The Punta Gorda Utility Advisory Board on Nov. 24 recommended that City Council approve an interlocal utility agreement with Charlotte County to allow Punta Gorda to serve a portion of the Jones Loop corridor and support near‑airport commercial and light industrial projects.

Utilities Director Tom Spencer told the board the interlocal would allow the city to share pool water from the Peace River Regional Water Supply Authority and, if needed for the specific development, use up to 500,000 gallons per day. Spencer said the city currently could buy water from the authority at an estimated incremental cost of about $3.94 per 1,000 gallons; the city would consider passing that cost to new users in the designated development zone so existing residents would not shoulder it.

Board members pressed staff on safeguards. A board member described the agreement’s language as detailed and warned it could obligate the city to serve an expansion area for years without clear capacity limits. Spencer and staff responded that developer extensions of distribution mains and required project‑specific modeling would be paid by developers and that any service approvals beyond the targeted project would remain conditional on demonstrated capacity and engineering reports by the city’s modelers.

Spencer said the city already has interconnections with the regional authority and that the agreement’s short term (structured around a three‑to‑five year horizon) gives Punta Gorda time to complete its RO plant and distribution upgrades. He said additional capital to serve proposed growth would be the developer’s responsibility and that the city would retain the right to deny service when capacity is insufficient.

The board’s concerns centered on uncertainty about future demand and sewer capacity. Staff said the new wastewater treatment plant expansion is nearing commissioning and that the city has planned footprints for future expansion, but admitted the transcript did not include a quantified maximum population the sewer would serve within the expansion area.

After debate, the board voted to recommend approval to council; the motion passed 3–1. The item will be presented to City Council for final action.

Next steps: staff will bring the interlocal to council for consideration and continue engineering modeling with Carollo Engineers at the developer’s request.