underground - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T20:06:43Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/undergroundGulf Stream: Decade-long project to bury utilities within a month or two of finishhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-decade-long-project-to-bury-utilities-within-a-month-2021-03-31T15:46:09.000Z2021-03-31T15:46:09.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> <br />Gulf Stream’s long-awaited project to rid the town of telephone wires and poles is stumbling toward the finish line.<br /> “I’m happy to say that AT&T has completed their — what they describe in their industry as — wrecking their old infrastructure,” Town Manager Greg Dunham told town commissioners on March 12.<br />Dunham said one house on Polo Drive still needed new conduit installed, which he expected would happen before the end of the month.<br /> “That means everyone else has been connected,” he said.<br /> Voters approved the plan in a referendum on Feb. 7, 2011, and were originally told the work would be done by fall 2012. Single-family homes were billed $15,200 while condo owners paid $8,500.<br /> The latest delay popped up last May when AT&T walked off the job in a contract dispute. The phone company wanted $1.2 million to complete the work; the town said it owed only $400,000.<br /> Gulf Stream filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in June. After going through mediation, both sides agreed in January to a payment of $695,000.<br /> Cable TV provider Comcast told Dunham it will wreck its remaining infrastructure in the first two weeks of April. Customers who have not scheduled appointments to connect to the new system will lose programming then.<br /> Dunham has been updating Florida Power & Light to make sure its teams are ready to swoop in.<br /> “We’re hopeful,” Mayor Scott Morgan said, “that sometime in May — or June at the latest — that the poles should be removed and all lines removed.”</p>
<p><strong>Subdivision approved</strong><br /> Also at the meeting, commissioners gave their first of two approvals for land-use and zoning changes for the Bluewater Cove addition to Place Au Soleil. The subdivision’s 14 new single-family homes will generate $140,000 in town property taxes; the Gulf Stream Golf Club, which currently owns the acreage, pays only $471 a year.<br /> Cary Glickstein, president of Ironstone Development Inc., told commissioners he was unable to incorporate the 2900 Avenue Au Soleil parcel, which separates the new subdivision from the rest of Place Au Soleil, into his plans. <br />“Both transactional uncertainties and engineering complexities were unfortunately too much to overcome,” he said.<br /> Assistant Town Attorney Trey Nazzaro said Glickstein and the town had been discussing his proposals for “well over a year, maybe closer to two years.” <br /> The original pitch was for multifamily townhomes, Nazzaro said. Glickstein’s team said the town’s code would have permitted 22 units on the new street instead of the now-planned 14.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>In other business</strong>, commissioners:<br /> • Denied a request from James Cacioppo for permission to install a four-post boat lift 16.5 feet closer to his southern lot line. The resident had argued the required placement nearer the center of the property spoiled his view of the canal.<br /> William Weiss, his neighbor to the south, wrote to commissioners “to express in the strongest terms possible” his objection to Cacioppo’s request.<br /> Cacioppo previously ruffled feathers along Polo Drive by taking more than three years to build his house.<br /> • Unanimously approved a resolution condemning bills in Tallahassee that would preempt a local government’s ability to enforce building design elements such as exterior color and architectural styling of windows on homes.<br /> “You can see for a town like Gulf Stream, this would really gut our code,” Dunham said. “This would really strike at the heart of why Gulf Stream is so beautiful.” Ú</p></div>Gulf Stream: Town employees enjoy new digshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-town-employees-enjoy-new-digs2018-05-30T17:31:50.000Z2018-05-30T17:31:50.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> <br />Gulf Stream’s town manager, staff attorney and executive assistant have settled into new offices in the just-completed Town Hall addition.<br /> “We are all occupying our new spaces. I won’t say we’re completely moved in — we still have boxes to unpack,” Town Manager Greg Dunham said the Friday before Memorial Day.<br /> Dunham, staff attorney Trey Nazzaro and assistant Renee Rowan Basel won spots in the remodeled Town Hall. Town Clerk Rita Taylor moved across the building to the larger office Dunham had; her old space will become the relocated town library.