NFWUA: Col Cnty 5 Bypasses Two Ex-Utility Directors as Auth Directors. Cnty 5 Clashes – Accuse Each Other of “Politics”
July 10, 2026 3:45 pm | 5 min read
AI Summary in a minute
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The North Florida Water Utility Authority (NFWUA) took center stage during the July 2 meeting of the County Commission (Columbia County 5 or The 5). The 5 rejected its two most credentialed Authority board applicants, instead appointing local developer Jock Phelps and electrical contractor Walt Graham.
After a heated exchange, in which the Authority's Executive Director was “buzzed off” by County 5 Chairman Tim Murphy, Commissioner Rocky Ford accused The 5 of injecting "politics" into a body created to be free of it.
Why This Matters
Commissioner Ford said that appointing board members to the NFWUA was “to take politics out.” Filling two volunteer seats that replace the Authority’s elected County commissioners during what the commissioners have labeled the utility's critical "build out phase" is questionable. The County 5 declined to seat two former utility directors, who offered their expertise for free; declined to hear a fitness analysis from the Authority's executive director; and split the vote (4-1) that ended in a clash over whether résumés or relationships drove the vote was not a good sign.
The outcome shapes who will steer major infrastructure and budget decisions for the taxpayer-subsidized NFWUA (Columbia and Suwannee County’s unincorporated water and wastewater future) on an Authority board without any elected representatives.
The applicants
County Manager David Kraus presented four candidates (the following descriptions are taken from the candidate resumes, not Mr. Kraus, whose descriptions were brief):
Steve
Roberts: former utility director for the City
of Lake City and Columbia County. 40 years of water and
wastewater experience; a certified public manager;
oversaw the construction of water and wastewater
treatment plants. Mr. Roberts has a master’s degree in
environmental management (water, wastewater, solid
waste, hazardous waste, and air pollution).
Stacy Cowart: former Columbia County utility director, still in the utility business; worked his way up from the bottom, utility certifications and advanced utility management training, a high school graduate.
Walt Graham: a retired electrical contractor worked in the electrical field from 1969-2025, when he retired. Mr. Graham’s resume states that he has experience in “water and wastewater electrical processes.” Mr. Graham is a HS graduate
Jock Phelps: involved in “Florida real estate for 35 yrs,” and is a pawn broker. Mr. Phelps was a member of the Columbia County P&Z. He has a BA in anthropology. Mr. Phelps was the only candidate who did not include a resume. Instead, he included a list of property he owned in the County.
County Manager Kraus reminded The 5 of a prior directive that selected applicants attend Authority meetings before being seated, "because until you're on this board or attend these meetings, you don't really truly get a full picture."
Flashpoint: NFWUA Exec. Dir offer to rank candidates
Executive Director Shannon Roberts offered a "brief assessment" ranking the four by fit for the utility's current needs, stressing he was not there "to denigrate any candidate" and that the choice was "ultimately this board's."
I'll stop you right there. We're not looking for that.
North Florida Water Utility Authority Exec. Dir. Shannon
Roberts was given the "buzz-off" by County Chairman
Murphy. (file)
Chairman Murphy shut it down: "I'll stop you right there. We're not looking for that. We’ve got. I appreciate your opinion, but this board is more than capable to read our backup material - make decisions on that.”
Commissioner Hollingsworth backed Mr. Murphy, but on different grounds. Mr. Hollingsworth objected to publicly ranking volunteers at all: putting people forward and ranking them "below everybody else," he said, would discourage residents from ever serving again.
Commissioner Parnell noted the board had appointed a P&Z member the week before without any ranking.
Other than Commissioner Ford, Chairman Murphy appeared to be the only other commissioner who reviewed the candidate material provided: “I did my research, I did my homework.”
Commissioner Ford: "Why did we ask for experience?"
Com. Ford is also chairman of the NFWUA.
Commissioner Ford pushed back, questioning why the County solicited résumés and experience if it would not weigh them. He called the panel "the future of Columbia County and utilities." He argued two applicants clearly outranked the others, adding that both had been paid "hundreds of thousands of dollars "for the same expertise they were now volunteering for free – "a pretty good gift to the Columbia County citizens."
Without being invited, County Attorney Joel Foreman weighed in on the dispute, telling The 5, staff simply vets applicants "to make sure they check all the boxes.”
County Attorney Foreman also explained that Mr. Graham could not serve on both P&Z and the Authority, so appointing him would open a Planning & Zoning vacancy.
The votes (in sequence)
The first vote was so muddled the clerk could not follow it.
County Chairman Tim Murphy did not look happy. (file)
After almost 10 years as a member of the Columbia County 5, Chairman Murphy continues to be challenged by the rules of procedure he and the board have approved annually. It is unclear why calling for and recording votes is still challenging for him and the rest of The 5.
The 5’s adopted rules call for voting by “ayes” and “nays.” Instead, its members vote ‘for’ a motion by voting “aye” and ‘against’ a motion by voting “aye.”
Cowart + Roberts (Ford's motion; seconded by Phillips):Failed.
Commissioner Phillips said he knew the candidates. “They’re all upstanding people in this county, and I agree – kind of agree – with Rocky, you got experience in the field. Why shouldn't we use somebody's been experiencing the field?”
Deputy Clerk Melissa Williams: she takes the minutes for
the Clerk of Courts. The County 5 don't make it easy.
(file)
The vote was so muddled the clerk could not follow it; a roll call vote was not called for; Commissioner Phillips voted against. Mr. Murphy declared it failed.
Jock Phelps (Hollingsworth; seconded by Parnell): Passed, 4–1. After a confused voice re-vote (which had Com. Phillips changing his vote), Com. Ford voted no, saying he had to vote for "the two most qualified people" and that "this [NFWUA] is a board that requires expertise."
Walt Graham (Hollingsworth; seconded by Murphy): Passed, 4–1. Ford could not be heard voting in the room, on this reporter’s tape, or on the Clerk’s recording.
Effective date (Murphy; seconded by Hollingsworth): Passed (Ford in favor). The new members will attend two July sessions — a budget workshop and a regular meeting— and officially take their seats at the August meeting, giving them, Murphy said, "a good learning curve" on the budget and Executive Director Shannon Roberts’ planned adjustments.
The procedural confusion was nothing new for the County 5: the deputy clerk admitted "I'm tryin'," the county manager laughed, and County Attorney Foreman, without being asked, directed a commissioner-by-commissioner roll call vote to untangle the results.
The closing confrontation
After the appointments, Commissioner Ford refused to let the item pass quietly, reminding the room that the Authority was built to remove politics from utility decisions — then charging that the board had done the opposite.
Com. Ford
I’ll tell you what, everybody just saw here, you
injected politics right back into the utility authority.
Com. Murphy
I seen it on your side. You got your opinion –
I got my opinion.
Com. Ford
Did you read the resumes?
Com. Murphy
Believe it. I believe it. I read it, and I read
between the lines, too.
Com. Ford
Between the lines?
Com. Murphy
Between the lines. That white space.
Com. Ford
What did it say between the lines?
Com. Murphy
That were politics tryin’ to be embedded back
into it?
Chairman Murphy ended it, “We're moving on."
Epilogue
The infamous Columbia County 5: they never disappoint.