Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Residents of flooded western communities who for decades have refused to pay for public flood control projects may be forced to do so.
County Administrator Bob Weisman has asked the County Attorney to research the legality of a “mandatory assessment” to construct and maintain flood control projects in communities near the Acreage. In an email to County Commissioner Jess Santamaria on Wednesday, Weisman said the neighborhoods “have refused to to participate in an improvement project with Indian Trails Improvement district (ITID) even though they are part of ITID.”
“This means there is no government entity and apparently no property owners association to build and maintain drainage and road infrastructure,” Weisman said. “This means the property owners are also not paying any tax assessment for these benefits in these areas. There is no publicly owned road or drainage infrastructure.”
As of Wednesday, some yards were still flooded and mail service had not yet resumed since Tropic Storm Isaac’s record rainfall eight days ago. Some of the neighborhoods that do not participate suffered some of the heaviest flooding, including Deer Run and other areas near the L-8 Canal and Lion Country Safari.
The ITID provides drainage and road maintenance for participating neighborhoods within the district’s 110-square-mile footprint. However, participation is not mandatory.
Residents in participating neighborhoods pay an assessment based on the amount of land they own. The district in turn maintains canals, pump stations, flood gates, culverts, roads and pumps. The district releases and retains water depending on the weather.
In neighborhoods that do not participate, maintenance, including grading dirt roads, is left up to the residents. Many of the homes do not have swales to collect stormwater runoff.
“It raises the question of do we need an assessment without the approval of the residents and that is a radical thought,” Weisman said.
“If you are not part of an overall managed system, when excess rainfall events occur there is limited to no relief,” said Lisa Tropepe, ITID’s engineering consultant. “People that pay into the system, we manage to accommodate them through a series of canals, pump stations and flood gates.”
Residents of the Acreage have earned a reputation for being fiercely independent and devoted to maintaining a rural way of life. In 2010, some complained so loudly about bright streetlights that the county installed on a 1.5 mile stretch of road that the county switched to lower wattage bulbs.
“They like limited government,” said Michelle Damone, President of the ITID’s Board of Supervisors. “I feel for them but the district cannot legally spend our assessments to provide them drainage. It’s kind of like car insurance — you pay for it in case something happens.”
John McMillon, who lives on 206th Terrace North, a street not protected by ITID, said people don’t want to pay more taxes and many couldn’t if they were forced to pay.
“If we were forced to, a lot of us wouldn’t make it out here,” McMillon said.
Santamaria said residents approached him several years ago about joining the district. He supported their cause but in the end, residents narrowly voted against joining. As for the cost, Santamaria said the communities would likely be eligible for an advance from the county which residents could pay-back over 20 years with installments on their tax bills. Engineering studies would have to be performed before residents would know their estimated annual assessment.
“My hope is that this time, since the flooding has been worse, they will get more concerned,” Santamaria said. “I would rather not have to force anybody to do anything but sometimes it comes down to a life-or-death situation.”
During the worst of the flooding, there were “a lot of discussions” about which agencies should provide services to these neighborhoods, said Assistant County Administrator Vince Bonvento, who oversees the county’s public safety department.
“Obviously, because of the public safety element, we decided that we needed to provide assistance,” Bonvento said.
Also on Wednesday, Weisman sent an email to other top county officials and Tanya Quickel, the district’s administrator, with an update of flood relief efforts near the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area. Water seeping from the Corbett and the risk of a breach in the berm that prevents water from flooding nearby neighborhoods have prompted the ITID and the South Florida Water Management Area to begin efforts to replace the berm with a new dam.