Bird center wastewater could be centrally treated

Upper Keys pelicans could soon be using the bathroom, kind of.

The Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District will consider allowing the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center to pipe excrement from the nonprofit’s pelican enclosure at its mile marker 93.6 facility to the district’s treatment plant at mile marker 100.2.

Rob Bulkiewicz, the bird center’s executive director, requested in a May 5 letter to send three discharges a week of 200 gallons to the treatment plant, which has the capacity to handle more than 2 million gallons a day.

Currently, the bird center treats the wastewater from the pelican enclosure through an on-site filtration system and stores it on the property before it is trucked to the mainland, Bulkiewicz said.

“It’s quite a lot of overkill to have it hauled away,” he said.

If the request is accepted by the district’s five-commissioner board, the pelican wastewater would drain into the district’s pump station. The district usually bills ratepayers through the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority but if the request is approved, the district would bill the bird center directly based on meter readings.

Three of the five commissioners expressed support for the request at their meeting Tuesday.

“I just don’t see where pelican poop is a big deal,” said board Chairman David Asdourian.

But Commissioner Sue Heim was cautious given the bird center’s history of money problems and struggles with county code violations on its rustic property.

“Historically, the Wild Bird Center has been hard-up financially,” Heim said. “I don’t want to wind up doing it for nothing.”

Commissioner Andrew Tobin has concerns about “unintended consequences,” and said accepting the proposal could set a precedent and prompt similar requests from other nonprofits or businesses currently not connected to the centralized treatment system.

“There’s a possibility of we open the door for one, we open the door for everyone,” Tobin said.

But Commissioner Robby Majeska dismissed his colleagues’ concerns and said they should approve the request immediately.

“All we have to do is figure out how to bill them,” Majeska said.

Commissioner Steve Gibbs responded “amen” in support.

Ed Castle, the district’s contracted engineer, stated in a report that accepting the pelican waste would not have a significant technical or financial impact on the treatment plant. But he added that the commissioners, not staff, should be the ones who make that decision.

“Accepting or declining the discharge should be a policy decision rather than a technical decision,” Castle wrote.

The board is scheduled to vote on the matter at its June 13 meeting at the district’s headquarters at mile marker 103.3 oceanside.

New attorney

Also at the meeting, the board voted unanimously to hire Tavernier attorney Nicholas Mulick as the district’s counsel, replacing Ray Giglio. Giglio tendered his resignation in February in response to the board sacking then-general manager Paul Christian. The board is expected to sort out Mulick’s compensation at its next meeting. Giglio agreed to be available to Mulick to ensure a smooth transition.

Tobin, himself an attorney, said the position should pay around $48,000 a year. He proposed Mulick would work about 20 hours a week, plus attend two commission meetings a month. This would represent a significant workload reduction from that which Giglio took on, albeit his position evolved quickly from what it was originally envisioned when he was hired in 2012.

Giglio began his time with the district initially as a part-time lawyer who was expected to work only about 10 to 20 hours a week for about $60,000 a year. But in short order, the commission voted to move him to full-time — with no benefits, however. He ended his time with the district with a $106,000-a-year salary.

This story was originally published June 12, 2017 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Bird center wastewater could be centrally treated."