<br /> Dunham said he and Nazzaro had spent the preceding two weeks holed up in the Town Commission chambers while workers finished construction. He expected to have a final walk-through with the contractor shortly after Memorial Day.<br /> “We are really winding down,” he said.<br /> Shelves still have to be installed in Taylor’s former office, but that work is not considered part of the construction project.<br /> May was mostly devoted to interior work on the offices. The green fences shielding the construction from view came down as town commissioners met May 11.<br /> Dunham told commissioners then that Comcast was almost ready to begin putting its lines, which will be upgraded to fiber optic, into underground conduits. Once Comcast does that, its part of the project will take 60 to 90 days. <br /> Workers with Wilco Electric still are burying power lines along County Road and Little Club Road, Dunham said, but Comcast will start on the other side of phase 2. Its first task will be to walk the area to map the precise locations of the conduit, which he said could vary from the plans by up to 15 feet.<br /> After Comcast finishes its portion, AT&T will come to town to put phone lines underground.<br /> Dunham told commissioners the work could be finished sooner if they allow Comcast to work after 5 p.m., something Gulf Stream usually prohibits. Commissioners happily agreed.<br /> “I’d rather see it get done,” Commissioner Joan Orthwein said.</p></div>Boca Raton: Company can keep underground conduit at park, council decideshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-company-can-keep-underground-conduit-at-park-council-d2018-05-02T14:01:09.000Z2018-05-02T14:01:09.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> <br />The Boca Raton City Council will tweak a citizen-initiated ordinance that restricts city-owned land on the Intracoastal Waterway to “public recreation, public boating access, public streets and city stormwater uses only” so utilities can work on existing underground conduits.<br /> The issue arose when an unidentified telecommunications company sought a permit to relocate conduit in Spanish River Park. <br /> One reading of the ordinance would be that only “stormwater” and no other utilities are permitted, City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser told council members at their April 9 workshop session. Alternatively, she said, the code could be interpreted to primarily regulate uses at the ground level rather than restricting underground uses. <br /> Council members could give staff direction, Frieser said, either by interpreting the ordinance or amending it.<br /> Deputy Mayor Scott Singer said council members are the ones entrusted with interpreting city code. <br /> “We’ve already had them there. No one ever mentioned, ‘You’ve got to dig up the utilities,’” Singer said, arguing against an amendment.<br /> “I think a reasonable interpretation, based on what we have, is that this is just allowed, staff can proceed augmenting what’s been there and will remain there,” he said.<br /> But council member Monica Mayotte said the council could both interpret the ordinance for the telecommunications firm and amend it for future projects. <br /> Mayor Susan Haynie embraced the amendment option. <br /> “I think clarity’s best,” Haynie said.<br /> Frieser said city staff would proceed with the company’s permit application and that she would bring back a proposed amendment for consideration. The proposal will require a public hearing, she said. <br /> Residents voted 67 percent to 33 percent in 2016 to reject a plan for a restaurant at the city-owned Wildflower parcel on Palmetto Park Road and instead restrict that and similar green spaces to public uses. Consultant EDSA Inc. is developing a plan to make the 2.3 acres a full-featured park.</p></div>Highland Beach: Commissioner wants to consider underground power servicehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/highland-beach-commissioner-wants-to-consider-underground-power-s2017-11-01T16:18:28.000Z2017-11-01T16:18:28.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong><br /><br />Vice Mayor Bill Weitz wants to know if underground power lines are a feasible option for the town. <br />Still reeling from the small town being without electricity after Hurricane Irma for as long as eight days in some sections, Weitz at the Oct. 31 meeting asked fellow commissioners to support an effort to explore the feasibility of converting the town to a system of underground utilities.<br />“We need to know what the benefits would be and what the downsides would be,” he said. <br />Another question that would need to be answered, according to Weitz, is who would pay for bringing electric lines underground, which can be costly — up to an estimated $1 million per mile.<br />Weitz said he found information in his research indicating that Florida Power & Light has been more open since 2005 to providing incentives for communities to place power lines underground.