Page 8 10 May 1994 The Franklin County Chronicle


Published twice monthly on the 10th and 26th


 Carrabelle City
 from page 1


Phillips wanted to know why the
contractor, Kendrick and Son, had
replaced the roof at the home of
Evelyn Pope while there was still a
portion of rotten wood underneath
it. Also he said he was not sure that
Boots Evans really understood what
she was signing when she said that
the repairs to her house were all
satisfactory. Contractor Joe Webb
did the work on her home. The
commissioners agreed that there
were still some things that were not
completed satisfactorily to them.
Phillips said however, "I am
somewhat reluctant to try to get
anything more done. He added that
the paint job could not even be
considered good. As to the floor
covering he remarked, "It had every
color in the world in it. It looked like
Bonnie's shirt." Referring to
Carrabelle Fire Chief Bonnie Kerr
who had on a multi-colored blouse.
Commissioner Buz Putnal said that
he, too, had inspected the Evans
house and the floor covering was
unsatisfactory to him. He said,


 St. Patrick
 from page 5
George Island residents called the
Dawn Patrol and a chance remark
by George Sorrett, one of its
members and an architect, about a
state historical restoration grant.
Harry Buzzett, another Dawn Patrol
member and St. Patrick's
parishioner, picked up on Sorrett's
remark and, with the aid of
Apalachicola's City Planner,
Johnny Meyers, applied for a state
grant to restore the exterior of the
building while the parishioners
themselves raised the necessary
funding to restore the Interior of
the church.
All the work was done under the
watchful eyes of the St. Patrick's
Restoration Committee composed
of Harry Buzzett, Dot Roasted, and
Marge Solomon, who served as the
committee's chairwoman. The
committee was also responsible for
raising additional funds for interior
restoration and meeting grant
requirements. J. W. Gasklins'
Construction of Tallahassee was
selected as the contractor to restore
the exterior and interior stucco
work, while Mel Livingston
refinished the interior woodwork.
Today, after much work, St.
Patrick's stands pretty much as it
did at its original dedication in
1829, and the entire community
can take pride in the restoration
and rededication of St. Patrick's.


Lanark Water & Sewer
 from page 1


. '...  ..

 .Ji. Phtltp
*.*

\
Jim Phillips


 fireman and district customer Jim
 Bove caused anothersurprise when
 he told Smiley that County
 Commissioner Tom Saunders
 offered Bailey$ 100 per month until
 the debt he owes the district is paid
 off and Bailey refused the offer.
U- "V Bove said that Bailey reportedly
 told Saunders that he wanted $200
 per month.


referring to the contractor, Joe
Webb, "He told her he would buy
her a rug to cover the floor." Putnal
added that the heater had
problems. Webb said that he had
taken this contractor off although
he had previously worked well for
him in other counties.
Phillips repeated a statement he
had made at the previous meeting
saying, "We wound up doing your
(Webb's) ob and I don't like that"
He finally said, "Based on the
discussion I have had with the
three ladies, I move to pay the
$1,800. But notwithstanding
finishing the contract with you, I
arantee that the next one won't
 this way."
He then wanted to know about the
houses that had been contracted
in the second round. "Why is work
being started ifwe (commissioners)
have not approved the bids?" he
questioned. Webb said it was
normal for him to let out the bids.
However the commissioners
disagreed, saying that they let the
other bids. Webb said that he did
work for many other places and it
was normal for him to take care of
the bids. Phillips responded that it
might be normal for him but it
certainly was not normal for
Carrabelle.
Work has been started on the home
of Chapman (Chappie) Gray. Buz
Putnal said, "Chappie's house was
awfully mildewed. They wasted
paint. It is just going to fall off. It is
good money being thrown away.
pray paint or brush, you can't get
a good coat of paint unless you
clean it first" It seemed to Phillips
that Webb did not have any
satisfactory answers and he said,
"I still don't have an answer as to
why these people were allowed to
bid, when you knew we were
dissatisfied."
It was pointed out that the city
signs the checks and is ultimately
responsible for the work. Phillips
said he was dissatisfied with Webb
and his inspector Carl Obert. He
said that Webb seemed to routinely
disregard the commissioners.
Phillips then called for a special
meeting to be held just to discuss
the issues, his final question was
directed at the city attorney. "Can
we fire the administrator?" The
answer from Webster was, "Yes."
No date was set for the meeting.
Mark Householder, as
representative for the firm7 of
Baskerville and Donovan,
presented the commission with
permits to continue work on the
parking apron at.the airport. He
also presented another bill for
engineering work done by the firm.
The bills amounted to $2,425.53
and were disputed by both
commissioner Jim Phillips and City
Attorney Bill Webster. These bills
were to cover work done by the
engineering firm on alleged
violations of wetlands of the Corps
of Engineers (COE), who had
stopped work until the conditions
were corrected.
The original estimate made by
Baskervflle and Donovan was that
it would cost $2,000.00. Bill
Webster said that he thought the
total looked as ifitwould be around
$10,000. The total amount that
has been spent on the apron project
since its inception is a preliminary
paymentof $8,250 when the project
started, then another $9,375 has
been paid out for trying to get the
dispute with Corps of Engineers
settled. There are outstanding
invoices that would bring the total
up to$l 1,800.66. Householderwas
not able to comment on the latest
bill. The final decision was to table
the matter until it could be
discussed with James Waddell, also
of Baskerville and Donovan.


