Columbia County Observer

Fort White Water – Keeping County as Public Water System Operator for Now: 'There is much more than meets the eye'

September 19, 2024  6:20 am | 8 min read
Updated: 12:50 pm.; 9:50 pm

By Stew Lilker

Photo: Maxime Bouffar via Unsplash | Columbia County Observer graphic

FORT WHITE, FL – Monday evening in Fort White, the Fort White water took center stage. The question to be answered: Who will be providing water to Fort White – Fort White, or Columbia County?

Providing water to the Town is so important to the County that it pays Fort White $25,000 a year to be its Public Water System (PWS) operator. This year’s County payment is due by October 1.

The Fort White Town Council played to a full house on Monday. Commissioner Rocky Ford is at the microphone.

Fort White is 497% of the County’s Utility Customers

A look at the County roster of utility customers shows that Fort White holds the key to the County’s dreams of grandeur and a viable utility authority. As of July 2024 (it is unknown what day in July), Columbia County had three-hundred-fifty-two utility customers. Of those, two-hundred-ninety-three were Fort White Customers, and fifty-nine were County customers.

Fort White is 497% of the County’s utility customer base. That is the basis of the $25k a year payment from the County to Fort White. The County needs those numbers to be creditable and pays for them.

Commissioner Rocky Ford:
Using Facebook and County Stationary

Policy expert Jacqui Sulek summarizes the issues here

Commissioner Rocky Ford has been posting memos on Facebook using the County Letterhead to support his position on the County utility business. Mr. Ford’s missives give the impression that the communications are County-sanctioned. They are not, and they portray a false message that Mr. Ford's words come from the County.

It is unknown who is writing these documents for Mr. Ford. Facebook is not news.

Purpose of the Large Gathering in Fort White

The purpose of the Monday Town Council meeting was two-fold. One: to gather public input on the water relations between Fort White and the County. Two: the Council was to decide whether to stay with the County operating its Public Water System or to withdraw from the Interlocal Agreement, which gave the County the power to operate the PWS.

A Contingent of County Officials Showed Up for the Meeting

Shortly after the meeting kicked off, Fort White Mayor Ronnie Frazier invited Commissioner Ford to the microphone.

Commissioner Ford reads his take on the County-Town utility events.

Commissioner Ford addressed the gathering, “We’re here tonight to address the water in Fort White and what we can do to make improvements to the water in Fort White.

The "we" appeared to be the County contingent attending the meeting: Commissioner Ford, Commissioner Tim Murphy, County Manager David Kraus, Asst. County Manager Kevin Kirby, and North Florida Professional Services President, engineer Greg Bailey.

Commissioner Ford explained that the Town-County water relationship began in 2019 after Mayor Frazier was elected. Mr. Ford summarized a news article (Fort White Water Woes: A Municipal Water System That Is a Disaster Waiting To Happen) explaining that after a meeting of the legislative delegation in 2019, in which the Mayor and Commissioner Ford addressed the delegation, the Town was awarded $1,000,000.

The County decided to run a water line from Ellisville to Fort White (down U.S. 441 to CR 18 (past a Rocky Ford planned subdivision) and hook into the Town's water plant for distribution of the Ellisville water.

Mr. Ford said, "There has been a problem with the water in Fort white for several years, after which he read an unsigned memo that he had sent to the Town on September 12.

The memo was on County stationery (problematic -- this was not a memo from the County Commission) and gave Commissioner Ford's take on the history and necessity of the Ellisville to Fort White water line.

Nowhere in Mr. Ford's eight-minute presentation was there any mention of waterline alternate routes or that an alternate route and well-field would have saved about $2 million and had better water than is available coming from Ellisville. The major difference in the route was that the water line did not run past Mr. Ford's planned subdivision in Fort White.

Citizens Weigh In
Over 15 citizens came to the microphone

Lonnie Harrell addresses the Town Council.

Fort White resident Lonnie Harrell came to the microphone. He said, "In my opinion, decisions were made a long time ago that haven't even been put in place. Water hasn't even gotten here from Ellisville. To have concerns about the quality of water before it even gets here and gets tested – this is kind of a head scratcher to me.... It is in the best interest of the Town of Fort White to move forward with the plans with the County.”

Mr. Harrell was opposed to saving the Town’s well if it meant putting additional financial burden on the residents of Ft. White.

Fact: Fort White collects no taxes from the Town's residents. The Town's revenue comes from the state and grants.

Resident Marty Mosler wanted to know, "Will I have to hook up to the city water?"

Mayor Frazier explained that the Town passed an availability fee, and as long as that fee was paid, one did not have to hook up to the Town's water.

Mayor Frazier did not ask folks to give their full name when speaking.

Jennifer (last name not given) addresses the Town Council.

Jennifer told the Council she has lived in Ft. White for two-ish years. "I had no idea that I was coming into a Town with dirty water," she said, adding that she wanted to see reports of the water quality in both Ellisville and Fort White.

Fort White's water is discolored. While discolored water may be safe to drink, Fort White's water has issues and may not be safe to drink for some people. Fort White's 2023 annual Drinking Water Quality Report is here. (See the bottom of page 3 for Disinfection By-Products (DBPs) issues.