<br />“We need to just gather data to see if it’s a viable option,” Weitz said. “Once we have the data, we can discuss the information with residents to see if this is something they want.”<br />There are two meetings set to talk to FPL representatives. <br />The first was scheduled for Nov. 1 for a Town Hall meeting with residents. <br />“Our focus is on improving the service delivery to our residents,” Weitz said. <br />Town Manager Valerie Oakes said town staff is scheduled to meet with FPL representatives later this month to discuss a variety of topics related to the town’s service. <br />She said the possibility of providing underground service likely would be one of the issues discussed. <br />Weitz, who is also on a committee exploring underground service for the Beach Condominium Association of Boca Raton and Highland Beach, said he thinks there could be a long-term benefit to Highland Beach residents should power be provided below ground. <br />“The goal is to maximize reliability,” he said. <br /> While FPL restored electricity quickly to two-thirds of the town’s residents, it took much longer for residents in the southern portion of town to get their electricity back. <br />Many in that area were without power for six days, while some homeowners waited more than a week. <br />“I don’t think that’s acceptable,” Weitz said.<br /><br /></p></div>Gulf Stream: Underground lines withstand Matthewhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-underground-lines-withstand-matthew2016-11-02T17:01:43.000Z2016-11-02T17:01:43.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960682676,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960682676,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960682676?profile=original" /></a><em>Steven Penniman and George Britt work on the town’s underground utilities project at the corner</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>of Golfview and Polo drives as phase 2 begins.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Steve Plunkett<br /><br /></strong> The threat of Hurricane Matthew bearing down on Gulf Stream made Mayor Scott Morgan an even more ardent believer in the virtues of putting electric wires underground. <br /> “Down in the south end of town, where with the slightest breeze we would lose power, we did not lose power in this storm, which had sustained 40-mile-an-hour winds and 60-mile-an-hour gusts,” Morgan said. “It’s the first time ever, where I live, that that occurred. And of course that’s occurring after we went underground.”<br /> Morgan and his wife, Lisa, bought their home on North Ocean Boulevard in 2004.<br /> “So I think it does lend some support to the reasoning that the town had in moving forward with the advantage of undergrounding,” Morgan said.<br /> The mayor’s observations came during an update on the utilities project. Phase 1 will be complete once streetlights are installed on State Road A1A from Pelican Lane to Golfview Drive, Morgan said. Florida Power & Light Co. has completed plans for the lighting, and the town expects the state Department of Transportation to issue a permit for the work in January, he said.<br /> The contractor has begun to install conduit on Golfview Drive and will be moving northward as phase 2 progresses. The contractor has 10 months to finish installing conduit for all overhead utilities and transfer the FPL service.<br /> In other business, commissioners elevated Curtiss Roach, the first alternate member of the town’s Architectural Review and Planning Board, to being a full member.<br /> “When asked to come down at the last minute, he does. He’s very responsive and committed to serving, so I think that would be a wise choice,” said Town Commissioner Paul Lyons, whose spot on the ARPB Roach is filling. <br /> Commissioners are looking for someone to takes Roach’s position as first alternate.</p></div>Gulf Stream: Stalled utilities project frustrates commissionershttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-stalled-utilities-project-frustrates-commissioners2015-04-01T20:04:28.000Z2015-04-01T20:04:28.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong><br /><br />Frustrated town commissioners are looking for ways to accelerate Gulf Stream’s utilities project after learning it might not be completed until the end of the decade.<br />“It seems to me this town may need to take some appropriate steps to force the issue,” said Mayor Scott Morgan on hearing town engineering consultant Danny Brannon’s report about the slow pace of progress in burying utility service lines.<br />Not much has happened since FPL workers completed the first phase of the $5.4 million project and moved power lines underground on the south side of town. Neither AT&T nor Comcast has begun moving their telephone and cable wires off poles in the southern neighborhoods, and FPL is months away from beginning Phase 2 work on the north side.