Bailey reported at the 22 February
meeting that he had attended a
preliminary hearing in the Franklin
County Small Claims Court that
same day concerning the debt
Saunders owes the district Bailey
said that Coun Judge Van Russell
suggested that Baley and Saunders
meet privately to see if a payment
agreement could be worked out,
but Bailey said at the 22 February
water and sewer meeting that
Saunder's payment proposal "was
completely unsatisfactory." Smiley
was noticeably surprised by Bove's
report and said that he was not
aware of Saunder's offer to Bailey;
but Smiley added that Saunder's
offer could be "a delay tactic" and
that there still would be no
guarantee that full payment would
made, whereas garnishee would
guarantee that the LVW&SD would
receive payments every month.
Saunders' debt to the district
involves water and sewer services
for a business and a home that
Saunders owned in LanarkVillage.
Bove asked Smiley to "get in touch
with Saunders." Smiley turned
toward the board members and
said that if the board wanted to
direct him to contact Saunders he
would, but several people were
talking at the same time and
Smiley s request to the board for a
directive went unanswered. Smiley
had just begun his report on the
status of the district's efforts to
collect the debt from Saunders
through garnisheementwhen Bove
stood and disclosed Bailey's refusal
of Saunders' offer.
YANCEY- COMES UNDER FIRE
Commissioner Greg Yancey came
under fire when the minutes of the
22 February meeting were read
stating that Yancey was present at
the February meeting. Jim Bove
reminded Bailey that this was
discussed on 22 March with Bailey,
when no one showed up for the
scheduled meeting except Bailey.
The Franklin County Chronicle was
represented at both the February
and March meetings, and Yancey
was not present at either meeting.

Yancey was also questioned about
his alleged failure to file Florida
Ethics Commission Form 4-A, a
disclosure of business
transactions, relationships, or
Interests. A district customer said
that the forms are to be filed with
the governing agency, which is the
Lanark Village Water & Sewer
District, but that none were on file
for Yancey anywhere as of 26
April.
The customer requested that
someone on the board tell herwhere
the form was sent, since no record
of it can be found. Smiley said that
he felt that Yancey was not in
violation and that he (Smiley) will
review the matter. Yancey recently
purchased W&W Treatment
Services and said that he has talked
to two attorneys about his
ownership of the treatment service
and his position of LVW&SD
Commissioner. Yancey said he has
been advised that there is no
problem, and he added that he is
not employed by the LVW&SD "in
any way, form, or fashion."

BAILEY CALLS TIME OUT!
Bailey hastily called for a 5-minute
recess at 8:45 P.M. to allow hot
tempers to cool off after a shouting
match, which involved invitations
to go outside and fight, erupted
between Sparks and several
customers. This particular ruckus
started when a customer remarked
that the board was supposed to
oversee the manager, Bailey, "but
here, the manager oversees the
board, and elected members sit
and listen!"


The board was admonished by it's
own customers to discuss district
business "tonight, at the meeting"
and not after the board meeting.
Discussion had been centering on
the fact that several Lanark Village
residents are still not hooked up
for water service even though they
are within 200-250 feet of the main
water line. When Bailey was asked
why one potential customer who
owns two trailers was not hooked
up, Bailey replied that "we just
haven't got around to it."

