Villagers seek to bury undergrounding referendum

The total estimated cost of making above-ground wires disappear forever on Longboat Key is rising. And for property owners who currently have above-ground utilities, concerns about paying for the project are mounting as well.

Approximately 45 north-end residents packed Longboat Key Town Hall Monday afternoon to inform the Longboat Key Town Commission they don’t want their power lines buried because they say the financial burden is too steep.

For residents of the Longbeach Village and other communities with above-ground utilities, the total upfront cost for a proposed neighborhood and side-street project is $8,500.60. Financing costs over 30 years at a 4.5% interest rate, those residents would pay $527.36 annually, for a total cost of $15,820.80.

“It’s a huge hardship for a lot of residents, and I won’t vote for this,” said Village resident Margaret Watkins.

Carla Rowan, also a Village resident, said some of her neighbors can’t fit the project into their budgets.

“This is going to financially ruin some of my neighbors who will see their tax bills rise 20% to 40%,” Rowan said. “This kind of money will absolutely break them.”

Despite the backlash, the Town Commission reached a 6-1 consensus at its regular workshop and approved an ordinance on first reading at a special meeting Monday that followed to proceed with a neighborhood and side street referendum.

The project’s estimated cost has risen from $20.5 million to $23.85 million in just a week due to the addition of a fiber optic line to neighborhoods with underground utilities and project construction contingencies. The increase amounts to an additional $600 for property owners with underground utilities, raising the flat total assessment to $1,113.34 from the previous $513.35 estimate.

Property owners with existing underground utilities would pay for 18.5% of the cost of burying utilities, not including fiber optic costs; owners with above ground utilities would pay for 81.5%.

Calculations for some neighborhoods like Spanish Main Yacht Club need to be reworked because of questions about whether some properties currently have underground utilities, which could affect funding ratios.

Owners of a home with underground utilities on Bayou Gate would pay $1,113.34 if they opted to pay for costs upfront. If they financed it over 30 years at a 4.5% interest rate, they would pay $69.07 annually, for a total cost of $2,072.21.

But many Longbeach Village  residents, the cost of $8,500.60 up front or $527.36 annually is too much.

“It’s grossly unfair to most of the residents,” said Village resident Michael Drake.

“The Village seems to be bearing the brunt of this,” resident Joe Mazza said. “We’re all around the $8,000 mark, and I don’t see the benefit we get.”

More than 20 north-end residents urged the commission to find a more equitable solution, but not one south-end resident  attended to complain about funding a portion of the project.

Commissioner Lynn Larson urged the commission proceed.

“If this fails, we have time to do districts without a subsidy,” Larson said. “Let the voters decide if they want this with a subsidy from property owners.”

The commission is scheduled to approve the language for the  project on second reading Jan. 4. 

The proposed referendum will likely go to voters in the March 15 election.