<br />Brannon told town commissioners at their March meeting that, based on experience he’s had in other communities such as Jupiter Inlet Colony, it can take between two and three years to get the telephone and cable wires moved after FPL puts its electric wires underground. He said Comcast and AT&T are working on the design plans they’ll need to have in hand before they can begin moving lines to finish the project in the south end.<br />“I’ve been sitting here for a year on this commission hearing what you’ve reported,” Morgan told Brannon, “and it seems to be about the same. I’m not being critical of you or your company — you’re a marionette at the end of the string from Comcast and AT&T.”<br />Morgan said the town should consider negotiating a tougher timetable for the north end and get an agreement with the two companies to complete their work in a specific amount of time. He said the town should consider imposing penalties for delays. <br />Another option is for the town to hire contractors of its own to move the cable wiring. AT&T fabricates its own wires, but the cable company’s work could be done by someone else, and Commissioner Robert Ganger thinks that’s worth exploring.<br />“I’ve hardly ever seen a Comcast person here — there’s always a truck with some no-name on it that Comcast hires to do their dirty work,” Ganger said. “It’s not that complicated to take a pole, stick wire in some conduit and pull it. This is not rocket science.”<br />Brannon said outside contractors could cost the town twice as much as Comcast. “But if time is of the essence, then we’ll have to weigh that,” he said, and told commissioners he had discussed the idea with Comcast representatives in Atlanta.<br />“We can’t go over this budget,” Ganger said. “But by the same token, we can’t have poles in the skies for the next decade.”<br />After Comcast and AT&T complete their work, perhaps several years from now, FPL still has to come back and remove all the poles. At the current pace, that conceivably could run into 2019 or beyond.<br />Commissioners found solace in two positive points: So far, the project has stayed roughly within its budget. And if, heaven forbid, a hurricane should strike the town this season, at least south end residents would have electricity, if nothing else.<br />“We’ve achieved about a tenth of what we wanted to achieve,” said Ganger, who started pushing the project in 2008. “But at least we’ve achieved something.”</p></div>Gulf Stream: Expediency wins out in utilities votehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-expediency-wins-out-in-utilities-vote2013-09-04T15:30:00.000Z2013-09-04T15:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Tim O’Meilia</strong><br /> <br /> The choice for the Gulf Stream Town Commission was time or money.<br /> Award the long-awaited contract to put overhead utilities underground now or wait two months to make the award and perhaps save $165,000.<br /> They chose time. <br /> By a 4-0 vote at their Aug. 13 meeting, commissioners awarded a $1.75 million contract to Hypower Inc. of Fort Lauderdale to begin work in September on the first phase of the $5.4 million project. <br /> Already 16 months behind schedule, commissioners said they didn’t want to further delay the project that residents voted to pay for in November 2011. <br /> “People coming down (from summer homes) will say where the heck’s the digging,” said Commissioner Bob Ganger. <br /> Although four contractors bid on the project, two were rejected because they did not include a crucial work schedule. One of them, Mastec North America, was the low bidder by $165,000.<br /> Hypower’s bid is less than town consulting engineer Danny Brannon’s estimate. <br /> Brannon recommended re-bidding the work anyway because he said that having only two responsive bidders was a solid reason for a do-over and a good chance for a lower price. <br /> “I’m always reluctant to award something to someone who can’t follow the rules,” Ganger said. <br /> Town Manager William Thrasher recommended accepting the low bid since Hypower was also more highly ranked on other criteria. Brannon said all four contractors were well-qualified. <br /> “There’s something to be said for those who come in with a complete bid,” said Commissioner Donna White. <br /> “Is $100,000 worth two months?” asked Mayor Joan Orthwein.<br /> Brannon expects landscape removal to begin immediately in the Phase 1 area, south of Golfview Road. Construction is set to begin in late September. If the work remains on schedule, the first phase would be completed by late September 2014. The work includes $228,000 for installation of 22 street lights that were not included in the original project.<br /> Phase 2 is scheduled to begin construction in May 2014 and be completed by August 2014.<br /> Even with the power, telephone and cable lines underground, the overhead lines and poles might not be removed by Florida Power & Light until months after the project is complete, Brannon said.</p>
