ll add their names to the list.

Note: When you speak with the plumbers be sure to tell them OUR SEWERS ARE NOT A VACUUM SYSTEM!

 

List of Certified Plumbers from DBPR

 A listing of state certified plumbers is available at www.myfloridalicense.com: click on “VERIFY A LICENSE”, then “Search by City or County”>Category “Construction Industry”, Type “Certified Plumbing Contractor”>County “Sarasota”> Search.

For Our Do-It-Yourself Neighbors

In a future article I’ll have some tips and guidelines for those ambitious souls that may want to do their own work.

Contact Information

• construction questions – John Saputo (941) 650-0022
• Pluris Southgate customer service – (888) 758-7471
• utility connections – (941) 861-6767   [option 1]
• financing connection fees – (941) 861-6767  [ option 3]
• PCSSRP documents

 

Are we on the chopping block?

Current status

The December 20 post discussed the last official update of our sewer project: “The design is 100 percent complete with all required permits.  The project is currently advertised for construction bids.  Construction is expected to begin in Spring 2017 with an approximate 9-month construction duration.”  (Additional information can be found in the PCSSRP Monthly Status Report.)

Budget shortfall

Your N3 Committee has been closely following the progress of our neighborhood sewer project.  At the Feb 17 Budget Workshop county staff presented a Capital Improvement Project Prioritization to the Commissioners and the bottom line is there is not enough money for all projects.  So, which ones to cut?  When the PCSSRP was was discussed, Commissioner Maio asked for a report on “literature that has been provided and the expectations of owners.”

Budget Strategy Workshop March 29

This coming Wednesday Mar 29 the County Commission is holding another Budget Workshop.  The meeting starts at 9:00 AM and is open to the public.  Here is  page 85 from the presentation commissioners will see:

What should concerned residents do?

• You can email commissioners at commissioners@scgov.net and ask them to approve Option 3.
• Commissioner Maio asked what our expectations are: Let him know we expect to begin this Spring and be completed by December 2017
• Attend the meeting on Wednesday and speak during either of the two the Open to the Public segments (click here for meeting agenda).
• If you can’t attend the meeting you can view it by going to  scgov.net “Televised Meetings.”

Presentation for March 29 Budget Workshop

Here’s the full Presentation Package (Phillippi Creek Overview starts on pg. 71).

3-29 Presentation

 

How Can I Lower My Water Bill?

According to the EPA website “…landscape irrigation is estimated to account for nearly one-third of all residential water use…”,  so it would seem that a good place to start conserving water would be the lawn.  There are numerous articles on the topic; here’s one from the Huffington Post. And this Atlantic article says lawns “have now outlived their purpose.”  So, let’s find out…

How much am I spending to water my lawn?

 

Everyone’s usage is different, but if you use 4,000 gallons per month for lawn irrigation, today you will pay Pluris approximately $26 (you can calculate your personal water usage or use this estimator).  After we are connected to the sewer an additional $30 will be added for a monthly charge of $56 just for the lawn!  One of our N3 neighbors recently took this approach: get rid of the grass.

What is xeriscape?

Xeriscaping is landscaping that reduces or eliminates the need for water from irrigation.  This type of landscaping has become popular in drought-stricken western states in the last few years and while we haven’t gotten to a West Coast level of crisis (yet), you can see that water is becoming expensive. So, what to do?

Allison Werner, our neighbor at 3340 Tanglewood Dr, recently had her yard professionally xeriscaped (click here): (1) removed all turf grass, (2) put down heavy-duty weed barrier, (3) covered with washed shell, (4) installed low maintenance, drought tolerant plants with drip irrigation. Drive by and take a look… a complete yard make-over may not be for everyone, but anything you can do will save you money on your water bill, not to mention fertilizer, pesticides, fungicides, gas and oil for lawnmowers, etc

Pluris south gate water rates

The monthly base charge is $7.18 plus $ per 1000 gallons:

• 0 to 6,000 – $5.70
• 6001 to 12,000 – $6.48
• 12,000 and up – $7.52

( complete schedule of charges: pluris-water-rates)

 

 Informational links

• Xeriscaped lawns – google Images
• The Cost of watering Your Lawn: “keeping a lawn looking nice requires a lot of water and usually expensive fertilizers that are harsh on the environment… think twice before choosing grass over a garden. And if you have grass, convert to gardens as soon as you can“
• Sarasota County proposed sewer rates (bottom right: Documents>Additional info>Fees>Estimated Sewer Costs>Item 2)

Commissioners Approve Re-design for N3

The Board of County Commissioners has approved the re-design of our Area N-3 sewer system to the recently proposed “hybrid gravity” system. This means that the ball is finally rolling toward sewer service for our neighborhood.

Jaimol Charles, the county’s manager of this project, informs us that in mid-July, the consultants will begin a survey of our neighborhood to locate underground facilities. Once that is done, the consultants will prepare a preliminary (or conceptual) plan for the county and neighborhood to review before proceeding with the final design.

