GMD power pole points explained

As Longboat Key voters head to the polls this week to determine the fate of Gulf of Mexico Drive’s power poles, Florida Power & Light Co. is making plans: If the referendum fails, it will move quickly to install larger, heavier concrete poles along the island’s main thoroughfare.

FPL has submitted three permit applications to the town to replace existing poles with larger poles along GMD and along Broadway in the Longbeach Village and on Binnacle Point along GMD as part of its Storm Secure project.

That plan, developed after the storm seasons of 2004 and 2005, calls for stronger, more hurricane-resistant poles.

“It’s clearly their intent that if the referendum doesn’t pass, they (FPL) are ready to move forward with their hardening project as soon as possible,” said Town Manager Dave Bullock.

Danny Brannon, principal of Palm Beach-based Brannon & Gillespie LLC, who is acting as the town’s undergrounding consultant, said FPL’s intent is to finish a replacement pole project along GMD by the end of 2016.

“They have a timeline and are ready to get started to meet their deadline if the referendum fails,” Brannon said.

FPL’s hardening project, announced in May 2014, sparked the Longboat Key Town Commission’s decision to put the referendum question before voters.

The referendum asks voters whether the town can obtain bonds not to exceed $25.25 million to bury the road’s utilities.

The commission considered the possibility of an islandwide project but opted to separate the GMD project from a potential neighborhood/side street project.

If voters approve the referendum, construction could begin in 2017 and would take three years to complete.