CCWWA Minutes 11/15/2021 Nov. 15, 2021
MINUTES OF THE COLLIER COUNTY
WATER AND WASTEWATER AUTHORITY MEETING
Naples, Florida, Nov. 15, 2021
LET IT BE REMEMBERED, the Collier County Water and Wastewater Authority in
and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at
2:00 P.M. in REGULAR SESSION at the Collier County Growth Management
Department Building Conference Room 609/610, 2800 N. Horseshoe Drive, Naples,
Florida, with the following members present:
CHAIRMAN: Patricia Sherry
VICE-CHAIRMAN: Eloy Ricardo
Ruchi Arora (excused)
Dr. Sherwin Ritter
Eugene Wordehoff
ALSO PRESENT: Ken Kovensky, Director, Operations and Regulatory Management
Rady Edreva, Finance & Operations Manager, Operations and
Regulatory Management
,iosie Kostadinova, Senior Budget & Management Analyst,
Operations and Regulatory Management
Heidi Ashton-Cicko, Managing County Attorney
Tammy Smith, Manager, Ave Maria Utility Company
Nov. 15, 2021
I. Call to Order(Determination of Quorum) and Roll Call
Chairman Sherry called the meeting to order at 2:00 PM. Roll call was taken, and a quorum \vas
established.
11. Approval of Agenda — Meeting of Nov. 15, 2021
Chairman Sherri' i;io ved to approve the agenda. Second by Mr. Wordehaf f.' Carried
unanimously 4-0.
Ill. Approval of Minutes— Meeting of April 19, 2021
Chairman Sherry moved to approve the minutes of the April 19, 2021, meeting as presented.
Second by Mr. Ritter. Carried unanimously 4-0.
IV. Items Requiring Action by the Authority
A. Ave Maria Utility Company revisions to miscellaneous service charges and meter-
installation fees
Mr. Kovensky presented the revisions for consideration. Ave Maria Utility Company submitted
a petition to modify some of its miscellaneous service charges on August 16, 2021. Final
revisions ended up differently from what they started with.
Mr. Kovensky noted that:
• Currently, the utility is charging actual cost of meter installation for meters that are 2
inches or higher. The utility feels that for the other meter sizes, the installation fees do
not adequately cover costs due to materials and labor cost increases, so it is asking to
charge actual costs for all meter sizes.
• The utility was initially going to add a flow-test fee and charge $165 for the service.
However, after numerous conversations, it was determined the flow-test fee was the same
as the bench-test fee, which already is covered in the tariff, so there are no changes to
add the bench-test cost.
• The utility is looking to increase fees for backflow prevention violations and
disconnection fees, meter-tampering fees, and unauthorized meter-use fees from $75 to
$250. They say the fees do not cover their actual costs, so they want to cover costs and
discourage violations. The utility has seen an increase in activity and wants to add that
cost to meter-tampering fees to keep costs similar among all fees.
• Plan-review fees: The utility currently is allowed to charge developers 3% for a review
fee. They are using the County's fee schedule for the 3% fee broken down to the
"Construction Document Review" fee of 0.75% and "Construction Inspection" fee of
2.25%. Instead of charging the maximum rate of 10%, according to the Florida Public
Service Commission, the utility will adopt charges from the County's fee schedule. As a
result, they have added two new charges—an "Insubstantial change to SDP or SIP," and
an additional charge for"Project Phasing."
• Miscellaneous fees to align wastewater fees with water fees: The original tariff from
2004 or 2005 for water and wastewater were not aligned. As a result, the utility is adding
similar fees and charges that exist in water to duplicate them in the wastewater tariff,
specifically the service-problem ID charge, autopay fee, PayPal fee, and late-fee charges.
• If approved, the Authority would be asked to approve Final Order 2021-02.
Mr. Ricardo moved to approve the Ave Maria Utility Company revisions. Second by
Chairman Sherry. Carried 4-0.
V. Staff Discussion
2
Nov. 15, 2021
A. Ave Maria Utility Company Developer Agreements
Mr. Kovensky reported that there are 393 ERCs (Equivalent-Residential Connections) due to
four new developer agreements: Maple Ridge Phase 7A, Avalon Park Phase 4, Del Webb Parcel
205-208, and National Golf& Country Club Phase 3 Single-Family Residential, which all total
393 ERCs. This item is for informational purposes.
No action is required by the Authority.
B. Ave Maria Utility Company Notice of Tariff Updates
Mr. Kovensky reported that on August 11, 2021, .Ave Maria Utility Company came forward
with a petition to apply Year 5 out of five pre-authorized rate increases to its tariff. This is the
fifth year since they came forward in 2016, which resulted in Final Order 2017-01.
Mr. Kovensky noted:
• Each phase was based on a 5% annual increase plus the annual price index increase
adopted by the Florida Public Service Commission—and for each of the first four years,
25% of their rate-case expense.
• Because it has been pre-approved, the utility is not required to file a petition with the
Authority. However, because the price index is variable from year to year, the County
insists that the utility file a petition so staff' could ensure that the calculations and
methodology used are appropriate and accurate.
• The utility used the current Public Service Commission Price Index, adopted by Final
Order 2021-01, 1.17%. As a result, rate increases were 5.66% for water services and
5.58% for wastewater.
No action is required by the Authorio•
VI. Open to Public
No public comment
VII. Authority Members Discussion
Mr. Wordehoff asked if the Ave Maria Utility Company could provide electronic copies of its
FDEP operating permits for water and wastewater. Tammy Smith. an Ave Maria Utility Company
manager, said she would provide them to the Authority.
Mr. Kovensky said Ave Maria came in with another petition last week, but there was not enough
time for it to be processed and included in today's agenda, so another meeting will be held next
month. It involves lowering fees based on rate-case expense-amortization that occurred.
There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned by the
order of the Chair at 2:14 P.M.
COLLIER COUNTY WATER AND WASTEWATER
AUTHORITY
Patricia Sherry, Chairman 1
> ` 0�
TheseV
Minutes were approved by the Authority ity on . as presented , or as
amended