Legislative delegation approves bill to codify Punta Gorda utility district boundaries amid local opposition

Charlotte County's legislative delegation voted to approve a local bill that codifies the boundaries of the Punta Gorda Utility District and creates a statutory framework that would allow Charlotte County to assume potable water and wastewater service for certain lands outside the city through interlocal agreements.

Representative Vanessa Oliver, the bill's sponsor, told the delegation she filed the measure after city officials in early October described an "urgent and serious problem" related to Punta Gorda's water supply. Oliver said the city's peak demand of 9,500,000 gallons per day already exceeds the reliable output of its Shell Creek and reverse osmosis facilities, which she said can fall to as low as 8,000,000 gallons per day. "When people turn on the tap, water should come out every time," she said, framing the bill as a narrowly tailored backstop to ensure reliable service while preserving local control.

City officials and many residents strongly contested the bill during public comment. Stephen Leskovich, the city attorney for Punta Gorda, argued the measure is "not a technical boundary" and said it "authorizes a force and immediate transfer of essential public utility service without the consent negotiation or any due diligence," raising concerns about potential impairment of existing bond covenants and litigation exposure. Tom Spencer, Punta Gorda's utility director, said regulatory limits on Shell Creek restraint firm capacity for much of the year despite permitted plant capacity of 14,000,000 gpd, and warned that "reassigning service by state statute does not create capacity, accelerate projects, or resolve regulatory constraints."

County Commissioner Joe Taseo, speaking on behalf of the Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners, said the board supports codifying the district boundary for clarity but asked that the bill be withdrawn because "the potential costs associated with the rest of the bill language and the funding sources to address them remain unknown." Multiple residents voiced they felt "ambushed" by the bill's timing and called for the county and city to continue negotiating directly; Mayor Debbie Lux and Councilwoman Janine Pope also asked for withdrawal and urged collaborative work on shared priorities such as Charlotte Harbor restoration.

Oliver emphasized what the bill does not do, saying it "does not force an immediate transfer of assets or customers," does not eliminate the city's utility and does not cancel or impair outstanding bonds, and that any county assumption must be accomplished through one or more interlocal agreements and a deliberate transition timeline. She asked the delegation for favorable support to prompt the city and county "to move beyond talk and to take prompt concrete steps."

The delegation chair called the roll; Representative Vanessa Oliver and Representative Danny Nicks voted "yes." The chair announced, "It passes." Delegation leaders said the bill will continue through the normal committee and legislative review process.

Next steps: the bill will proceed through legislative committees where funding, implementation timelines and the interlocal-agreement process could be further examined.