Exasperated customers at' the
meeting told Bailey that the district
needs the revenue that new hook-
ups would provide and that the
district only needs to send letters
to the potential customers advising
them that they have 60 days to
hook up. Customers at the meeting
also said that the district must
furnish the sewer if a residence is
located within 200-250 feet of the
main. Smiley was in agreement
,with customers at the meeting and
said he had provided Bailey with
letters regarding the matter and
had advised Bailey, "we need to
hook up."
WATER ANALYSIS RESULTS
Bailey reported that lead and copper
did not exceed the action level and
that results of asbestos tests taken
in February show that the asbestos
level falls below detectable limits.
Bailey said that future asbestos
testing will be done "as regulations
demand." Bailey reported at the 22
February meeting that testing for
asbestos levels in the system was a
new requirement of the Department
of Environmental Regulation for
districts that use asbestos cement
pipes, and that when the districts
main water line was contracted in
1977,. water commissioners had a
choice of using PVC or asbestos
cement pipes, and that asbestos
"was believed to be the best stuff
then."
'In a telephone interview on 3 March,
Michael LeRoy, a professional
engineer with the Florida
Department of Environmental
Regulation, said that the Water
Bacteriological Analysis tests tell
DER whether or not there is a
corrosion problem in the pipes and
that the tests are done every nine
years because the corrosion process
is very slow. Samples must contain
less than 7 million fibers perliter of
water, and those 7 million fibers
must be greater than 10 microns in
length, according to LeRoy. If the
water is deficient of calcium
carbonate, the calcium carbonate
contained in asbestos cement has
the potential to dissolve, releasing
the asbestos fibers into the water.,
"So far, we have not seen this
happen in Florida," LeRoy said,
and added that asbestos cement is
widely used and is very good
material for pipes, "strong, does
not corrode easily, and has a long
life." If the water is corrosive and
eats the cement away, fibers could
be dropped into the water, but
LeRoy said that after one year of
testing the State of Florida has not
noticed a problem in reports
received here. LeRoy said that
asbestos cement itself poses no
danger.

SPARKS GIVES FINANCIAL
REPORT
Commissioner Sparks, who is also
board treasurer, reported revenue
of$17,061, with $17,500 budgeted;
expenses totaled $17,766, with
$17,500 budgeted; total restricted
funds were $120,970; total
unrestricted funds were $51,946;
and total funds in the bank,
$69,024. Contacted by telephone
on Thursday, 28 April, Sparks said
this report given at the 26 April
meeting is "all for the month of
March, and does not include the
month of February which would
have been reported at the 22 March
meeting if there had been one.
The next regular meeting of the
Lanark Village Water & Sewer
District is scheduled for Tuesday
24 May, at 7:30 P.M. at Chilas Hall.


I


 Tom Adams Intervenes
 from page 1
observations and knowledge of local issues from environmental,
historical and social perspectives, and included people experienced
and competent in community planning, environmental issues, and
other resources appropriate to the deliberative processes of the hearing.
Adams cited instances of unresolved issues involving waste water
treatment, storm water run off, ground water, surface water and
possible degradation ofApalachicola Baywaters, in pointing to testimony
of representatives of the Department of Environmental Protection and
the Department of Community Affairs.
The Adams petition ended with brief identifications of site-specific
problems with the commercial development including the plan to
relocate Leisure Lane, the only through road to the western end of St.
George Island, the placement of roads at right angles to the beach
(prohibited in the Development Order under certain circumstances);
population concentrations near the airstrip; the proximity of the
commercial development to Nick's Hole, an environmentally sensitive
area; flooding; and the State's interest in acquiring adjacent sites to
Nick's Hole and the airport, and perhaps Pelican Point.
The case (APP-94-023) has been assigned to Administrative Hearing
Officer P. Michael Ruff. All parties are to confer on possible hearing
dates, still to be determined.


