Short circuit

A referenda asking residents to bury Gulf of Mexico Drive power lines in March fizzled at a Nov. 12 special meeting.

Four out of six Longboat Key commissioners in attendance voted against an ordinance on second reading that would have placed referenda on the March 10, 2015, ballot for bonds of no more than $19 million to bury utilities along Gulf of Mexico Drive and no more than $5 million to help neighborhoods with costs for undergrounding utilities in individual neighborhoods.

Although more than 40 residents in attendance agreed that an undergrounding utilities plan was the right decision, they expressed a desire to hold off until the commission could bring islandwide underground utilities to voters.

“This should be an island-wide referendum,” said north-end resident Pete Cohen. “It’s not fair everyone pays for GMD but then we pay again for undergrounding on Broadway later.”

The majority of the commission cited a need to get it done right the first time and a need to know what that the cost would be island-wide to bury utilities. The town will save money if it lumps the entire project together, but the savings are currently unknown. Mayor Jim Brown stressed the need to develop an equitable cost-sharing formula to allow those who live in neighborhoods that already have underground utilities to pay less for the future island-wide project.

Brown, Vice Mayor Jack Duncan and Commissioners Phill Younger and Pat Zunz voted to nix the March 10 referenda.

Commissioners Terry Gans and Lynn Larson voted for the March 10 referendum; Commissioner Irwin Pastor was absent from the meeting. All six commissioners voted in favor of a motion Duncan made to allow town staff to bring back options to the commission by February for GMD and neighborhood financing, both combined and separately. The commission set a timeline to place a referenda on next year’s Nov. 3 ballot.

Larson and Gans were adamant that if a GMD project was not approved in March, undergrounding would never happen.

“If we don’t walk out of here with a March referenda for GMD undergrounding, it’s dead,” Larson said.
The majority disagreed.

“We’re not putting a nail in any coffin,” Duncan said. “We’re taking the time to make an informed decision. It’s about getting it right for the whole town.”

Some commissioners expressed concern that many residents would vote down the GMD undergrounding project if the entire island was not included in the project. Although Younger disagreed and said the GMD project should move forward, he voted against the March referenda.

“We’re running a high risk by not moving forward, but I understand what you all want and I’m listening to you,” Younger said.