As a reminder, the “hybrid gravity” or “enhanced gravity” system that has been proposed calls for a relatively small number (perhaps 6 to 10) of underground lift stations throughout the neighborhood in the public right of way (i.e., under the streets or in other slivers of county-owned property). This system replaces the former proposed “grinder pump” system that would have placed a pump in each of our yards. Your committee analyzed that proposal and determined that it posed many potential problems to homeowners and the county, and we prevailed upon the commissioners to reject the grinder pumps in favor of a truly central, public sewer system. The county hired Giffels Webster Engineers to take a fresh look at our neighborhood, and the engineers offered the idea of the “hybrid gravity” or “enhanced gravity” system. The N-3 committee has endorsed this proposal as offering the highest level of service and the least detrimental effect on our community of the available options.

Once the preliminary design in complete, you should expect to receive notice of a public meeting at which residents will be able to review the plans.

We will continue to pass on information as we receive it from the county.

Hybrid Sewer Update – June 2014

Redesign Ready for Commission Approval

 

We recently received a progress update from our N3 Project Manager, Ms. Jaimol Charles.  The scope for the design of our neighborhood has been developed with Giffels/Webster Engineers and will be presented to the Commissioners for their approval at the regularly scheduled BCC meeting on Tuesday June 10th.

The meeting will be held at 9 AM at the R. L. Anderson Admin. Center, 4000 S Tamiami Trail, Venice Fla.  It is Agenda Item No. 26… you can view details here. Click on the title of the item in the left hand window to read the supporting material.

Thank you,

N3 Neighborhood Committee

Oct 15th Community meeting

On Tues Oct 15 Sarasota County Staff hosted a meeting at the South Gate Community Center.  They presented an overview of the Hybrid Gravity Sewer which is now the technology proposed for our N3 neighborhood.  The meeting was well attended and, based on comments from the audience, the proposal was well received.  The next step will be for Staff to present the plan to the Commissioners in December.  Your committee plans to attend the BCC meeting to show support for the Hybrid Sewers.  We will advise when the exact date has been determined.

Questions

A number of questions from the meeting involved issues that we’ll have to deal with regardless of the system ultimately selected to replace our septic tanks: multiple septic tanks, cost to connect, when to connect, etc.  Most of these questions are answered on the…

County Websites

There are TWO county websites that contain information on the PCSSRP.  Go to sewers.scgov.net  and look at the left side menu… lots of basic information here.

Now go to scgov.net > RESIDENTS  (top blue bar) > Utilities > Phillippi Creek Septic System Replacement > Documents (right side).  Most of your general questions will be addressed on these two sites.

Note: for more information on the county’s website read the Jan 31, 2013 post

Area N3 Committee Report • Sept. 11, 2013

The Area N3 Committee is happy to inform you that the Sarasota County Utilities Department has “dumped the pumps” and is no longer recommending individual grinder pumps to provide sewer service in our neighborhood.

Somewhat surprisingly, though, the recommended option is not a vacuum system, which had been the main alternative under consideration. Instead, what is being proposed for our neighborhood is an “enhanced gravity system” or “hybrid gravity system.”

On Sept. 5, 2013, five members of the N3 Neighborhood Committee (Peter Gentile, Dave Kaplan, Del Macaulay, Walt Menzel and Peter Houk) met with representatives of the County Utilities Department to hear about this latest proposal. The information that follows is our understanding of the proposal based on that meeting.

What is a hybrid gravity system?

As the name implies, a hybrid gravity sewer system is at heart a traditional gravity system. A gravity system is what most people think of as a “normal” sewer system. Sewage flows downhill from the home through pipes that descend gradually deeper into the ground until they arrive at a lift station. At the lift station, sewage is pumped up to a higher level to continue its flow toward the treatment plant. In a traditional gravity system, lift stations can be 20 feet or more underground and collect wastewater from hundreds of homes.

In a “hybrid gravity system,” there are more (but smaller) lift stations and the pipes are not buried so deeply in the ground (3 to 6 feet, rather than 6 to 20 feet).

For our neighborhood, there will be approximately 6 to 10 “mini lift stations” located underground in concrete chambers serviced through manholes. The manholes will be flush with the ground or street. Near each mini lift station will be an electrical control panel affixed to a chest-high concrete post. The electrical control panels will be the only above-ground component of the system. (Incidentally, these control panels are similar to the control panels that each homeowner would have been required to install to operate the grinder pumps.)

The mini lift stations will be placed inside manholes in the county right-of-way (either under the pavement or in the shoulder of the road). The precise locations of the mini lift stations have not been determined, but the county has identified some potential locations that are minimally intrusive. However, it is possible that at least some of the mini lift stations will be located so that the control panel will be in the right-of-way between two homes (similar to where a utility pole would be sited).

Is the hybrid gravity system good for us?

The proposed hybrid gravity system answers many of the criticisms the Area N3 Committee raised concerning the grinder pump proposal:

• The mini lift stations will be in the public right of way. The grinder pumps would have been on our property, within 30 feet of our homes.

• The county will supply the electrical power to run the mini lift stations. The homeowners would have provided electricity for the grinder pumps.