 Daniels
 from page 1
criminal appeals within the 32-
county area comprising the First
District Court of Appeal, when
requested by the applicable public
defender. The Office of the Public
Defender employed 85 people at
December 31, 1993, to perform
the duties of office."'
The Office of the Public Defender,
Second Judicial Circuit, was
funded by State appropriations
for the 1992-93 and 1993-94 fiscal
years, respectively, pursuant to
Chapters 92-293 and 93-184,
Laws of Florida, the General
Appropriations Acts. The following
is a summary of released
appropriations by appropriation
category for the 1992-93 fiscal
year:
 Appropriation Amount
 Category Released
Salaries and Benefits $3,474,956
Other Personal Services 27,848
Expenses 219,116
Operating Capital Outlay 39,529
Special Category:
Public Defenders Law Library 26,590
Total $3,788,039
As required by Section 27.54(3),
Florida Statutes, the counties
which comprise the Second
Judicial Circuit provided facilities
and services to the Office of the
Public Defender. These facilities
and services included office space,
utilities, telephone service,
custodial services, and funds for
the rental of private office space...
The objectives of this audit did not
include the expression of an
opinion on the comparison of
budgeted with actual expenditures
and commitments, which is
presented on the basis specified
in Chapter 216, Florida Statutes,
and includes several elements and
accounts relating to the Office's
budgetary operations. Therefore,
an independent auditor's report
on the budgetary comparison, as
contemplated by Statement on
Auditing Standards No. 62, Special
Reports is not included herein.

RELATED AUDITS
Our audit did not extend to an
examination of the Office of the
Public Defender's financial
statements as of and for the fiscal

year ended 30 June 1993. On 12
January 1994, this Office issued
audit report No. 12224, with
accompanying general purpose
financial statements presenting
the financial position of the State
of Florida at 30 June 1993, the
results of its operations, and the
cash flows of its proprietary fund
types and nonexpendable trust
nd for the fiscal year then ended.
The Office of the of the Public Defender
is an integral part of the reporting
entity of the State of Florida. The
financial information relative to
the Office of the Public Defender
was included by the State
Comptroller in the general purpose
financial statements that
accompany that report.

On 18 October 1993, this Office
issued audit report No. 12176,
presenting the results of our audit
of the Justice Administrative
Commission for the period I
January 1992 through 31
December 1992, and selected
actions taken through June 30,
1993. The Commission, created
in the judicial branch of Florida
pursuant to Section 43.16(1),
Florida Statutes, is responsible
for providing administrative
services and assistance to the
various Judicial agencies of the
State. The administrative services
primarily pertain to processing
receipt and disbursement
transactions in the State
Automated Management
Accounting Subsystem (SAMAS),
maintaining payroll and position
records in the Cooperative
Personnel Employment System
(COPES), compiling and
processing budgets, and providing
assistance with issues related to
information management
systems.
PRIOR AUDIT FINDINGS
For those programs, activities, and
functions and classes of
transactions within the scope of
audit, the Office of the Public
Defender has substantially
corrected the deficiencies noted
in audit report No. 11771.


Serving

 All/

 Faiths




 The

 Delicate

 Touch

 We have the
 Greatest
 Respect
 for your
 thoughts,
 feelings
 and wishes


 ...no matter where you are-
 ours is a service you can trust.
 KELLEY FUNERAL HOME
 KELLEY-RILEY FUNERAL HOME
 serving all of Franklin County
 653-2208 697-3366


 NOW IS THE TIME TO
 SUBSCRIBE TO THE

 FRANKLIN COUNTY

 CHRONICLE

The Chronicle is published twice monthly. Mailed
subscriptions within Franklin County are $15
($15.90 including tax) for one year, or 24 issues.
The out-of-county rate is $21.20 including taxes.
All issues mailed in protective Kraft envelopes.

 Subscriber

 Address

 City State

 Zip

 Telephone

 Basic subscription, 24 issues.

 lI Out of County

 W In County
 Franklin County Chronicle
 Please send this form to: Post Office Box 590
 Eastpoint, Florida 32328
 904-927-2186 or 904-3854003


