Town attorney urges council to reserve sewer capacity tied to $40 million FDEP grant; council says item should be on agenda

The town attorney told the Lake Placid Town Council that the town's 2021 application for a Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) septic-to-sewer grant resulted in a $40,000,000 award, and he urged the council to begin amending the town utility code to reserve sewer capacity specifically for the septic-to-sewer project.

"The application and the grant agreements that followed made clear that the money was to be awarded to the town for the septic to sewer projects. No other purpose was mentioned," the Town Attorney said, adding that failure to amend the code could allow sewer capacity to be issued to new development and thereby use capacity intended for the grant-funded project.

The town attorney recommended referring an amendment to the utility committee for development rather than taking immediate action at the meeting. Several council members and staff said they had previously discussed options with FDEP and preferred that the utility director and the utility board consider the detailed reservation level. Others objected to taking up the matter without it being on the agenda and asked for a formal agenda item and broader stakeholder input.

A public commenter also urged caution on large project cost estimates and asked the town to seek better estimates or outside expertise when planning major infrastructure work.

Council did not vote on the recommended code amendment during this session; members asked that the item be placed on a future agenda and referred to the utility committee or utility department for formal consideration.