Regional Utilities

[goodwitch58]

Has anyone been to the new Regional Utilities building on E. Highway 98? I stopped in today to pay my water/electric bill and I was appalled:
the wasted (heated and cooled) space in that building is incredible!

And, the wasted space in the parking lot. I was just appalled that a utility (energy) company would have so much empty space. Maybe I am missing something, but I felt as though I was walking into a huge cave and there are only two people working behind the desk....

In this age of conservation of energy and attempts by some to reduce carbon footprints, it seems so inappropriate for the local energy company to waste so much.

:idontno::(

[TooFarTampa]

Mr. TFT said pretty much the same thing when we drove by it the other day.

[Dune-AHH]

I had similar thoughts when I dropped off my payment last week.
I also found it laughable that the Chelco/Regional newsletters spin the new location as being "more convenient" for their customers.:blink:

[jdarg]

Hilarious! Y'all have ESP. I just had this conversation with another SoWaller today (he can chime in) - but his description made it sound the same- completely over the top!!

[Suma]

Well, maybe that explains the $750 July electric bill at our rental house!

[AAbsolute]

Does King Dewey Wilson still roam the halls with his dog? I went to a meeting and I was surprised by this, it's good to be the King. How do you get appointed? :idontno:

[goodwitch58]

Not sure...I did not see him, but there is room for an entire kennel in the lobby and the unused space in the parking lot could be Dog Park East!

[candihagler]

I had to go there this week to pay my bill and I came back to the car and told my fiance' that I could NOT believe the size of the building and the wasted space was just CRAZY! On top of this, all CHELCO customers just received a letter stating that the power rates are increasing and may increase again in 2009...HOW DARE THEM!

[Dune-AHH]

I know... I could build a house with all the nails I'm spitting over the CHELCO price hike so conveniently incurred right after they've moved into the new mega building!

Looks like it would be a great shelter for those "right on the gulf" folks in case there's a need for gulf front evacuation.

[Smiling JOe]

I didn't know they had moved until several days after trying to deliver my payment in person to their old office. Trop. Storm Fay was expected to hit on Sat, and my payment was due on Friday. I drove to their former office and the hurricane shutters were completely covering the windows and doors and they had removed the drop box. I was started to get scared about Fay coming through. Not seeing a sign noting that they had moved, I thought I would check back on Monday. Went back on Monday, and still locked down. It was Labor Day, so I guessed they would reopen on Tue. Went back Tuesday, still under lock down with no sign indicating they moved. Frustrated, I drove to Freeport office and delivered payment, and inquired about the SoWal location.

"Oh, they moved out to near the big church."

I don't think the nice lady behind the desk gave a crap about my suggestion to place a sign up on the former office location, noting the move.

[Marlee]

I have been out of town for a few months and just happened to read these blogs today about Dewey Wilson and Regional Utilities new office. You people who are complaining about higher electric bills may want to take that up with Chelco and not Regional Utilities. The two utility companies are not the same except Chelco rents an office at the new site as they did at the old site. And talk about waste, how much does it cost you to drive a vehicle to pay a bill. Ever heard of a postage stamp? $.42 cents it cost. You must be from Mississippi or Alabama where they wait until the last minute to pay a bill so the utility won't be cut off.
The new building was built not just for today but for our needs in the future. Just like our water lines and our sewer lines are designed. To meet the demands of tomorrow. It takes people of vision like Dewey Wilson to plan and build for the future. And for those of you who don't know or don't care, much of the cost for these expansions come from government grants and not directly from your utility bills.
I remember how nasty our water used to taste before Dewey Wilson came along. It was terrible tasting. I remember a moritorium on building my house in Seagrove because of the lack of water. Now we have clean, healthy water to drink and it's abundant. I'm proud to say that I am a friend of Deweys. He has nothing but South Walton's future on his mind.

[AAbsolute]

I have been out of town for a few months and just happened to read these blogs today about Dewey Wilson and Regional Utilities new office. You people who are complaining about higher electric bills may want to take that up with Chelco and not Regional Utilities. The two utility companies are not the same except Chelco rents an office at the new site as they did at the old site. And talk about waste, how much does it cost you to drive a vehicle to pay a bill. Ever heard of a postage stamp? $.42 cents it cost. You must be from Mississippi or Alabama where they wait until the last minute to pay a bill so the utility won't be cut off.
The new building was built not just for today but for our needs in the future. Just like our water lines and our sewer lines are designed. To meet the demands of tomorrow. It takes people of vision like Dewey Wilson to plan and build for the future. And for those of you who don't know or don't care, much of the cost for these expansions come from government grants and not directly from your utility bills.
I remember how nasty our water used to taste before Dewey Wilson came along. It was terrible tasting. I remember a moritorium on building my house in Seagrove because of the lack of water. Now we have clean, healthy water to drink and it's abundant. I'm proud to say that I am a friend of Deweys. He has nothing but South Walton's future on his mind.

