Neighborhood undergrounding referendum moves forward

The total cost to make above-ground wires disappear forever on Longboat Key is rising, along with concerns property owners that have overhead power lines have about paying for their share of the project.

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 the financial burden is too steep.

For Longbeach Village residents and other north end communities and side streets, their total upfront cost for a proposed neighborhood and side-street project to bury power lines is $8,500.60. Financing costs over 30 years at the same 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 Longbeach Village resident Margaret Watkins.

Village resident Carla Rowan said some of her neighbors can’t fit this into their budget.

“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 to keep the power running to a neighborhood and side-street referendum for a project that has a cost estimate that’s risen from $20.5 million to $23.85 million in a week’s time. Adding a fiber optic line to neighborhoods with underground utilities and project construction contingencies has boosted the cost.

The referendum will ask voters in the March 15 election if the town can issue bonds not to exceed $23.85 million to bury utility lines in neighborhoods and side streets.

Property owners with existing underground utilities would pay for 18.5% of the project’s cost; owners with above ground utilities would pay for 81.5%.

The Gulf of Mexico Drive project, combined with a pending neighborhood project, would also eliminate approximately 85 power poles that otherwise need to be added near Gulf of Mexico Drive to funnel power to neighborhoods with above-ground power lines.

The commission is scheduled to approve the language for the neighborhood project on second reading Jan. 4. Ballot language for the referendum is due to county supervisors of election by Jan. 8.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].