 Brown Pre-Filed Testimony
 from page 4
The Northwest Florida Water Management District is requiring that we
perform a hydrological study of the Eastpoint area as a condition of our
continued drawdown of water from our three wells at Eastpoint. According
to the water management district, we are already exceeding our consumptive
use permit allocation by at least 10%. So, this study will have to be done
during 1994. The estimated cost of this study is $45,000.
Regarding Account 642, Rental Equipment, we have an arrangement with
our operations manager. Hank Garrett, under which we lease the backhoe
which he purchased forour use and benefit We need a backhoe on a full time
basis, and this arrangement with Mr. Garrett has resulted in a substantial
savings over what we paid when we were renting the backhoe from Beard
Equipment.
Regarding Account 650, Transportation Expenses, we have determined over
theyears thatitis much more costeffective for the utility to require employees
to have a vehicle as a condition of their employment with an auto allowance
rather than the utility trying to own and maintain a fleet of vehicles. The
transportation allowances set forth in our revised MFR's are reasonable and
necessary for the various employees to perform their duties, and this has
resulted in a savings to the utility as compared with the expense we would
incur if vehicles were owned and maintained by the utility.
Regarding the various Insurance Accounts 656, 657,658 and 659, we do not
need vehicle insurance per se because of our arrangement with the utility
company employees requiring them to own and maintain their own vehicles.
However, we must have general liability, workers' compensation and property
insurance to properly protect the interest of the utility and its customers. We
had such insurance at the time of the hurricanes in 1985, which enabled us
to repair the damaged pipe across the bridge within a matter of days. Because
of the availability of this insurance, we were back in service faster than the
other utilities on the Island. However, without insurance at that time, I do not
know howwe would have been able to cover the substantial cost of repairing
the damage to our transmission line across the bridge and causeway. The
insurance quotes set forth in our revised MFR's are reasonable, and we must
have this insurance to comply with the law and to properly protect the
interests of both the utility and all of its customers.
Regarding Account Number 670, Bad Debt Expense, we have determined
that our uncollectible accounts at 12/31/92 were $6,276.13, which has
been written off as of the end of 1992. One of our main problems in operating
the utility company is that many houses remain vacant for substantial
periods of time before they are sold, or between customers. Under the


Commission rules, we are not allowed to collect the old debt Irom the new
owner or new customer, which accounts for significant losses through bad
debts eachyear. Also, under the Commission rules, we are required to refund
deposits based upon the customer's payment record. However, in many
cases, we are still left with a bad debt when the customer's account is closed,
since the deposit has already been refunded in accordance with the
Commission rules.
RegardingAccount675, Miscellaneous Expenses, we have made an adjustment
to provide for a cellular phone to be used by our operations manager, Hank
Garrett, on the Island, as well as one-half of the cost of my cellular phone.
In my opinion, these phones are necessary for the utility to be properly
operatedwith no outages. On at least two occasions since Mr. Garrett and
I obtained our cellular phones, we have communicated during times of
emergencies by using these cellular phones. In both cases, the phones may
well have made the difference between an outage and remaining in service,
which we were able to do. Also, on a daily basis, we are able to reach and
communicate with Mr. Garrett, and all of the utility personnel are able to
reach and communicate with me by using the cellular phone. I believe these
phones are reasonable and necessary, and that an adjustment should be
made to cover their costs, which was not fully covered during the test year
because both phones were not available during all of 1992.
Because of the constant communication and paper flow required between the
Tallahassee office and the Island office, the Island office badly needs a fax and
copy machine. Accordingly, we have agreed to rent these items, which is an
adjustment to our 1992 test year when we did not have a fax or copy machine
on the Island. This expense is necessary, and I believe it is reasonable and
should be allowed.
The cost of filing the limited partnership annual reports with the Florida
Secretary of State's Office is greater than the amount reported during the
1992 test year.
I assisted our consultant, Frank Seidman, in preparing MFR's filed in this
case. Although I am not familiar with all the MFR's in detail, I have reviewed
all of the costs and adjustments, including the proforma items, and I believe
they' re all reasonable and necessary if this utility is to maintain its ability
to provide safe and adequate water service on St. George Island. Since the last
rate case, the utility company employees and I have worked diligently to meet
all of the governmentally imposed requirements, and to provide safe and
reliable water service which is our ongoing responsibility. However, we can
continue to meet this responsibility only if we obtain a revenue increase
sufficient to meet our operating expenses, and to provide a reasonable return
on the investment by the utility company owners. The utility has no other
source of revenue, and it is impossible to continue operations with the losses
we have been experiencing since this company has been in business. In my
opinion, the revenue increase requested in this rate case is absolutely
necessary for St. George Island Utility Company to continue meeting its
obligation toprovide safe and reliable water service to its customers on St.
George Island.
9. Does that conclude your testimony?
A. Yes. It does.


- --
.A


4fdkk