ATTORNEY SPOTTSWOOD, REPRESENTING THE KWHA, ASKS CITY ATTORNEY TO INTERVENE TO DISMISS OR DELAY ACTION AGAINST THE AUTHORITY. TISCHENKEL REFUSES TO GET INVOLVED
Special Master J. Jefferson Overby has slapped the Key West Housing Authority (KWHA) with a $1.4 million fine for failing to repair leaky lateral sewer lines at the Authority's various housing projects.
According to witnesses who attended the June 26 hearing, a clearly-irritated Overby handed down his order after Manual Castillo, the KWHA's executive director, accused Overby of "not listening" to his appeal for more time to make the needed repairs. After Castillo's outburst, witnesses said, Overby "lowered the boom", imposing a $4,000-per-day fine on the KWHA, retroactive to June 22 of last year.
City Utilities Director David Fernandez notified City Manager Julio Avael of Overby's order in a memo that traced the history of the Housing Authority's failure to react to orders to repair the leaky lines back to March 1999. That was when the KWHA was first notified that the First Street and White Street housing projects had failed sewer tests.
At that time, city officials were, apparently, in a more generous mood and "as a courtesy," noted Fernandez, "provided construction estimates, extended city contracts to the authority and offered to do design and construction management on their behalf."
The housing authority never responded to the city, despite city officials' efforts to provide formal cost estimates for the Senior Citizen Plaza, George Allen, Fort Village, Robert Gabriel apartments and Key Plaza, along with a request to KWHA officials to determine whether or not they even wanted to use city services and a contractor.
On June 22, 2001, a notice of violation was delivered to the Housing Authority citing "unlawful deposits" and "discharges to natural outlets" by many of the properties managed by the Authority.
Two months later, a code violation status hearing was held and "no progress" was noted. Two days later, prominent local attorney John Spottswood, representing the KWHA, requested City Attorney Bob Tischenkel to "intervene to dismiss or indefinitely postpone the code case."
Two months later, city staff met with the authority "to assist in identifying funding sources." At that time, Fernandez said in his memo to Avael, that he "explained (to authority officials) the urgency based on public health, safety and environmental issues."
The plan the housing authority came up with, however, would have taken six years to complete and Fernandez said at the time that he didn't think the judge would accept it.
After the June and August subpoenas were served, more subpoenas went out from Randy Pekarik, code enforcement inspector, on October. 24, 2001; April 1, 2002; April 29, 2002; and May 23, 2002.
Even the state got in on the act. On January 31, 2002, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection sent a letter to the Authority advising officials of a violation of Florida law and their responsibility to correct the problem, Fernandez told Avael.
The May 23 subpoena spelled out the problem to Castillo: "The leaking sewer lines and laterals on your property are causing infiltration and inflow in violation of Section 74.32(a) and/or unlawfully discharging sewage into natural outlets within the city in violation of Section 74.06. Due to water quality problems in the area, it has been determined that this constitutes an emergency situation."
A rambling letter from former KWHA Executive Director Henry Haskins (who retired on May 13, 2002) went out to Fernandez on April 8, 2002. The purpose of the letter, Haskins said, was "to provide you with the current status of the repair/replacement of sewer lateral lines." Haskins then describes the Authority's plans regarding at least five projects— but he doesn't address the repair and replacement of the sewer laterals on the authority's property until the last sentence. That's when he reveals the housing authority's "current schedule" will be 100 percent repair and replacement "by the end of the year."
Neither Fernandez nor Special Master Overby bought that schedule.
At presstime, neither Castillo nor Haskins had returned telephone calls for comment.