Agenda 09/29/2009 Item # 6C
Agenda Item No. 6C
September 29, 2009
Page 1 of 8
COLLIER COUNTY
OFFICE OF THE COUNTY MANAGER
3301 East Tamiami Trail- Naples, Florida 34112 - (239) 252-8383 - FAX: (239) 252-4010
September 15,2009
Mr. Robert Caulfield
7799 Tommasi Court
Naples. Fl 34114
Re: Public Petition Request to Discuss Water Bill Problem
Dear Mr. Caulfield:
Please be advised that you are scheduled to appear before the Collier County Board of
Commissioners at the meeting of September 29,2009, regarding the above referenced
subject.
Your petition to the Board of County Commissioners will be limited to ten minutes.
Please be advised that the Board will take no action on your petition at this meeting.
However, your petition may be placed on a future agenda for consideration at the
Board's discretion. If the subject matter is currently under litigation or is an on-going
Code Enforcement case, the Board will hear the item but will not discuss the item after it
has been presented. Therefore, your petition to the Board should be to advise them of
your concern and the need for action by the Board at a future meeting.
The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. in the Board's Chambers on the Third Floor of the W.
Harmon Turner Building (Building "Fir) of the government complex. Please arrange to be
present at this meeting and to respond to inquiries by Board members.
If you require any further information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact this
office.
Sincerely,
, ~~~~~.e
Leo E. Ochs, Jr.~::-: .~
Deputy County Manager'-
lEO/jb
cc: Jeffrey Klatzkow, County Attorney
Jim Delony, Public Utilities Administrator
Sep,14-2009 13:30 HEWLETT PACKARD COMPANY 5084674379 Agenda Item No. 6?J3
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. Page'2 of 8
. Reauest to 8DeBk under Public P8titton
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Is u.i8 .ubject mattar under I_tlon at this tim..? Vea' €J
Ie this 8ubjecfmau.r an ongoing Cod. Enforc.m.nt ....1 V_ @
No.: If either aMW8I' is -yes" J the Board will hear the item but wUl have no
dl8cu88ton ....rdtng.1heit8m aftar It Is p~.ntad.
PI.....wn1aln In detaJlthe reason you are requesting to speak (elttBch additional
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PlsBSe emI8In In detaIIthe action you are asking the Commission to take Cattach
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Sep-14,2009 13:30 HEWLETT PACKARD COMPANY 5084674379 Agenda Item No. 6tJ 3
- . __ , ....... I. . September 29, "2009' .
Page 3 of 8
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~ September 14,2009
To: "i':;':' :,t";~>~'-"JI'V'" .
:":_::.:::-';:i:,i_:,:,~,~.lp~;-.>,;_.;", : ' _ ,-
s.~y .~'tJdlrl..li....,.,. Apr8IMIy 2009 Aceomat:M1mlblr: 88M516401
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Ihlgebid~~~~ bltmpMmaa WIdBrMnlr.
- ,<)'j-:';'1' 'Oi}";,,, ]lID . p my
, .' . .,', . .,m Il '-iiIOaIded 35,000 plJaDaof___ ad in
. ~.wsa.OOO""'l My wa1BrhiDryillbaat 1,000
.,
r, . ".' '1DW01k1brcqh,oarCUltomerServioeO&.-;"'vlI'I Wehave
ra1ed 01It ~l1IIIIIiDafacetl. etc. TheIe ill DO way I UIed tbiB much wDr. The high
.. r-~.. have bIm :1bnowad by Zero UIIIp fbrnm 2 montbs, tlummy meter WB8
~ IIDCI I IIIl bIck to nomW coanmption now. 1 WII told earlier by your CuIto.meJ:
Service 1bat wheD a meter: has problem r-dh,p such 81 this. it of1tm.lhuts down, and
slbpI mamdina (which it obvioully did).
.
To ute 58,000 pUno, I WII alto tole! by your Customer Service that a faucet wou1cl have
to be rmmiDa 1br 1 maath cohtIt\ullly, My OU1I1de:ftlucom are vis1'ble from the street,
and would haw beaa.not1ceclruDDiDa for tbat lqtl) of time. The only:faucet DOt visible,
is in the pool.... lftlda ha4 happened from 1he p,ooJ. it would have overf1cnwd and the
~ flom. 1M pool would hawki1led the 81D'1'OUDding grail, which did J20t h8ppeo.
. _.
Since tb8y__~ my metDr, we Wit 1eated, BDCl the test ped'oImed dicl Dot show
a problem. I CClGIeDd that I had 111 iDtmnfttmtt problem with the meter, wbich would not .
bave'~ piDMd.1Ip with the tnditioJ:W beach 1eetiug 1bey do.
.
I don't lr.:I>>Ir........ to tum 8B I have,mas a ~ with your Cu8tomar Service
and 1Dl~...,.1br~ _of'klPBDdhe1p.
obv1O.1J. m!j~J.~ would be to have tbI!lIO 2 months COlt ($1051.86) and cost of
test(S250AJQl.~.
However, in 1icbt of the still unreaolved myatBry, I would be willing to put this behind us,
and spJit:the COlt with Collier County Utilities Billin& which wmud be a refund of * or
$6S3.93.
Beat hprds,
RDbert L C.ulfWd ,
7799 TQD'RIIAti.Court
Naples. PlcxidI.,34114
'. (978) 846-2612 .
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Agenda Item No. 6e
September 29, 2009
Page 4 of 8
MEMORANDUM
September 18, 2009
TO: Board of County Commissioners
FROM: Jim DeLony, Administrator, Public Utilities Division
RE: Public Petition by Mr. Caulfield, September 29,2009
Attached please find documentation supporting staff's conclusions regarding Mr. Caulfield's
metered water consumption.