• In the event of emergency, the county will only have to pump out 6 to 10 mini lift stations, instead of 200 individual grinder pumps. 

• The homeowner will not be required to install electrical equipment. The grinder pumps would have required each homeowner to install an electrical control panel affixed to the house. 

• The mini lift stations will send an electronic signal to alert the Utilities Department in the event of malfunction. The homeowner would need to call the county to report a grinder pump malfunction. 

• In the event of pump failure, the mini lift stations will overflow through the manholes. In the event of grinder pump failure, sewage could back up into the home. 

Even though the N-3 Committee had earlier endorsed a vacuum system (at the time, it appeared to be the only option to the grinder pumps), the hybrid gravity system offers some advantages over the vacuum system:

• No homes will be sacrificed for the hybrid gravity system.  A home would have been condemned and demolished to make way for a vacuum station.

• There will be no “candy canes” in the yards with a hybrid gravity system. There would be a “candy cane” in every yard with a vacuum system.

The committee does have several concerns about the hybrid gravity system:

• The visibility of the control panels. As stated above, the County will endeavor to put the mini lift stations (and control panels) in out-of-the-way locations. However, the more lift stations that are needed, the greater the chance that some of them will be more visible. The County has indicated that they may put at least some rudimentary landscaping around the control panels; we imagine the homeowner would be free to improve on that so long as access to the panel is not impaired.

• Odor. The County states that odor should not be a problem, partly because each mini lift station will be serving a limited number of homes. (The bigger the lift station, the greater the potential for odor.) However, in the case of malfunction, odor could temporarily be a problem (although this is true of any sewer system).

As we have said before, the county is going to put us on central sewer of one sort or another. Every sewer system technology has some potential drawbacks. The committee had previously endorsed the vacuum system, despite its drawbacks (need for a vacuum station, candy canes in every yard). We believe the advantages of the hybrid gravity system outweigh the potential disadvantages. 

How this came about

At the County Commission meeting of Feb. 13, 2013, where approximately 50 neighbors showed up with “Dump the Pumps” signs, the commissioners requested that the County Utilities staff take a closer look at the grinder pump proposal for our area as well as the future of the entire septic tank replacement program, since our Committee research indicated that many of the figures used to evaluate the alternative systems were out of date.

The staff retained Hazen and Sawyer Engineers, who provided the original conceptual design for the entire septic system replacement plan, to revisit the costs of grinder pumps. At your Committee’s request, the review considered additional costs for larger storage tanks, electrical outlets for generator operation, and even the cost of generators, in order to bring the grinder pump system up to the level of service provided to other County Utility customers. Using those parameters, the engineers found that the grinder pump system was closer in cost to the alternatives than had originally been shown.

While updating the cost figures, the engineering firm also introduced a new service option: the hybrid gravity system.

In the original sewer system master plan from 2000, there was no mention of hybrid gravity systems. County ordinances at the time prohibited mini lift stations. Now, the county seems willing to consider these systems for retrofits like ours.

Committee endorses hybrid gravity system

The Area N3 Committee endorses the hybrid gravity system for our area. We believe the County Utilities staff has gone the extra mile to design a system that the neighborhood will be happy with. The hybrid gravity system answers every concern we raised about the grinder pump system, and answers those concerns perhaps even better than a vacuum system would have.

What is next

In the coming weeks each affected resident in Area N3 will receive notice of a public meeting, most likely to be held at the South Gate Community Center. At this meeting, you will be able to hear for yourself about the hybrid gravity system, ask questions, and make up your own mind.

Assuming that the tone of the meeting is supportive, the County Utilities staff will then make a recommendation to the County Commission to proceed with the hybrid gravity system for Area N3. Then, at long last, construction will begin.

We urge you to attend the public meeting and to learn about the hybrid gravity proposal. We believe that the hybrid gravity system is a good solution for providing sewer service to our neighborhood, which presents many engineering challenges.

Government at work

The committee would like to thank all of the County Commissioners for welcoming us into their offices, listening to our concerns, and finally directing the staff to take a hard look at the grinder pump proposal and see if there wasn’t a better alternative.

We commend the County Utilities staff for working with us to come up with an innovative solution for our neighborhood. We have the utmost confidence in the Utilities Department to deliver us a first-rate sewer system.

We thank all the neighbors who attended the County Commission meeting of Feb. 13, 2013, waving signs and speaking against the grinder pump proposal. In the end, the demonstration of neighborhood support was essential to drive home the committee’s message and to get the Commission to act.

Finally, we thank Mike Scarborough for the countless hours he spent researching grinder pumps and other alternative sewer systems. His blog has been instrumental in providing factual information to our community, the staff and the Commissioners.

Respectfully submitted,

Peter Gentile (chairman and report author)

Mike Scarborough (research director)

Carol Belding (secretary)

Del Macaulay (treasurer)

Dr. Henry Abraham (vice-chairman)

David Kaplan

Walt Menzel

Peter Houk

John Scalzi

N3 Committee Report Sept 2013