Commission seeks island-wide neighborhood fair funding plan

The Longboat Key Town Commission is flipping the switch on a second undergrounding referendum question that will ask voters to pay for a Key neighborhood and side streets project.

With the town’s electorate backing a $25.25 million project to bury Gulf of Mexico Drive power lines and utilities last week, commissioners are ready to craft a second referendum question that town staff will scramble to meet tight deadlines to get on the March 15 ballot.

Commissioners asked town staff at its regular workshop Monday to come up with funding mechanisms for a referendum question that supports a non ad valorem funding method for the remaining above ground utilities in neighborhoods and Key side streets.

All seven commissioners unanimously supported a funding plan for the neighborhood project that more fairly distributes the funding of the project.

A past referendum discussed by commissioners that put the financial burden solely on residents that have above ground utilities was met with criticism earlier this year.

Mayor Jack Duncan suggested the town look at ways to distribute some of the cost of a neighborhood project island-wide, noting that the town’s beach funding formula or a similar model might work for the neighborhood project.

In the beach funding formula, which was approved in in 1992, property owners west of Gulf of Mexico Drive pay for 80% of beach project costs, while property owners east of the road pay the remaining 20% of beach project costs.

“I believe there’s a way the community can share in this cost for the neighborhoods,” Duncan said. “We’d like to see that option explored.”

Vice Mayor Terry Gans suggested town staff come back with funding options that include 80/20, 50/50 and 75/25 funding splits.

“I don’t know if everyone should pay the same thing,” Gans said. “I would like to see a list of scenarios before we make a decision.”

Town Manager Dave Bullock received unanimous consensus to bring back non ad valorem funding options spread out over all of the town’s more than 10,000 parcels for the commission to review next month at a future meeting.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].