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Hernando Today

Hydrant Decision Dogs Neighborhood

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By Tony Marrero

Hernando Today

Published: September 9, 2008

Brooksville - George and Eleanor Marholin have done what they can to damp down the threat of a fire breaking out in their Florida ranch home in Dogwood Estates – and to be prepared if flames appear.

They've moved flammable chemicals, propane and gas cans out of the garage and into a plastic shed. There are four fire extinguishers throughout the house, including one in the garage. Smoke detectors are patched into the monitored security system.

They keep heavy duty hoses on all four sides of the house and even installed a lightning rod.

But nothing, they say, would give them more security against fire than fire hydrants lining the shady streets in this neighborhood of well-kept homes south of Croom Road near the Brooksville Country Club.

"We need to have these fire hydrants out here, and we need to have the pressure," Eleanor said.

The county has some $130,000 collected through a special tax assessment created in 1992 to help make it happen.

But the total cost of the project to install the hydrants and increase water lines in the neighborhood to provide the necessary flow is many times that, county utilities officials say.

The assessment – called a municipal service benefit unit, or MSBU – was fundamentally flawed, based on a faulty engineering premise that installing hydrants without upsizing the lines would work. A change in safety standards that decreases the required distance between hydrants also has increased the price tag.

Now the county is asking the roughly 263 homeowners whether they want to continue the $20 annual assessment or get their money back.

The county thought it had the answer after sending out surveys last December, when 100 of 127 respondents – or 67 percent – voted to get a refund of $494. Based on that feedback, county staffers in August recommended the county commission dissolve the special taxing unit.

But the Marholins and other residents in favor of the assessment showed up to the meeting to point out that the results couldn't be considered representative because less than half of the 263 homeowners answered the letter. Most important, they argued, the county has a responsibility to share the cost of the project to ensure the safety of its citizens.

"If you were living there, wouldn't you want your house protected," Betty Henderson told the commissioners at their August meeting. "I think we're being shortchanged."

The commission tabled the issue until its Sept. 10 land use meeting. The neighbors were to meet with county staffers Monday evening. The issue is also on the commission's land use agenda on Wednesday.

At the meetings, Utilities Director Joe Stapf will outline his recommendation: Continue the taxing assessment for one year to give him time to firm up figures that indicate the project can be done "in time for the next tax year" if the residents would approve another 10-year assessment and the county chips in toward the estimated $870,000 price tag.

The money already in the assessment would be combined with $620,000 raised from the new MSBU and $250,000 from the county, Stapf wrote in letter hand delivered Thursday to Dogwood Estates residents. Some of the county money would come from funds set aside for rehabilitation and repair of infrastructure.

Based on research by the utilities department, about 263 parcels were part of the original assessment, and roughly 287 would be part of the new assessment, Stapf said. Those who have already been paying into the taxing unit would pay about $277 per year; the rest would pay about $320.

Stapf emphasized that those are "very preliminary numbers" but said they're enough to give residents a ballpark figure to consider.

On Friday, Stapf's department got news from the fire marshal that could bring those figures down. The system would still be effective with as little as half of the 52 hydrants the county had planned.

Regardless of the final numbers, "the last thing we're going to do is ram something down somebody's throat," Stapf said. "We want to have dialogue with these people, dig a little deeper and have more certainty."

Stapf and some residents contend the neighborhood would receive a return on its investment even if a fire never breaks out because insurance premiums would likely decrease if hydrants are installed.

Hernando County Fire Rescue Assistant Chief DeFrancesco agreed.

DeFrancesco sends three engines with a total 3,000 gallons of water to every call. That's enough to handle most fires engulfing a room and its contents, he said.

For larger fires in an area without hydrants, the department would also call in a pumper truck carrying an additional 3,000 gallons, DeFrancesco said. There are three such trucks in the county. The closest to Dogwood Estates is at Station 24 in Brooksville, about 10 minutes away. Another is in Ridge Manor.

The pumper would likely arrive in enough time to provide backup water, DeFrancesco said. However, concerns arise when considering a scenario in which the pumper trucks are responding to other calls.

When asked what he would advise Dogwood Estates residents to do, he said, "I'd tell them to get the hydrants. I'm going to say that for everybody. It increases their fire protection."

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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