So does Dewey still bring the dog to work with him? Do you know who hired Dewey and when? These are random questions I was just wondering about. Thanks

[Marlee]

The water board would have hired Mr Wilson many years ago. You might ask the mayor of Seagrove the specifics

[wrobert]

The water board would have hired Mr Wilson many years ago. You might ask the mayor of Seagrove the specifics


Seagrove would have to be an actual city to have a mayor. Regional Utilities is owned by the County. They hired Mr. Wilson quite a while back. He was the county administrator years ago if I am remembering correctly. A very nice and knowledgeable person.

[jodiFL]

Originally Posted by Marlee
I remember how nasty our water used to taste before Dewey Wilson came along. It was terrible tasting.
I am pretty sure that Mr.Wilson has ALWAYS been affiliated with Regional Utilities, so saying that he is the one responsible for making the water taste better is not making much sense to me. I am also sure that this franchise corporation is not owned by Walton county but instead has a contract to operate here.
From the RU site....
Florida Community Services Corp. of Walton County d/b/a Regional Utilities is the franchised operator of a water and wastewater utility system pursuant to an agreement entered into between Walton County and Regional Utilities on July 16, 1985. Pursuant to the Franchise Agreement, the County has granted the exclusive right for the Utility to construct, operate, and maintain a water and wastewater utility system and to sell such services to those customers located within the service territory.

[goodwitch58]

I am pretty sure that Mr.Wilson has ALWAYS been affiliated with Regional Utilities, so saying that he is the one responsible for making the water taste better is not making much sense to me. I am also sure that this franchise corporation is not owned by Walton county but instead has a contract to operate here.
From the RU site....

and my point for starting this thread was that no matter who runs the place, who owns it, or whatever...any utility company, whether energy or water, is dismaying to me when it so obviously wastes so much space and requires so much electricity to heat and cool, and clears so much land for a parking lot that is covered over with concrete/asphalt thereby causing more run off

[jodiFL]

and my point for starting this thread was that no matter who runs the place, who owns it, or whatever...any utility company, whether energy or water, is dismaying to me when it so obviously wastes so much space and requires so much electricity to heat and cool, and clears so much land for a parking lot that is covered over with concrete/asphalt thereby causing more run off
I agree, I was met with really nasty looks when I called the place a "Taj Mahal" recently.

[wrobert]

I am pretty sure that Mr.Wilson has ALWAYS been affiliated with Regional Utilities, so saying that he is the one responsible for making the water taste better is not making much sense to me. I am also sure that this franchise corporation is not owned by Walton county but instead has a contract to operate here.
From the RU site....


This is what I had seen and was referring too.....

Florida Community Services Corporation of Walton County
was organized under the laws of the State of Florida on August 7, 1985. The Company was incorporated as a non-profit corporation under state law. On November 26, 1985, the Walton County Board of County Commissioners by
Ordinance 85-15 rescinded the Public Service Commission's jurisdiction over FCS and transferred regulatory authority to the Walton County Board of County Commissioners The corporation was formed to acquire and improve existing water distribution facilities in the southern part of Walton County, Florida, for incorporation into a county regional utility system and to construct a regional
sewage collection treatment and disposal facility and water transmission, storage and distribution system. To fulfill its purpose, the Corporation has issued revenue bonds pledging its property and revenues to secure the payment of such bonds. After the bonds have been fully paid, the Corporation without consideration will transfer all of its assets to the County.. The Corporation retains all revenue generated by the system to provide for debt service and maintaining the system. The Corporation is reported as a proprietary fund type.



I think this is why the vehicles use to have, and may still have, county tags on them.

[NotDeadYet]

The Mayor of Seagrove?? :floor:
I live in Seagrove - can I appoint myself Mayor, LOL?

I am not from Mississippi or Alabama (:confused:) and I usually do pay my bill by mail, but there are other transactions with either Regional or Chelco that are either more efficient or required to be in person.

I had occasion to drive over there recently and not only is it not convenient, the size of the lobby shocked me. I am all for building for the future if it makes sense, (and I am not sure it does in the case of that building which is something different altogether than water capacity) but while we are waiting for the future to arrive, why are we wasting resources heating and cooling all that unused space?

[sowalgayboi]

It's huge and rediculous and I wouldn't have a problem with planning for the future. However, it's not like they moved from an ancient building. They seemed to be operating fine out of the Grayton office and with the almost stopping of developments in the area I'm not understanding the need for more space.