Resident John Allen said, “For many, many years, this Town has had bad water. I've seen the County step up. That's the water at the fire hydrants, flush 'em, put new meters in -- trying to do what they can for this Town... I think we are passing judgment too soon on the County... Let's hook up the line.”

Brandon King explains his yellow water in Ellisville.

Ellisville resident Brandon King:  “I'm not a resident of the Town of Fort White. I am a resident of Ellisville. Built my house a year ago. I can tell you that the issues coming from the Ellisville water is a big concern. It smells like rotten eggs; it's got discoloration; it's ruined some of my brand-new -- my dishwasher; my icemaker has yellow ice in it. You name it -- it's a problem... I can tell you – I was forced to tap into that water. I'm very unhappy.

Brad Dicks did't know why the Town Council was meeting to discuss the water issues.
Mr. Dicks said he gets his news from Facebook.

Future Fort White resident Brad Dicks, a big-time County developer, came to the microphone. He said he didn't know, "Why we are here." ... "I hope we get the County water the day DEP gives the thumbs up because we need it."

Mayor Frazier: “You didn't know why we were here?”

Mr. Dicks:  “No. I've seen it in the paper. I don't know why we are here. I thought we were gettin' – only through Facebook.”

Fort White resident and Rocky Ford’s daughter Kelly Bishop:  “My name is Kelly, and I live in the city limits of Fort White... (Ms. Bishop explained that she posted a picture on Facebook of her bathtub filled with brown-colored Fort White water. "It's just the color of our water. It's hard for us to have to pay for that."

Mayor Frazier said the Town appreciated what the County has done for Fort White, adding, “The County has us over a barrel.”

Mayor Frazier makes a point.

From the audience, Commissioner Ford interrupted, "Are you going to allow the County to respond to what you just said?" Mr. Ford was never authorized to articulate the County’s position.

Mayor Frazier said he wasn't done speaking. He explained that he was in contact with DEP, and a meeting was being arranged where the Town and the County would sit down with DEP to further explore the status of the Town's wells after the Ellisville pipeline to Fort white becomes operational in the Town.

Following Commissioner Ford’s footsteps, developer Brad Dicks spoke out from the audience, "I bought a house in this city based upon y'all previous decision to hook up to that line (the line from Ellisville).

North Florida Professional Service’s (NFPS) Greg Bailey
'You can keep your wells'

Mayor Frazier invited NFPS President Greg Bailey to the microphone.

NFPS's Greg Baily addresses the Council.

Greg Baily: “I just want to clarify some of the talk about DEP. The water plant belongs to the Town of Fort White. You've contracted to the County to operate it. You're still the owners of that plant. DEP wants to make sure you have safe water, and it is being done according to their regulations.”

“You don't have to get rid of the wells if that's not what you want to do... The line coming from Ellisville is treated water at Ellisville... color is not something that DEP regulates. You can have safe water and it not be clear.”

Councilman Bill Koon asked, “Can we keep the wells and bring in the County water?”

Greg Bailey answered, “You can do that.”

Mayor Frazier said, “We're ok with the water coming in.”

County Manager David Kraus Explains

County Manager Kraus:  “I'm David Kraus. I'm with Columbia County. The testing records by DEP are all public records. You can pull them up online.”

Mr. Kraus said as long as the interlocal agreement [between the County and Town] stays in effect the Town is not buying water from the County. The customers get billed directly by the County. The only reason the Town would ever buy water from the County is if they chose not to have the County manage their plant.

An unidentified citizen said, "Everyone is showing pictures of their bath water. You guys (County) are here trying to sell your point, which is why we need to hook up with you. Why don't you guys bring records to show us the test results?”

Mr. Kraus said, “I don't know that the County put pictures on Facebook.”

The unidentified citizen said, "The County didn't, but Rocky Ford did. He put pictures of water up.”

Resident Bill Frizeto came to the microphone, “We put a $5,000 water treatment system in our house. The water comes out crystal clear. What concerns me is the water quality. I think that's the core issue.”

Fort White Resident and Policy Expert Jacqui Sulek Condensed the Issues: “We have a little bit more homework to do.”

Jacqui Sulek addresses the Council.

Fort White resident and policy expert Jacqui Sulek came to the microphone and was recognized.

“I'm Jacqui Sulek. I live in the Town of Fort White. I think this whole water issue is much more complicated than most of us would like to believe. There are consumptive use permits. There are chemicals – most of the chemicals that are in our water are man-made chemicals, not chemicals that come from the earth. And if you pay attention to our water reports, they have gotten better.”

“If you look at the contaminants, the water from Ellisville has three. Our water only has two... right now, the water is as good as it has been, and with a few adjustments... we can actually achieve even more.”

“The big problem is the whole system, the trust, and the complexity of the problems... I think we have a little bit more homework to do.”

The Town Council Acts

For the time being, the Town Council voted to keep the ILA with Columbia County in effect.

By October 1, the County owes the Town $25,000 to continue with the Interlocal agreement which gives the County the authority to continue to provide public water service to Fort White.

Update: Sept. 19, 2024: included link to 2023 Annual Fort White-Columbia County Drinking Water Report.
Update: Sept 19, 2024: changed smart quote to straight quote.