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LONGBOAT OBSERVER
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YourObserver.com
THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2016
POWER POINTS ROBIN HARTILL MANAGING EDITOR
I
t’s coming down to the wire for the March 15 referendum that will determine whether power poles eventually become a relic of the past on the Key. The Longboat Observer explains what’s at stake in the upcoming election.
SPLITTING THE BILL
COST COMPARISONS
81.5%
Estimated assessments
The amount residents with above-ground utilities will pay if voters approve the project.
18.5% The amount residents with underground utilities will pay if voters approve the project.
YOUR BILL
To view your estimated assessment, visit longboatkey.org, and click “Undergrounding project” on the left side of the home page. Then, click “Neighborhood assessment search” to search by business/owner name or partial address.
vary widely. Some property owners with above-ground utilities would pay as much as
$11,649.29 in upfront costs, or $722.70 annually at 4.5% interest, for a total of $21,681 over 30 years. At the low end, some owners with underground utilities would pay just $518.35 upfront or $32.16 annually at 4.5% interest, adding up to
$964.80 over 30 years.
LONGBOAT OBSERVER
YourObserver.com
QUESTIONS What are we voting on? The March 15 referendum will determine whether the town can issue bonds not to exceed $23.85 million to bury the remaining above-ground utilities in neighborhoods and on side streets. How did we get here? In 2014, town staff proposed burying utilities in response to Florida Power & Light Co.’s plans to replace Gulf of Mexico Drive power poles with larger, more hurricane-resistant poles, after decades of on-and-off debate about the issue. The commission considered the possibility of an islandwide project but opted to hold a referendum on a GMD project in November and proceed with burying the rest of the Key’s utilities only if voters approved the GMD project. The commission opted to separate the projects due to concerns about fairness. A majority of the Key’s utilities are already underground, and commissioners and residents worried the price tag for an islandwide project, estimated at $42.2 million at the time, would cause voters who already have underground utilities to reject it. The GMD project received 62.6% voter approval in November. What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of burying utilities? Benefits include improved aesthetics, safety and reliability, including less damage and fewer outages during severe weather. Drawbacks include costs and the longer amounts of time required to repair outages. After severe
weather events water must recede before underground repairs can be made, and saltwater flooding can shorten the life of the system and increase maintenance to an underground system. The project will impact my tax bill, but I’m registered to vote up north. Can I vote in the referendum? No. To vote in any town election, you must be registered to vote in the town. Although the deadline to register for the March 15 election has passed, you can register to vote in future town elections through either the Manatee or Sarasota county supervisor of elections, depending on your county of residence. Why do voters have to approve the project? A charter amendment that voters approved in 1998 requires that the town obtain voter approval via a public referendum to issue bonds exceeding $800,000.
WHAT’S NEXT?
$23.85 million
The maximum amount for which the town can issue bonds if voters approve the project.
$340,000
$257,797
(1.08%) Referendum preparation and election
(1.43%) Extra contingency
$50,000
$1.2 million
(0.21%) Costs incurred to date
(5.03%) Multiyear inflation costs
$1.4 million
(5.87%) Financing and legal costs
$2 million
(8.39%) Street-lighting replacement
‘YES’
Eventually, no power lines will remain on the Key if voters approve the project. But don’t expect above-ground utilities to disappear any time soon. The town estimates that 2022 is the earliest all utilities could be buried.
‘NO’
Communities could still pursue independent underground utility projects, as Country Club Shores residents have vowed to do if the referendum fails. The upcoming Gulf of Mexico Drive project would not be impacted.
$3.6 million
(15.09%) Fiber-optic line installation
$15 million
(62.89%) Undergrounding neighborhood costs
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THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2016
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UPCOMING INFORMATION SESSIONS 1 p.m. March 2, at Bayfront Park Recreation Center, 4052 Gulf of Mexico Drive 3 p.m. March 9, at Longboat Key Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Road
HOW TO VOTE Absentee: The deadline to request an absentee ballot is 5 p.m. March 9. Obtain absentee ballot request forms through the Manatee or Sarasota county supervisor of elections’ websites, votemanatee.com or sarasotavotes.com. Allow sufficient time for the ballot to reach you and to return it by 7 p.m. March 15. Ballots received after that will be rejected. Early: Early voting takes place from March 5 through March 12. Manatee County early voting times are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sarasota County early voting is from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Early voting is not available on Longboat Key. For a list of locations, visit the town’s website, longboatkey.org. Election Day: Poll hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 15. Manatee County residents vote at Longboat Island Chapel, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Sarasota County residents vote at Longboat Key Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Road.