by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The JEA welcomed a move by the City of Jacksonville to streamline the process of removing old septic systems and connecting communities to City water through the elimination of one of its authorities.
The JEA board of directors learned at its monthly meeting Tuesday that the utility had entered into an agreement with the City of Jacksonville to partner with its Public Works Department to continue the septic tank phase-out program, which was formerly the responsibility of the Water and Sewer Expansion Authority.
“It’s a recognition that we can work with the City to do septic tank phase-outs. We did it before through the Better Jacksonville Plan, so we’ve had experience with the program,” said Jim Dickenson, JEA managing director and CEO.
City Council approved ordinance 2011-133-E on April 12 and it set the deadline to close the Water and Sewer Expansion Authority for June 30.
A cooperative agreement between the City and JEA to assume the responsibilities of the authority was also completed June 30.
“It was recognition from administration, Council members and (JEA) that if the Water and Sewer Expansion Authority was primarily focused on septic tank phase-out for environmental reasons, then we can do that without a separate authority,” said Dickenson.
The Water and Sewer Expansion Authority was created in 2003 after a task force was assigned to investigate the need for public water and sewer to be extended to communities in Jacksonville that were being served by wells and septic tanks.
It was initially capitalized through funding from the City and JEA. The JEA provided $800,000 per year for operating expenses.
The improvements were extended to neighborhoods where the homeowners were willing to pay the cost through a special tax assessment and, over a number of years, the funds would pay back the money the authority provided up front to pay for the project.
Dickenson also commented on the recent J.D. Power and Associates “2011 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study.”
“We don’t pay to participate in that survey, so we really don’t know what types of questions they ask or how large the test audience is,” said Dickenson.
Of 32 utilities, JEA ranked No. 31 in the South Region, Midsize segment, in a survey that measured customer satisfaction by examining power quality and reliability, price, billing and payment, corporate citizenship, communications and customer service.
Clay Electric Cooperative ranked No. 9.
The survey relied on more than 98,000 online interviews conducted from July 2010 through May. JEA serves more than 417,000 electric customers.
“They do, what we think, is a relatively small sample,” said Dickenson.
Meanwhile, JEA is launching a water main project as part of its Total Water Management Plan.
JEA bought the former Coggin Pontiac car dealership at Atlantic and Southside Boulevards to meet the right-of-way needs of the project and to be a staging area for the project.
The first phase of the Total Water Management Plan will move 16 million gallons of water per day from the north grid to the south grid to alleviate pressure on wells and the aquifer on the Southside.
The project is currently budgeted at $40 million and is being designed and constructed in six segments. Construction is scheduled to start in January and finish in 2013.
356-2466