<p><br /> <strong> In other business</strong>, commissioners:<br /> • Agreed unanimously to appoint a five-member ad hoc committee to recommend changes in the town’s design guidelines, including roofs, colors and home styles.<br /> “Times have changed. There’s a lot of new construction in town. We’re interested in the town keeping its character but also being more flexible,” said Orthwein, who has pushed for changes. <br /> The commission is hoping for volunteers and expects to consider applicants at the Sept. 9 meeting.<br /> • Briefly discussed the proposed budget, which would give 2.5 percent raises to town employees. Ganger noted that the pay raise is higher than this year’s Consumer Price Index uptick of 0.6 percent. Thrasher said the increase would cost the town $28,000 in a $3.2 million budget. The commission took no action. Final budget hearings are scheduled Sept. 13 and 24.<br /> • Approved unanimously the site plan for the fourth of six lots carved from the former Spence estate on North Ocean Boulevard. The plan for the Harbor View Estate lot is a 8.726-square-foot Colonial West Indies-style home, partially two stories with a three-car garage, pool and cabana. <br /></p></div>Gulf Stream: Assessment plan for utilities' burial sethttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-assessment2011-08-03T17:19:42.000Z2011-08-03T17:19:42.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div>By Steve Plunkett<br /><br /> Surveyors began measuring the south part of Gulf Stream in mid-July after town commissioners voted unanimously to levy special assessments to put electric, phone and cable TV lines underground.<br /> Sitting June 30 as the Board of Equalization, town commissioners ruled the non-ad valorem assessment plan developed by consultant Willdan Financial Services was fair.<br /> “I think the proposal is reasonable and we should make the decision,’’ Mayor William Koch Jr. said.<br /> “It is difficult to divorce your opinion from your pocketbook,’’ Commissioner Chris Wheeler said. “The whole reason we relied on these experts is to provide that objectivity.’’<br /> Habib Isaac, senior project manager for Willdan, said the amounts his company proposed were based on actual observation of each parcel.<br /> “We went through all the streets in town,’’ Isaac said.<br /> He presented a chart showing, for instance, that parcel size was considered in calculating the added safety and aesthetics benefits, but not reliability, while having a guest quarters added to reliability benefits but not aesthetics or safety.<br /> That led to sizable differences between different types of dwellings, Isaac said. <br /> “On average a condo is being assessed roughly 60 percent of a single-family home,’’ he said, or $7,057 vs. $11,907.<br /> Resident John Caldwell of the Gulf View Club again asked why units in his condo building were being assessed $2,000 more than units in Gulfstream Shores.<br /> Isaac told him it was because Gulfstream Shores already has underground electric lines from the street to the building and that their meters are already updated.<br /> After other condo residents complained that they were paying almost as much as some multimillion-dollar estates, Isaac said his analysis did not use property values at all.<br /> “If you do that you’re really doing a tax in the clothing of an assessment,’’ he said.<br /> He also pointed out how impartial Willdan was in devising the assessment plan.<br /> “We’re not contingent on whether this moves forward or not from this point on,’’ he said. “Our involvement is in providing you the report that you have in front of you, and that’s the end of our services.’’<br /> Some homeowners wrote letters of support for the project, while other condo residents mailed objections. <br /> “Is there anything that you heard today in any of the comments that would cause you to want to reconsider your assessment methodology?’’ Town Attorney John Randolph asked Isaac.<br /> “My answer to that would be no,’’ Isaac said.<br /> “Today is not the first time you have heard the objections that have been raised today, particularly some of the objections that were made by [Gulfstream Shores condo president] Candy Gouwens and by Mr. Caldwell. <br /> “You’ve heard those before and you’ve given consideration to those kinds of comments in your methodology?’’ Randolph asked.<br /> “Yes, I have,’’ Isaac replied. “The only one I didn’t give consideration to was the value of the home in relation to the assessment amount.’’<br /> Town commissioners also voted unanimously to borrow up to $5.5 million to finance the project.<br /> The first phase of work is from roughly Golfview Road south to Pelican. Danny Brannon, the town’s consulting engineer, said shovels won’t hit the ground until next spring, following the survey phase and putting the project out to bid</div>In Gulf Stream it's official: Electric, phone and cable TV are going undergroundhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/in-gulf-stream-its-official2011-06-30T18:00:00.000Z2011-06-30T18:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p>By Steve Plunkett</p>
