St. Johns County requests information before considering to buy JEA utilities within its boundaries

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — As JEA explores 16 bids for a potential sale, Action News Jax has learned a portion of the utility may not be available to the buyer.

According to the St. Johns County/JEA Water and Wastewater Interlocal Agreement, JEA has the right to serve establishments in St. Johns County. For the sail of this portion of the utility, St. Johns County spokesperson Michael Ryan said the county has the right of first refusal.

When the determination is made to sell, JEA must provide a notification to the county, which then gives the county 90 days to respond. Since JEA has not made the official declaration of a sale, Ryan said the county is not under deadline to make a decision.

"I can confirm that we are monitoring the activity in Duval with JEA and conducting our due diligence in obtaining the information necessary that would allow a determination of the true value of the assets, so we are prepared to take action should the St. John's County Board of County Commissioners vote to do so on behalf of our residents at any point in the future," Ryan said.

TRENDING: 

• Clay County mother in the fight for her life after being hit while walking her dog
• School turns down free Chick-fil-A lunch 'out of respect for LGBTQ staff'
• Photos: Police need help identifying two people after incident at Salt Run in St. Augustine
• Deadly crash on the Mathews Bridge in Jacksonville
• LIST: Halloween events in the Jacksonville area

Ryan said the county requested information from JEA to determine the value of its assets. According to public record, the county administrator, Michael Wanchick, submitted a letter to JEA Chief Administrative Officer Herschel Vinyard. It reads in part, "The information being requested remains within the parameters provided in Section 4.4 of the Interlocal Agreement." This includes asset reporting for the utility system and any future extensions permitted under the agreement.

The letter continued to request the rate retirement of investment information, contributions in aid of construction information requested under prior correspondence.

Ryan said the county is still waiting on all requested information. He said this is to prepare county commissions if they decide to take action and repurchase the section of utilities within its boundaries.

Action News Jax spoke to St. Johns Utility Director, Bill Young. He said if the county decided to repurchase this part of the utility, it would be ready to serve those customers.

"I think it's an opportunity to have local people, make local decisions and have local control, keep money in St. Johns County," Young said, "We're very proud of the level of service."

Depending on the meter size and other variables, Young said the customers' bills could change.

"We will stay similar but are sure to be different, a little bit, higher or lower within a few dollars per month probably most likely," Young said.

STAY UPDATED: Download the Action News Jax app for live updates on breaking stories

Cox Media Group