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Another sit-down: City, LCEC, say meeting ‘went well’

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The city of Cape Coral’s on-again, off-again talks with its electic utility provider were on again – at least for a single session Thursday – to see if another negotiation attempt could be made.

Cape Coral City Manager John Szerlag, LCEC?CEO Dennie Hamilton, and Joe Mazurkewicz, of the Council for Progress, met for an hour-long session at city hall.

City spokesperson Connie Barron relayed the message from Szerlag that said “Everything went well, and Merry Christmas,” and nothing more.

Mazurkewicz said in an e-mail, “All I can say is we had a good meeting where we talked and listened.”

“There is not much new to talk about. They met this morning, everything was cordial, but there are no new developments,” Karen Ryan, public relations manager for LCEC said in an e-mail.

Ryan said Hamilton reiterated LCEC’s willingness to answer questions and meet with the city, however, they will not negotiate until the Florida Public Service Commission complaint filed by the city has been resolved.

No additional meetings have been scheduled, but the group will touch base next week to determine the next step, if any.

The saga between the city and the utility has been a long, bitter one, lasting more than two years. In the last several months, dozens of meetings and phone conversations have produced little or no progress in reaching a franchise agreement to replace the 30-year contract that expired Oct. 1.

The city previously hired a negotiator, Stuart Diamond, help facilitate negotiations. When that effort also did not result in a proposed contract, the city reinstated its rate challenge filed with the PSC.

The challenge, filed in March and put on hold in June, alleges that ratepayers within the city “subsidize” LCEC customers in other parts of its service area.

In a letter to the city, Hamilton wrote that on May 15, 2017, LCEC will terminate its implied franchise agreement contract with the city. The 30-year agreement expired on Oct. 1 and the terms of the agreement would continue as before.

“To the extent that an implied contract of indefinite duration arises after our previous franchise agreement expired,” Hamilton wrote, “this letter provides formal written notice that in 180 days LCEC will terminate any such implied contract. Notably, any claimed option for the city to purchase LCEC property within the city will no longer be in effect upon termination.”

Efforts appeared stalled until the Council for Progress offered to be the ‘third man in the ring” as it were. It voted to offer its services to help build the framework for new talks, contingent on successful talks Thursday, which two members attended.