UEP implementation fraught with frustration
To the editor:
I live in the current area of the city known as SW 6/7. A majority of the territory is still “under construction” from the potable water lines being installed (not in my area, we already had drinking water and considered a rate payer), sewer mains, and reclaimed water (irrigation water lines) being installed.
Considering our options for being the most affordable and in our best interest, we paid the full assessment in advance of the project. If you finance, there is a penalty if you pay early and you still owe the interest. Here is the cautionary tale, 1) Don’t believe what is told to you. 2) Life isn’t fair, and the UEP in Cape Coral is living proof.
While I am pleased to have sewer and irrigation lines, and having my yard, driveway and street restored after living at best what looked like a bomb went off in the area for 6-7 months, I am not pleased at all with the lack of communication and miscommunication. Let me state for the record I am PRO UEP. I see the value in it, and agree that central sewer is the best for an area such as ours, and want the irrigation water at $9.95 a month.
I have been unhappy from pretty much the first week because of the contractors, and things going on/wrong in the area. The last insult was when the contractor had laid the replacement sod down, and they went days with no watering. My husband, being proactive, watered our new sod. We didn’t want it to die. When I mentioned to the Utilities Manager, we were watering the newly laid sod, he told me that it was up to the contractor to maintain the yard for the first 30 days. Afterwards, it was our responsibility to manage the new sod. I explained that was going to be costly since I was on city water, and wouldn’t be hooked up to the irrigation lines at best until March/April of 2015. Wow, what a scheme for the city to make more money. They had my $11,000 and now would have more money from me monthly.
I was then informed that the City of Cape Coral would offer a one-time monthly adjustment on my city water rate, within one month of my sod being laid. Well that’s awesome! Or so I thought, wrongly. I followed up with an email to verify if I would have a letter for me use to prove I lived in the area of SW 6/7 with NO well water, or no irrigation in place. I was envisioning a problem. My foresight was spot on. I received a reply email, but not verifying what he told to me on our face-to-face meeting on my driveway, but the days I was allowed to water on my street, and I was being allowed to water two days.
Gee, great.
So now my water bill went from approximately $35 per month to around $264! The city even sent out a field technician to verify my high water usage. When I called to ask about my adjustment on my water rate, as it is customary in Charlotte County, North Port and Englewood to offer 1-2 adjustments per year for higher-than-normal water consumption, I was offered to split up my bill over the course of a few months.
I am not asking them to violate FS 153.83. I am not asking for free water, I am asking for an adjustment on something that is beyond my control. I am not thrilled at all at being told one thing, asking for it in writing, and then being told basically by the Customer Service representative, sorry, if you lived in another area (specifically named area was Heatherwoods) you could have had a modification, but you don’t, so a second meter won’t help you now. As empathetic as he was, it still is infuriating.
The City of Cape Coral has a lot of room for growth on many levels, and one of them, a major one, is in communication and public relations.
Life isn’t fair, I don’t expect it to be, but I do expect better communications, it’s really and truly not that hard.
Eileyn Sobeck-Bador
Cape Coral