Underground utilities jolt Town Hall debate

The Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Office’s deadline for placing items before voters in May 2015 surged past the town last week.

If the town gets ballot language to the supervisor’s office by April 1, 2015 for an underground utilities ordinance, the town’s electorate could vote on the issue in August. But the November election is the most realistic time at which voters will decide whether to bury the Key’s utilities or pull the plug on the plan.

That’s because Town Manager Dave Bullock plans to discuss new information with commissioners in February. The commission would have to pass the ordinance on first and second reading before the town could send ballot language to the supervisor’s office.

“It looks like we’ve gotten ourselves in a bind where we can’t move forward without the information,” Commissioner Phill Younger said at the commission’s Dec. 1 regular meeting.

The commission decided against an ordinance to place two underground referenda questions before voters on the March 10, 2015 ballot. The decision did not bury the proposal; town staff will return with additional information about the feasibility of burying utilities on the entire island, instead of just on Gulf of Mexico Drive, as previously proposed.

Still, discussion about the undergrounding reverberated through Longboat Key Town Hall at the Dec. 1 meeting, even though the item was not listed on the agenda.

Technically, the discussion was not about undergrounding utilities, but about whether to discuss underground utilities.

Younger made a motion earlier in the meeting to revisit and discuss the possibility of underground utilities on Gulf of Mexico Drive.

Town Attorney Maggie Mooney-Portale said adding an agenda item would require a majority vote.

Vice Mayor Jack Duncan argued against placing the item on the agenda.

“An issue of this magnitude has to be informed,” Duncan said. “I think we would be quite out of the realm of fairness to the public if we were to go forward on a discussion of us tonight.”

“My motion was to raise the motion for further discussion, not necessarily proceed forward,” Younger said.

Younger said he agreed with Duncan about noticing the public but described it as an ongoing discussion.

He withdrew his motion after concluding that the town needs more information.

“March is done. It’s over and done with. We can’t bring that back. There’s not time to do it. It sounds like May is over and done with. I guess my real question is what are we going to accomplish by doing it?”

Younger said.