Information Release
Board of County Commissioners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patty DiPiero
239-533-8534 (Media questions only)
Lee County to hold public meeting for former Bayshore Utility Company customers
FORT MYERS, FL (April 30, 2012) - Lee County Utilities (LCU) will be holding a public meeting on Wednesday, May 2nd from 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm at the Yacht Club Colony pavilion on Clubhouse Road in North Fort Myers.
This will be an informational meeting that will provide the residents of Yacht Club Colony information regarding the abandonment of Bayshore Utility Company, Lee County petitioning ownership, and the preliminary plans to provide safe, reliable drinking water to the residents.
For more information regarding the meeting, Yacht Club Colony residents can call 239-533-8700 or email LCU at Utilities@leegov.com.
The Bayshore Utility Company was a private utility under the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission and the Department of Health. Bayshore Utility provided potable water to approximately 200 customers within the Yacht Club Colony neighborhood, located in North Fort Myers. The utility had been under a consent order and court proceedings, initiated by the Department of Health, due to its failure to meet drinking water standards.
The consent order required certain capital improvements be completed to meet the water quality standards. After more than a year and because no apparent effort was made by the private owner to make these improvements, the Department of Health filed an Application for an Order to Show Cause to declare the utility abandoned and the Order was granted.
The Lee County Attorney’s Office petitioned the Court requesting an emergency hearing to assign responsibility to the County. This petition allowed Lee County to commence activities within the utility to protect the public health and safety of this community. Lee County was able to access the utility on April 25th and have found that significant repairs will be required to bring the utility into compliance.
###