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Century In $100K Dispute With New Apartment Complex Over Tap Fees
December 20, 2017
The Town of Century and the development company behind a soon to be open 50-unit Century Park Apartments are at odds over just how much it will cost to turn water service on to the complex.
The developer, the non-profit Paces Foundation, tendered a $63,750 check to cover water and sewer connection fees, but that check was returned by the town. Now, according to town consultant Debbie Nickles, the town is seeking a $180,250 connection fee.
And Monday night, the Century Town Council voted 4-1 not to honor the lower amount Paces submitted. Council President Ann Brooks cast the lone dissenting vote.
The $10 million Century Park Apartments complex is scheduled to open with 50 units as early as next month on Second Street, near the Billy G. Ward Courthouse.
Paces contends that the $63,750 submitted was agreed upon during a 2015 meeting with then-Mayor Freddie McCall and Nickles. The only written agreement to come out of that meeting was a handwritten page showing calculations that Paces said were based upon the 2015 rates as published online in the town’s municipal code. The handwritten document also included a proposed fee for natural gas; however, the developer later opted to go all-electric.
“It was agreed to by me, as a representative of the Paces Foundation, and the mayor at the point in time and your town planner. So from that, we had an agreement,” Development Manager Rick Haymond of Paces told the town council.
“So at the time we went by the documentation that was written under the ordinances and your resolutions for the fees,” Nickles told the council. Haymond said he never had a written contract regarding tap fees with a municipality in his 17 years, and had often used published rates available online.
McCall and Nickles (pictured left) do not deny the meeting, nor do they deny the agreement or the approximate $63,000 tap fee.
“The town made a commitment to them. To me, they should do the right thing and honor that commitment,” Nickles said.
Council member Luis Gomez said written documentation and agreements should appear on town letterhead and have signatures. He said the town is attempting to regroup and change the direction of finances in the town.
“The only reason I am objecting so hard is because I took office in February for this seat and at time we were operating totally red. And we are trying to regroup and change the direction of the finances and the budget in the town of Century,” Gomez said.
“I don’t know what else we could have done than to go to the highest officials in the city,” Haymond said, pointing out that the tap fee is the only disputed amount; he said Paces will be subject to all other current water and sewer rates.
Century Water Superintendent Alicia Jernigan (pictured left) said the new apartment complex will be served by a sewage lift station near Pilgrim Lodge Church which has had four recent failures with needed repairs estimated at $50,000. She said the citizens will have to pick up the repair costs.
“Our infrastructure has to be maintained, and our infrastructure is failing, Jernigan said. The failure, she said, is due to low rates and not putting money aside over 30 years to make repairs. “If we can’t handle what is coming through Pilgrim Lodge (lift station) now, how are we going to handle 50 more units? So $50,000 of that (tap fee) right now off the top will be to rehab that lift station.”
“I understand where you are coming from, you just can’t put that problem on us. To begin with, I don’t think it’s fair to put that problem on us.,” Haymond said.
“You want to do what you want to do and it’s OK, but when we do what we need to do, now you have a problem,” Century Mayor Henry Hawkins said. “Based on my consideration, I don’t like it. We have an adopted rate and I am still holding you accountable to that rate. If you want water, it’s going to cost you ‘X’ amount of dollars for fees.” He explained “X amount of dollars” as being the town’s new rates.
“I have not seen an agreement,” Hawkins continued, discounting the documentation provided by Paces and the handwritten figures. “This is not an agreement to the fees,this not an agreement to the fees. And what was scratched out that – you said y’all do business that way. If you do businesses that way, I’m surprised you haven’t lost your shorts yet.”
Nickles said that the town had never had a formal written agreement with a developer on tap fees, nor had the town seen a $10 million investment in 30 years.
“That is taking this new development and using it as a way to make up for your lack of maintenance and your lack of taking care of your infrastructure problems. In other words, you are tying to get them to pay for your problems,” Nickles said. “I feel like we made a commitment to them (Paces), and the town should honor that agreement.”
