Help Village residents get county water lines; call your state lawmaker

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink. In Pinecrest, it isnt everywhere, yet.

It is important to provide our community with some historical information in order for you to understand why we are in this position in the first place, and what we have done over the past decade to complete our infrastructure, with the assistance of county, state and federal dollars.

When the Village of Pinecrest incorporated in 1996, about a quarter of theresidences, approximately 1,500 homes, mostly on the east side of 67th Avenue, had no access to county water or sewer lines. This was a result of the countys policy for decades of expecting developers, either residential or commercial, to pay for infrastructure.

That continues to be the county policy today, which is why Pinecrest continues to have a major challenge acquiring the necessary funding to complete the potable water infrastructure we need. And since Miami- Dade County is the water utility, it is their responsibility to provide the infrastructure upon which they run the potable water system. But they have failed to do so in many areas of the county, including Pinecrest.

And since most of the homes on the east side of Southwest 67the Avenue were on acre lots, protected from subdivision by county code, they were built in the 1950s and 60s by individual homeowners who then had to dig septic tanks and wells to get potable water. The county never bothered to upgrade to install potable water and fire hydrants in many area of unincorporated Miami-Dade and they carry that same policy today. Many Village residents (approximately 830 homes) still have no access and they continue to inquire about when we will see the extension of the county water lines throughout the eastern part of Pinecrest.

The first county funds that became available to Pinecrest post incorporation came after the 2004 county General Obligation Bonds (GOB ) passed for major infrastructure projects.

Within a few years, Pinecrest was the recipient of $4,357,900 for our water installation project. Later, the Village received $1.5 million from the state in 2007 and 2008, just before the economic downturn. Those combined state and county funds were used to build Phase 1 (the backbone) of the Pinecrest water lines in 2010, which gave access to 322 homes. The Village then completed Phase 2 in 2011, which provided access to another 242 homes that now have the opportunity to connect to the county water system. Those who choose to connect are required to pay the connection fees and monthly fees to the county.

Approximately 830 Village homes are still without access to a water line. The county mandates that any new home built in the Village that is within 200 yards of an existing water line must pay the expense to run a line and connect that new home to the existing water line. Their immediate neighbors will then have an opportunity to connect to that new line and pay a pro rata share of the expense.

With the economic downturn and recession in 2008-12 both the state and federal government cut off all earmarks to fund local government infrastructure.

Consequently there was an inability for local governments to access funding from the state and, with the elimination of earmarks at the federal level, the funding well dried up there too. The Village Council has made it a priority over the past four years as the economy improved to continue to try to access county funds. So, between 2010 and now we have been meeting with our county commissioner and the county mayor to try to access additional GOB funds from Miami-Dade county

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Help Village residents get county water lines; call your state lawmaker