JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville businesses that could be forced to close their doors if needed repairs to their septic tanks don't happen soon could get a reprieve courtesy of the City Council.
More than 1,400 businesses in Duval County still operate on septic tanks -- most of which are now failing and causing pollution in the St. Johns River.
More than one-third of those businesses are in the Jacksonville economic development area in north and Northwest Jacksonville.
The development area was established in the 1980s to help foster businesses in the city core. The business owners who moved into the area were promised connection to city sewer services years ago -- a promise that was not kept, one councilman told the I-TEAM.
The State Attorney’s Office has issued letters to businesses, including a Northside beauty salon, giving them a deadline to repair or replace their failing septic tanks.
Sapphire’s Salon owner Melissa Orie was given 60 days to address a complaint and comply with the requirements of the Duval County health code.
The letter included a warning about possible criminal charges for failure to comply with repairing or replacing the septic system.
“It's going to cost her $14,000, and she owns a salon,” City Councilman Garrett Dennis said. “She doesn't have $14,000, so we are proposing legislation."
That legislation would take $1 million out of an economic trust fund’s $5 million pot and use it for grants to help businesses pay for or replace septic systems or connect to city sewer services.
Dennis said the city of Jacksonville failed to fulfill promises made to Northside business and homeowners during the city’s consolidation, when the city and county governments were combined in 1968.
Businesses on the Northside were guaranteed new infrastructure and the opportunity to connect to city sewer services, but politicians at the time never saw that promise through, Dennis said.
“There were promises made at the beginning of consolidation, and every day, those promises are falling by the wayside,” Dennis said. “It's time for us to fulfill those promises."
Dennis estimates the $1 million grant would help 50 Northside and Northwest Jacksonville businesses, including Sapphire’s Salon, repair or replace their systems or connect to city services.
Without the help of the city, Dennis said, Jacksonville businesses could end up shutting down over the septic system problems.
“We feel that this is the right thing to do,” Dennis said. “The money is there, and we need to support the small businesses. If they close up, they are the lifeline. They are businesses that keep the economics going in the northwest" (part of Jacksonville).
Council members said they plan on taking up the issue at their next meeting in two weeks.
If approved, the grant money could begin being distributed less than five weeks later.
For more information on the number of septic tank systems in Duval County, go to floridahealth.gov.