JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – JEA said it is working on a formal policy to address water service disconnections after the News4JAX I-TEAM reported last week that residents of a Westside apartment complex had their water shut off for days due to the owner’s unpaid bills.
Residents weren’t notified before the water was shut off.
According to JEA, the formal policy would give a timeline and details on what would happen when a multi-family unit is at risk of disconnection for water service. A spokesperson said the agency had a “practice” in place on how to handle these situations, but it was not a formal policy. Typically, residents are notified and hangars are put on doors, JEA said.
“JEA has a standard practice of working with our customers so that any kind of service disconnection is a last resort. In this case, as you said, we did not follow that practice, and we are working now on establishing a formal policy,” JEA spokeswoman Karen McAllister said.
JEA said it will make sure the city is notified and residents are given a warning before water is cut off, and McAllister said the policy is being worked on right now. She said it will include timelines and an established policy for JEA for the entire coverage area.
Last week, the News4JAX I-TEAM received a tip from a resident at the Arbor Oaks Apartments on Jammes Road who said they had not had running water for days. After bringing the concern to the City of Jacksonville and JEA, residents had their water restored later that day.
JEA said the owner of the apartments, Jacksonville Rental Properties LLC, owed the utility agency more than $10,000. After attempting multiple times over months to collect payment from the owner, JEA disconnected the service.
JEA said it regrets that residents were not properly notified of the upcoming disconnection to their water service.
Two days after the water was restored, JEA confirmed that Jacksonville Rental Properties LLC had paid the money that was owed in unpaid bills.
Andrew Sallee, listed as the registered manager of Jacksonville Rental Properties LLC, told News4JAX he is not the owner but has not provided records to show otherwise.
While JEA was stepping up and answering questions, Naportia Jones, a resident at Arbor Oaks who is still having issues, was finally getting some answers, too.
Jones sent a video to News4JAX showing someone finally fixing her water heater after she says she hasn’t been able to contact anyone for weeks.
The worker that Jones talked to identified himself as an employee for Peoples Choice Apartments, the company linked to the apartment complex next door, where some residents at Arbor Oaks say they have paid their rent.
News4JAX went there on Tuesday, and after seven straight work days, someone finally answered, but we didn’t get clear answers there or at the apartment complex on 103rd, where a note on that previous door directed residents.
News4JAX also went back to the Arbor Oaks office for the seventh work day in a row and there was a citation dated for Monday. But again, no one was there.
News4Jax also reached out to Tyrona Clark-Murray, the councilwoman for that district, again on Tuesday, and for the second time, her aide has told us she will get her the message concerning what residents say they are dealing with, but we have not heard back.