The mayor said any agreement should be on official town letterhead and signed.
“That handwritten stuff that I still have not seen yet is not legal documentation,” Hawkins said.
“That handwritten stuff is what I think you saw at the last meeting,” Council President Ann Brooks said.
“I didn’t see it; you kept it away from me. You kept it away from me,” the mayor replied.
“I did not keep it away from you…I don’t know why you didn’t see it,” Brooks said.
William Dunaway, attorney for the Paces Foundation, said the developer would be seeking a new tap fee calculation.
Pictured top: Century Mayor Henry Hawkins denies documentation presented by an apartment developer is a tap fee agreement. Pictured bottom inset: Development Manager Rick Haymond of the Paces Foundation addresses the Century Town Council. Pictured below: Haymond sits with the council as town planner Debbie Nickles (far right) supports his claims. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
22 Responses to “Century In $100K Dispute With New Apartment Complex Over Tap Fees”
Hawkins is about as smart as a box of rocks, and so are some of those people in the room. Ain’t no escaping it.
The current Mayor seems to take pleasure in throwing a wrench into the gears of something a previous Mayor accomplished. Can’t everybody see that?
I remember a time when honorable men would honor a handshake or a deal written on a napkin. There are no more honorable men. It’s considered shrewd business to out-crook the next guy, honor be damned.
Well AD, it looks like Mrs Nichols, who was at that meeting, agrees with exactly what I said, and now it has cost the people of Century a dedicated and selfless public servant. The rate that was figured was the one being used at the time and that is the agreement, end of story. Any attempt to raise that figure is a thinly veiled attempt to make up for poor management on the backs of those willing to invest in the community, and you’d be hard pressed to call a local, non-profit, willing to build in Century “big business” You don’t bite the hand that feeds you, even Century town officials should know this, but sadly they don’t.
I would think for $160,000.00 you could put in a couple of good pumps and not have and monthly fees and tell the town where to stick it.
REGARDING:
“A scribbled agreement is still an agreement, I believe it should be negotiated keeping in mind this non profit is making an investment in our community.”
I agree, as long as both parties signed the agreement. This note was just scribbled calculations. The agreement was verbal between the two parties. The town council should have been informed at the time and if they accepted the agreement, it would have been binding.
They weren’t. It isn’t.
I would suggest they honor the agreement, but I’m not in Century, so they’re free to ignore me.
It looks like the equipment in question needs replacing regardless and the money they add to the town would help defray that expense.
For the future, I also suggest things be put in writing so there will be no question. Remember “an oral contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”
Keeping people in the dark is the biggest problem.
David for avoiding misunderstandings
Well this seems to be one way to stop a bad situation to begin with nothing but trouble coming to that location
One more thing…whatever fee was in place when Paces began their construction should be the fee the city base their calculations on and I’m pretty sure they began before the new fees took place. It’s not right for us to expect this company to fix our financial or infrastructure problems.
A scribbled agreement is still an agreement, I believe it should be negotiated keeping in mind this non profit is making an investment in our community. We should not be too greedy…if a company can make such an investment in our community we can also negotiate our fees to accommodate. Isn’t this how it normally works..a little give and take? If you make an investment we can do such and such for you?
President Trump could not get anything done until Obama’s insiders were out of his cabinet. I see this being the same type of situation. You have the former mayor and his accountant Brooks who still have their hands in the cookie jar. They are siding with an outsider. That’s a problem. Some handwritten note is not a binding agreement and if anyone should know that, it should be the person with the CPA. So what’s the problem??
It’s going to be tougher for this group to get any new agenda passed with McCall in every meeting and reluctance to know when to fold ‘em. They need to allow the new group to either succeed or fail, McCall sure had his share over the years. Like really, let’s turn the page – Gee whiz.
I like the Mayor Hawkins’ hardline stance. The President doesn’t back down/Governors don’t/Mayor doesn’t either. We need more to take a stand and stop the backdoor deals.
