Punta Gorda City on Tuesday held a publicly noticed utilities workshop where a consultant presented a demonstrated‑needs study that recommends raising water and sewer impact fees to cover rising capital costs and near‑term expansion needs.

Danica Katz, a consultant with Stantec, told attendees the study found expansion capital costs for the utility system have risen sharply since 2020 and that some critical projects must be funded in the near term. "We'll be discussing the demonstrated needs study for the extraordinary measures supporting the necessary increases to impact fees," Katz said at the start of her presentation.

The study identified three reasons the city may exceed the normal phasing limits in the Florida Impact Fee Act: significant increases in capital expansion costs, the timing of major expansion projects concentrated in the near term, and revenue loss that would put rate pressure on existing customers. Katz said expansion costs for projects tied to growth have increased by more than 100% since the 2020 study and cited the reverse‑osmosis (RO) project as an example, with about a 40% rise in cost per gallon per day over the five‑year span.

Katz outlined the projects driving the need for capacity funding: an RO expansion that would add about 4 million gallons per day of capacity, upgrades and replacement for the Burnt Store elevated storage tank, wastewater master pumping station upgrades, multiple water‑distribution upsizing projects, and an I‑75 force main upsizing to support growth. She also noted the city is undertaking a master plan and a conditions assessment that may surface additional capital requirements not yet in the capital improvement plan.

On timing, Katz said roughly 70% of expansion projects are planned before 2028 and about 88% of the ten‑year expansion capital is planned before 2030. To illustrate the fiscal impact of lost fee revenue, she offered an example in which $1,000,000 less per year in impact‑fee revenue over a decade would require about $11,000,000 in additional borrowing; in the study's scenario that $1,000,000 per year equates to roughly 4% of current rate revenues and would raise debt‑service payments to about 24.2% of current rate revenue.

Katz presented calculated capacity fees and comparisons: the study shows a current combined water and sewer fee of $4,257 and a calculated combined fee of about $8,100. She emphasized that the Florida Impact Fee Act generally limits how quickly fees can rise — phasing increases under 25% over two years and 25–50% over four years — but allows exceptions when a formally documented demonstrated‑needs study shows extraordinary circumstances.

Katz said the demonstrated‑needs study is complete, this meeting was the second of two publicly noticed dedicated workshops, and she described the next steps: a first and second reading of a resolution or ordinance are scheduled for the 19th of this month and Dec. 3; if adopted, the new fees would be effective in early March.

During questions and comments, a participant identifying herself as Janine (the transcript contains two spellings of her surname) said, "the failure to acknowledge extraordinary circumstances... that's why these fees are so astronomical," expressing frustration with current conditions. Katz confirmed she was available to answer additional questions but no substantive technical or policy amendments were offered at the workshop.

The workshop concluded with no vote or formal action taken; the city will consider the study and proceed with the ordinance/reading schedule described by staff.