Residents to see rate hike in Oakland

The town of Oakland has not raised its water and wastewater rates since 2014 when officials contracted with the city of Clermont to handling the processing of Oakland’s wastewater.

Public Works Director Mike Parker gave a financial forecast report on water and wastewater, which was accepted by the commission at its Feb. 27 meeting. A public hearing will be held March 12 for a resolution to implement a rate increase.

Expenditures include operation expenses, capital improvement projects, regulatory expenses, capital replacements and emergencies.

“These utility dollars are going toward a lot of different expenses that most users don't even think about,” Parker wrote in his report to the town. “However, sometimes, in addition to the annual consumer price index driven increases, the town sometimes finds it necessary to make other adjustments.

“While some may have negative feelings about population growth, as the number of customers grows, it provides an opportunity to spread these fixed costs over a larger base,” he said. “That is a good thing.”

This report takes all of this into consideration and makes realistic and educated projections, he said.

Parker said the town expects to add 50 residential connections this year, 107 in 2025 and 87 in 2026. Cost escalations include 5% increase in labor costs per year and 2.5% annually in general inflation.

“You’re actually losing money every time a resident uses the wastewater system,” said Joe Williams of consulting firm Raftelis.

“We want to focus on equity between water and wastewater,” Williams said. “Not everyone has wastewater, but we want everyone to pay their way for the wastewater system.”

He recommended a mid-year wastewater rate adjustment from $6 to $7.25 per thousand gallons to reflect a pass-through of Clermont’s treatment cost increase.

Williams shared a local rate comparison of Oakland to other area municipalities at 5,000 gallons of consumption. Winter Garden was the lowest at $40.16 per 5,000 gallons, and Mascotte is the highest at $118.88. Oakland’s existing rate is $75.52, and the proposed rate, to begin in April, would be $81.77.

Only residents and businesses on the sewer system pay for wastewater services.

VISION ZERO ACTION PLAN DISCUSSED

Lara Bouck of Vision Zero Central Florida spoke before the commission, sharing news that the organization is developing several traffic-safety action plans for local municipalities to reduce the number of crashes and fatalities. There will be 23 action plans and 19 city- and town-specific plans, including for the town of Oakland.

“We used to talk about preventing all crashes,” Brock said. “The Vision Zero approach is there will be crashes, but we can reduce the number of fatalities.”

Bouck said from 2018 to 2022, Oakland had 134 traffic crashes, two with severe injuries, and zero fatalities. Fridays and Wednesday had the highest number of crashes in Oakland during that timeframe, and most of them occurred from 1 to 3 p.m., followed closely by the timeframe of 7 to 9 a.m.

The goal is to integrate safety principles during the planning and implementation of transportation programs countywide. Vision Zero acknowledges many factors contribute to safe mobility, including roadway design, speed, behaviors, technologies and policies.

To achieve the goal of Vizion Zero, the six-prong safety system brings awareness to the following: Death/serious injury is unacceptable, humans make mistakes, humans are vulnerable, responsibility is shared, safety is proactive, and redundancy is crucial. It focuses on safe road users, safe vehicles, safe speeds, safe roads, post-crash care.

Metro Plan Orlando kicked off the initiative in September. Bouck said she expects to be back in Oakland in June for the possible adoption of Vision Zero action plan.  Once that happens, the town will be eligible to pursue funding.

CONSENT AGENDA

The commission approved the consent agenda, which contained several items.

Elected officials approved the interlocal agreement with the town of Montverde for provision of wastewater service to Phase 2 of the Lake Apopka Sound neighborhood. This is another step in eliminating septic systems in the Lake Apopka and Gourd Neck Spring (Apopka Spring) watershed, Public Works Director Mike Parker said.

Commissioners voted to spend up to $150,000 from the town’s General Fund reserves fund to pay for the dredging and engineering for the sand removal near the Johns Lake Outfall Canal in Lake Apopka. Dredging is expected to cost $120,000, and the engineering services will cost about $20,500.

In his report, Town Manager Andy Stewart said town staff, Friends of Lake Apopka and Landeavor met with Orange County officials to discuss the status of the canal. Stewart said the meeting was productive and brought many key partners back to the table to discuss the issues within the outfall. Orange County agreed to broaden the scope of the revised Johns Lake Outfall Study to include the entire length of the outfall from Johns Lake to Lake Apopka, which will provide important data and recommendations for potential future improvements to the system.

IN OTHER NEWS

• The commission voted 3-2 (with Mayor Kathy Stark and Commissioner Joseph McMullen opposed) to move forward with the $120,000 contract with Sea Level Development LLC to perform services to the Johns Lake Outfall Canal.

The town had contracted with another company in March 2023 to restore the historical northerly flow of water from the canal into the lake, reinforce the banks of the newly relocated canal with native vegetation and remove sediment directly in front of two boat dock structures west of the canal. This provided very little relief in the area, Town Manager Andy Stewart said.

In November, the Town Commission voted to hire Sea Level Development LLC to broaden the project area and remove a larger quantity of sand utilizing hydraulic dredging equipment. The Town Commission also requested an engineer provide oversight of the project and work.

At the Feb. 27 meeting, Stark said she’s happy to see an engineer will be present but still expressed concerns about the scope of the project and the money being spent on a small section of the canal.

“I don’t think we’re taking a comprehensive look at the canal, and I’m still not in favor of it,” she said. “The commission has already voted to approve it, so I’ll leave it at that. … I’m still not comfortable with it. … We have a fiduciary responsibility to this town.”

Commissioner Mike Satterfield said he is happy with the new contract. Commissioner Rick Polland called the original contract pathetic.

• The commission adopted an amendment to the Complete Streets Master Plan to include traffic-calming options such as speed tables or speed humps. While not practical in all scenarios, they should be an option when considering future roadway improvements, Parker said.

• Stark read two proclamations declaring March Women History Month and Irish American Heritage Month.