UEP costs do work out
To the editor:
Over 30 years ago, Hammer Homes built a home for me and I became a participant in the saga of UEP, its excessive costs, and people losing their homes. Today the dialogue persists.
In about 1995 the city installed sewer and dual water irrigation in what was called the Orange Area. That area is south of Hancock, east of Del Prado, and west of the city’s east boundary (Southeast 24th Ave.) City water had been installed about 8 years previously on my street.
At the time, the city was requiring new homes to be elevated approximately 18 inches above base grade. Experience was in the older areas, during the rainy season, septic fields backed up, and this was a step to avoid backup into homes.
The “sales pitch” was that Cape Coral was one of the few cities in the USA that allowed new home construction on property where utilities were not already installed. In addition to septic backup during the rainy season, as the city became more developed, more and more existing homes had their wells run dry in the “dry season.” The project included reclaimed water to irrigate our lawns. For $5.95 per month we could water our lawns as much as we wanted.
I don’t have the exact numbers, but I recall the dual water fee was about $7,000 and the sewer about $13,000 or $14,000. That did not include actual connection of the utilities to the home, and did not include the cost of county required crushing of existing septic tanks. The total cost of city water, dual water and sewer (UEP cost) without hook-up was approximately $25,000.That includes the cost of previously installed city water. At the time there was public angst that we could not afford to do this and even with the city’s 20-year payment plan, people would default and lose their homes. The city could get in financial trouble because they did not collect enough to cover the UEP bond repayment.
It was also claimed we would see a saving in our home owners insurance, because homes were now within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant.
Thirty years later, nothing much has changed with public opinion. We don’t see many stories of the positives of UEP, but continue to hear complaints that UEP will bankrupt people.
We hear the cost of next year’s UEP will be outrageous. Consider this. Present buying power of $25,000 1995 dollars is about $54,000. I understand that the next UEP area that does not require extra flood mitigation due to low elevation, will pay about $45,000.
I know nothing will, at this time, take away anxiety over affording UEP, but take my word for it — it will work out.
Compared to 1995, the city seems to be doing a good job in holding down the capital cost.
Disclaimer: The Orange area UEP was done before online information was common. I am told the city does not have the Orange area cost information available. I estimated my costs from “best of memory,” and then used Gemini AI to confirm I had approximately correct costs.
Steve Szumlanski
longtime resident
Cape Coral