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Suncoast Pasco News

Aloha Sale To Authority Set To Close Friday

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: February 25, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - The closing of the sale of Aloha Utilities is scheduled for Friday, but controversy might not end even then.

Customers of the privately owned utility have complained for more than a decade about water quality, so many of them supported the $90.5 million sale to the Florida Governmental Utility Authority.

Rates will go up under FGUA to an estimated $88.57 for a typical, monthly bill for water and sewer based on 7,000 gallons in the Seven Springs area.

Aloha had gotten approval about a year ago to charge $76.29 a month, but projected the typical bill could soar to $140.57 if Aloha had remained a private company and installed an expensive water treatment system on wells. FGUA instead has proposed interconnecting with the Pasco County water system within two years.

Just to keep things interesting, however, lawmakers introduced legislation to give the Public Service Commission oversight of FGUA, since PSC sets rates of all other utilities.

So if that proposal passes during the 2009 session of the Legislature, the potential impact on rates is a big question mark.

"On the surface it looks like it would be expensive to ratepayers with an additional layer of bureaucracy," said Michele Baker, chief assistant county administrator for Pasco County. She represents Pasco on the seven-member FGUA board.

Pasco commissioners on Tuesday were scheduled to discuss a resolution against putting FGUA under the PSC umbrella.

"I have the same concerns as the Pasco County commissioners," state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, commented.

FGUA has its own detractors among the two systems it operates in Lee and Collier counties. "FGUA is the devil," Robert Anderson, president of Lehigh Acres Watchdog, wrote bluntly in a Feb. 18 statement.

In the meantime, once the sale is finalized, FGUA will own and operate Aloha. Water and wastewater plant operations, meter reading and customer service will be provided by the FGUA's contractor, US Water Services/WadeTrim. Aloha customers are scheduled to begin receiving their bills directly from the FGUA in March.

A Utility Advisory Committee of customers is part of the FGUA plan. The new owners plan to base a "customer ombudsman" in the local Aloha office as well.

Despite lingering questions, the mood of Aloha customers seemed to be jubilant after a Feb. 19 meeting when the financing was approved for the sale, according to Commissioner Ann Hildebrand.

"It's going to be a red-letter day for customers," Hildebrand remarked. The long-sought improvements will be "better late than never."

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