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Home My WebLink AboutDocumentation_Workshop_Tab 02_10/31/2016 October 19, 2016 Attention: Village Manager, Mike Cuuo From: Dan Amero, resident of Viliage of Tequesta Re: Recent water bill Mike, Thanks for taking the time to review my recent water bifl for the property located at 28 Leeward Circle. I purchased the property, which has been vacant and in disrepair for some time,.on June 30, 2016 to renovate and move into. The property is still vacant and� has been under construction since my purchase and there is only a toifet on the property being used 6y construction workers. No irrigation, pool filling or any otfier water activities have been activated since I purchased the home. I received a water bill for the property which f expected to show only minimal or nominal water charges for a vacant home, but to my surprise the bill was $781.28, approximately 31 times the minimal fee. This exceedingiy high water biil was not because of an error or neglect on my part, not from any abuse, not from a continuously running irrigation system, a poot being filled, leaks in plumbing, hose being left on, or a neighbor illegally using water, from digging, planting, drilling or any other fauit of mine. There were no visuai signs of leakage, no ponds af water or water geysers anywhere on the property. You notified Sam Heady from the Village Water Department of my issue and he graciously came to check my home and walked the entire propecry looking for any signs of leakage, aIF while in the rain, but none were visible to either one of us. Sam told. me that I should probably start digging along the side of the house and try to check for water {ine leakage between the supply and the irrigation control, which I did, only to find that there were no leaks. Sam brought a water meter professional the next day to check the meter and the meter wasn't moving at all. We were all perplexed. Where was the water going? Why wasn't the meter moving? After opening and closing various water vatves we noticed that the meter was spinning at a rapid rate when one of the valves were open but no water output was visible anywhere on the properly. Still we couldn't find any leak. Later,.5am and I were standing near the dock and seawall and Sam noticed: a smalf wet spot on the , ground. He said, "t think we may have found your probtem:' When Sam left, f started digging by hand along the seawa{I where Sam saw the wet spot. Approximatefy 2 feet below the surface 1 found a broken line but no water was coming out. l went to tfie side of the house and tumed all the valves on and water shot out of the break. This line had possibly cracked during the seawall construction or dock construction yea�s agu and flnally just let go. The water from the'broken line was directed into the back of the seawall and then under water, undetectable to anyone. f repaired the broken tine, tested it and backfilled the hole to complete the repair. � Sam informed me of a policy established in the Village that stated a one-time adjustment could be appiied for in a water bill that was being contested and he added that the amount was approximately 509'0 of the bill. I was shocked and told him that this was unreasonable and that this issue was not something that I did or that I knew about. He added that if I chose to take that adjustment, my water bill would be about $400, approximately fifteen times a nominal residential fee, which is my humble opinion, is unfair. I believe that the Village should have a system in place to notify Water Department employees and the resident that water usage is abnormal and a failsafe should be activated to prevent a similar incident from happening again. What you don't know, you don't know, until you know, and by then iYs too late and it can be a major financial problem for a resident, especially one on a fixed income, a part time � resident�that is gone for any length of time or one that is having difficulty paying the bills. I would like to suggest that our Village Code of Ordinances, Chapter 74 Utilities, Article II Water Services, Division 2 Rate & Charges add Sec 74-83 Exigent Circumstances. Under this section I would address issues that are abnormal, undetectable, difficult or questionable and when challenged, have the circumstance reviewed by Council. Council would then have the authority to either find that the party was negligent or didn't act in a timely manner in order to rectify the problem once the problem was diagnosed and fine an appropriate amount. Conversely, the Council could find that the circumstance was beyond the owners control or knowledge and when notified of the problem resident acted quickly to rectify the problem. An adjustment then could be made to the billing by Council consensus but in no i case would it be up to 50% of the bill. � The Village Water Department is one of the largest profit centers in our Village. In cases such as those mentioned above why not charge the party, where Council agrees and approves exigent circumstances, the cost of the water produced by the Village. It's a win-win situation where the Village gets its cost of � water production and the resident receives a reasonable adjustment. Again, if the Village of Tequesta is i really different from other municipalities, as we like to tout, and we really want to take great care of our citizenry, why not go above and beyond to really serve and help the residents of our Village. � .. In the past, I assisted with making policies decisions for our Village, as well as the Town of Jupiter and in � my own private business. Whenever the opportunity presented itself I would always put myself in the � place of the person seeking relief, an ordinance change or any other request that would come before � me. In this case, that person is me and you have an opportunity to put yourself in my place. Either way, � I will pay the appropriate fee, but in the future, so that this will not happen to any other unsuspecting � resident, make a policy change that is fair for all. ° I appreciate you taking the time to read my request and thank you for taking this possible resolution into consideration. I will wait to hear from you and if needed, I will come to the next Council meeting with my suggestion. Thank you. In go hea , , I ' s j , � � i „ � ' 4 ^ . 2 � �� ij Village of Tequesta �� Work Order Form I� 090916015 LO99e�I B�/ Renee Rebecchi � 0/09 201�6 02:3k PM tatUS Closed Priority � .-��. Service Type rteactive Begin Date / Time End Date / Time Ftequest DEpOt'tmCllf Water Utllities/Storm Water 09/09/2016 08:00 AM 09/13/2016 09:00 AM Activity Description Gr'oup �istribution Closed By Date Closed Re-Check high / low read for leak Renee Rebecchi 09/15/2016 10:43 AM L000t10I1 �8 LEEWARD CIRCLE D25C1'IptlOfl CHECK METER FOR MOTION OF A LEAK ``^• Assigned To i � i I Work Order Comments: #1052000120 DAN AMERO VERY HIGH READ 561-262-8609 � CHECK F.O.R L�AK ,�-,W REA� ,�Not movin, q�� r �/ l �':�ry k�� U�i � Technician Name and Instructions: � Equipment: : � Material: Time To Complete Task: Meter I/ D#: Previous Meter Read: Current Meter Read: �� 55379458 3550 3550 � — � � l �7�./ j� � ' °� �� ,� � ��- � �� --1( � � 9/28/2016 3:18:24 PM Page 1 of 1 � S � VILLAGEOFTE�UESTA aAOpeatv�n-�-� CIR � . �{ ��o IlfILfT1FSDEPAHTMENT ; 28,LEEw .. : .�_. -. fu�sTCVSSeurL LOCIITED AT. �CY LE SE N i" -"""' U.S, POS7AGE PAD . , � �° "5�8�'�'d6'8izo ; � nfsrcr,u,e�r,cx.a 345TEOUESTADFL , ' pH{�1pTHp.7987 TEOUEST0. 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