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Agenda Item No. 6C
September 29, 2009
Page 5 of 8
Caulfield, Robert
7799 Tommasi Drive
Account Number 08060516401
Summary
Mr. Robert Caulfield, of2 Birchwood Drive, Westford, Massachusetts, owns a seasonal home at
7799 Tommasi Court in Verona Walk. Mr. Caulfield's water consumption spiked during April
and May of 2009. Mr. Caulfield contends the meter is inaccurate and that he could not have
possibly used 35,000 gallons in April and 58,000 gallons in May. Multiple meter tests indicate
the meter is functioning properly.
Chronoloev of Events
March 2, 2009: During the normal monthly account review, a utility billing technician identified
unusually high consumption at this service address. She requested a utility technician to check
the meter for indications of a leak: and to physically verify the meter reading. Work Order
200234 was completed on March 3 confirmed the meter reading was correct and that the meter
was not running. There were no indications of a leak:. A letter was sent to the customer advising
him that the consumption appeared to be higher than normal.
March 9, 2009: A customer service representative spoke with Mr. Caulfield and advised him
that a utility technician checked the meter and saw no evidence of a leak.
May 19, 2009: Mr. Caulfield spoke to a customer service representative and told her his
neighbor across the street is watching the house. The customer service representative advised
Mr. Caulfield to ask that his neighbor check the meter reading regularly to determine if water
consumption was continuing.
June 3, 2009: The meter reading today indicated 58,000 of water passed through the meter since
the last reading on May 5. Mr. Caulfield requested a technician perform an on-site 10 gallon
test. Work order 205328 was opened requesting a 10 gallon test which showed the meter to be
functioning accurately.
July 21,2009: After several emails to customer service, Mr. Caulfield requested a bench test be
performed on the meter at a cost of$250 to the customer if the test results indicated a properly
functioning meter. Work order 207916 was opened to order the bench test.
August 12, 2009: Customer Service received the meter test certification dated August 10 from i
i
MARS Company, an independent testing lab. The letter certified that the meter was tested on an
American Water Works Association approved test bench with a gravimetric weight scale system
that is traceable to NlST handbook 4. The result of the test indicated that the meter is
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Agenda Item No. 6e
September 29,2009
Page 6 of 8
functioning at 100.2% accuracy at 25 gallons per minute, 100.9% accuracy at 3 gallons per
minute, and 100.9% accuracy at 0.5 gallons per minute.
August 14,2009: The meter tested accurately and was reinstalled on August 14,2009.
August 26, 2009: Mr. Caulfield emailed Joe Bellone, Manager Utility Billing and Customer
Service, asking that I rectify the April and May consumption readings. He also asked if there
was an intermittent problem with the meter that cannot be tested.
August 26, 2009: Joe Bellone reviewed the consumption history on Mr. Caulfield's account,
noting that the historical consumption is generally very low. Often zero consumption is
registered (meaning that the minimum of 1,000 gallons for billing purposes has not passed
through the meter during the billing cycle), some months register 1,000 gallons, some 2,000
gallons and other-s as much as 20,000 gallons in February 2009, 15,000 in May 2007, 13,000
gallons in March 2007 and 13,000 gallons in February 2006. My email reply to Mr. Caulfield on
August 26 indicated that 58,000 gallons in a billing cycle equates to 1.3 gallons per minute of
consumption, similar to consumption caused by a leaky toilet flap. Joe Bellone also offered an
interest free deferred payment plan to ease the burden of the two high utility bills. However, no
credit or adjustment could be applied to the account as the meter test proved that the water had
passed through the meter. Free water is prohibited by the Special Act of the Florida Legislature
that created the Collier County Water-Sewer District.
August 26, 2009: Mr. Caulfield replied by email to Joe Bellone, asking that a credit to his
account be reconsidered since zero consumption registered in June was a sign that there are
intermittent problems with his meter. Joe Bellone replied explaining that the utility bills in
increments of 1,000 gallons and if fewer than 1,000 gallons were consumed (as was the case
from July 2008 to October 2008, in May 2008, as well as in August and September of 2006),
than the meter read would register zero.
August 26, 2009: Mr. Caulfield also emailed customer service and requested a new meter be
installed. The new master brand meters are capable of recording water consumption by date,
down to the minute the water was passing through the meter.
August 27, 2009: Mr. Caulfield responded by email stating that the July 23 reading again
registered zero and that 53,000 gallons, if consumed at his pool, would have flooded the entire
area. Joe Bellone reported in his return email that a utility technician had been dispatched to Mr.
Caulfield's home to install the new meter. The technician noted that the water was turned off at
the backflow prevention device and that this was likely the reason why no consumption had
registered. Mr. Caulfield in his reply again suggested that the meter was not functioning
properly when it registered 35,000 gallons on the May 5 reading and 58,000 gallons on the June
3 reading. Joe Bellone responded that both the 10 gallon on site test and the bench test both
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Agenda Item No. 6e
September 29,2009
Page 7 of 8
proved the accuracy of the meter and no credit adjustment could be issued to the account since
the tests prove that the water passed through the meter.
August 28, 2009: AIMS issue 4089 was opened seeking help from the Commissioner and the
County Manager.
August 31, 2009: After many staff comments entered to the AIMS issue with no new
information available, the issue was closed. The final comment entered by the Executive Aide
was that Mr. Caulfield would address the Board on September 29,2009 at public petition.
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Agenda Item No. 6C
September 29,2009
Page 8 of 8
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