11/24/1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

BOOK FAGS 11 17 HERITAGE VILLAGE MOBILE HOME PARK The Board reviewed memo from County Attorney Charles Vitunac dated November 17, 1992: TO: Board of County Commissioners FROM: Charles P. Vitunac, County Attorney DATE: November 17, 1992 RE: HERITAGE VILLAGE MOBILE HOME PARK In 1974 the County Commission entered into a franchise with the owner of Heritage Village for the provision of water and sewer services to the properties included in the Village. By Section XX of that franchise, the owner and the Board agreed that the franchise would continue in force until such time as the County installed its own sewage collection and treatment system, at which time the owner would convey all of its facilities, except for the sewage treatment plant and plant site, to the County without charge . With the construction of the County wastewater system,\ the Department of Utility Services began trying in September, 1989, to reach an agreement concerning the connection of the park to the County utility system. After numerous meetings, the owner and the County entered into an agreement on April 4,. 1991, detailing the conditions of the connection requirement. A copy of this agreement is attached to this memo. Paragraphs IV and V of the agreement concern water and sewer connection requirements. The water meter billing would be used as a basis for wastewater charges. Paragraph VI of the agreement concerns impact fees and requires that the park owner pay the County water impact fees of $1,294 per ERU and sewer impact fees of $1,417 per ERU or such other fees as the County may later establish pursuant to ordinance. The agreement calls for the sewer impact fees to be paid upon connection to the County wastewater system. After being notified in February 1991 that the County wastewater system was ready to accept service from the park, the park was connected on or about April 1, 1991. A majority of the tenants at the park have life -time leases which require the park owner to pay their water and sewer bills, and a majority of the tenants has refused to pay the County water and sewer bills when asked to do so by the park owner. The park owner's theory is that the charges were governmentally mandated and could, therefore, be passed on to the tenants regardless of any conflicting lease provisions. The result of their dispute has been that neither party has been paying the County water and sewer bills, and the County (as of November 24, 1992,) has approximately $95,000 in outstanding water and sewer bills for the park. Attorney Daniel C. Brown, Tallahassee, stated that he is representing the owners of Heritage Village Mobile Home Park in a dispute concerning water and wastewater connection at Heritage 16