Pine Island homeowner tells council she received a 'threatening' letter over an inaccessible water meter

Mary Bber, a Pine Island homeowner, told the City Council on Jan. 21 that she received what she called a "threatening letter" from the city about her water meter and asked the city to resolve the matter at its expense.

Bber said the dispute began in 2023 after contractors hired by the city said they could not access the meter at her home. She said a contractor inspected the meter on Nov. 13, 2023, told her the meter was working but inaccessible, and that she heard nothing further from the city for more than a year while bills continued to be charged and auto‑debited from her account.

On Jan. 21, 2025, Bber read language from a notice she said was sent by the city clerk, noting the letter asserted that "city staff has been in contact with you regarding this issue" and demanded she schedule time for an HVAC company to remove a furnace so Public Works could change the meter. Bber called that assertion "a blatant lie," saying neither the clerk nor the contractor had contacted her after November 2023.

Bber told the council the notice cited alleged violations of Chapter 3 (Municipal Utilities) — language in the letter saying fines and water shutoff could follow — and that she has never tampered with or altered the utility system. She said the meter had been replaced years earlier without trouble and that crews at that time replaced it without removing the furnace.

Bber asked the council to instruct the city to "at their expense" hire an HVAC company and any other necessary parties to change the meter, or alternatively to continue to read her meter and collect payment as had been done historically.

The transcript records the comment and Bber's request but does not show an immediate response or a formal direction from the council at the meeting. The council moved on to other business after the public comment period.