What ever you do keep Mrs Nickles there and happy!!
One Town
One Future
Kevin Stead for Town Council
“And as far as I’m concerned the elected crooks have been voted out. ” Joke of the day!
I agree with Kevin Stead.
Working it out will be more prudent than a civil suit, if it came to that.
Perhaps the Triumph Gulf Coast Inc projects should be pushed to be implemented for infrastructure in Century.
The county seems to have NOT passed the application on to the Triumph Board (for waste treatment)– perhaps a follow up and honest discourse will be in order, or the TOC file it themselves.
https://www.myfloridatriumph.com/
One Town
One Future
has a nice ring to it…
I agree with you ,Kevin….and also what Ms.Nickles says….and I also think Freddie McCall was a great mayor!!!! A very godly man….
The Paces Foundation is a non profit that was investing in the citizens of our beloved town helping those in poverty to take charge of their future. I would suggest researching them on the web. This project will help our citizens by providing affordable housing that is safe and up to code.
I recognize that our infrastructure is falling apart and I echo Ms. Nickles and a previous statement last year by Ms. Jernigan that this is largely due to a lack of maintenance. Not only do we need to address how to fund the repair of our infrastructure, we also need to address how to move forward in the proper maintenance of these systems.
I would like to see the town and the developer sit down and readdress the associated fees with the mindset that all parties involved are focused on the point of assisting our citizens and helping them to provide a better future for them and their families in a workshop setting. I am sure both sides can give a little and we can all celebrate the housewarming of our citizen’s new home in the coming weeks.
One Town.
One Future.
Century: We can’t get businesses to come here, so we finally getting an apartment complex and now aim to mess that up. But hey we got a splash pad.
@oversight and DLo Obviously you missed the meeting so I’m sure you don’t know that the rate schedule that the complex owners want to use is from 1990. The one the town wants to use is from 2017. Obviously you don’t live here or you wouldn’t be saying “ let this big business pay less than their fair share. We the citizens of Century will be glad to pay for all the cost your complex will add to the water system here.” And as far as I’m concerned the elected crooks have been voted out. The new Mayor and council are looking out for the citizens of Century not for their own pocketbooks!
Management sat down, in good faith, with the officials at the time and came up with a figure, knowing when it would be built, that figure should be honored. Since that time it has come to light just how fiscally irresponsible this governing body has been and they are trying to make it up on the people investing in the area. This is at worst dishonest and fraudulent, at best it is disingenuous and greedy. Once again this farce of a government has unwittingly made the argument for being dissolved, it is time for Century to put an end to this kind of incompetence.
Typical Century. And then they wonder why businesses won’t locate there.
Century trying to get rich quick by milking what it sees as a cash cow, again. Here’s a developer and business paying what the town advertises as it’s fees, but the town won’t honor its own rate schedule. Don’t do business with Century and its band of elected crooks!
I have to say, who in their right mind as a business owner, would take a pencil written note as a legal binding contract when there isn’t a date, names or signatures at least attached???? This has to be the most ridiculous “official” contract/document anyone can produce as legal proof. I have seen better written promissory notes when I was in the 5th grade.
For the love of your business, go to an office supply store and pick out a $19.99 packet that contains this stuff pre-written!
“Tap fees” are designed to recover all or a portion of the cost (for materials and labor) of connecting a customer to the nearest drinking water or wastewater line.
“Impact fees” or “system development charges” are associated with developing the capacity of the system to accommodate the extra demand placed on this system by the new customer.
Itemize it. Honor the quoted Tap fee, (even an agreement on a napkin can be binding) then add an additional bill for the impact fee. The waste water system simple will not handle the load. Charge them for it, or don’t hook them up.
Check with the town attorney first.
Plan ahead next time, if there is a next time.
Get the Infrastructure taken care of. Go to the county. Submit those Triumph applications directly to TCG Inc.