<p> It’s official now—property owners in town will pay non-ad valorem special assessments to put electric, phone and cable TV lines underground, out of the view and away from wind and salty air.</p>
<p>Sitting June 30 as the Board of Equalization, town commissioners voted unanimously that the assessment plan developed by consultant Willdan Financial Services was fair.</p>
<p>‘’I think the proposal is reasonable and we should make the decision,’’ Mayor William Koch Jr. said.</p>
<p>‘’It is difficult to divorce your opinion from your pocketbook,’’ Commissioner Chris Wheeler said. ‘’The whole reason we relied on these experts is to provide that objectivity.’’</p>
<p>Habib Isaac, senior project manager for Willdan, said the amounts his company proposed were based on actual observation of each parcel.</p>
<p>‘’We went through all the streets in town,’’ Isaac said.</p>
<p>He presented a chart showing, for instance, that parcel size was considered in calculating the added safety and aesthetics benefits but not reliability, while having a guest quarters added to reliability benefits but not aesthetics or safety.</p>
<p>That led to sizable differences between different types of dwellings, Isaac said. ‘’On average a condo is being assessed roughly 60 percent of a single-family home,’’ he said, or $11,907 vs. $7,057.</p>
<p>Resident John Caldwell of the Gulf View Club again asked why units in his condo building were being assessed $2,000 more than units in Gulfstream Shores. Isaac told him it was because Gulfstream Shores already has underground electric lines from the street to the building and that their meters are already updated.</p>
<p>After other condo residents complained that they were paying almost as much as some multimillion-dollar estates, Isaac said his analysis did not use property values at all.</p>
<p>‘’If you do that you’re really doing a tax in the clothing of an assessment,’’ he said.</p>
<p>Town commissioners also voted unanimously to borrow up to $5.5 million to finance the project.</p>
<p>With a 25 percent credit available from Florida Power & Light Co., interest rates low and contractors hungry, ‘’this is the best time to do it,’’ said Dan Comerford, mayor of Jupiter Inlet Colony, which just began construction on its underground project.</p>
<p>Danny Brannon, the town’s consulting engineer, said surveyors would start work in Gulf Stream the first week of July. Shovels won’t hit the ground until next spring, he said.</p></div>Gulf Stream: Critics of utility project cost-share keep up oppositionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-critics-of-utility2011-06-01T17:10:34.000Z2011-06-01T17:10:34.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960342098,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960342098,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960342098?profile=original" /></a><br /><em>More than 30 people attended a recent Gulf Stream Town meeting, some (in red shirts) to complain about undergrounding power line assessments. Photo by Jerry Lower</em><br /><br />By Steve Plunkett<br />Wearing red, Gulfstream Shores residents kept up their assault on what the town wants them to pay to put utility lines underground even as town commissioners set June 30 for a public hearing on the plan.<br />“Tell your consultants to go back. There are other options,’’ said lawyer Marcie Nolan, representing Gulfstream Shores’ 54 condominium units at the commission’s May 13 meeting.<br />Nolan repeated that Gulfstream Shores wants the special assessments to be based either on lot size or lot frontage. That would drop per-unit costs, now $6,118 at the complex, to $328, while single-family homes would pay $15,402 on average instead of $10,000, she said.<br />Edward Johnson, president of the time-share owners at recently annexed Gulfstream Manor, also spoke against the assessments, as did Sophie Bent of Hillside House. <br />“A lot of our property owners feel the unfairness of the methodology used,’’ Bent said of her 12-unit condo.<br />At least one complex, the 23-unit Somerset, supports the proposal. “The Somerset voted 100 percent for the methodology you all have chosen,’’ said Nancy Wibbelsman, whose husband is president of the condo association there. “We believe that it was fair for each individual to bear an equal burden because each individual or each family that owns the unit is going to be sharing this burden equally.’’<br />Bob Ganger, president of the Gulf Stream Civic Association, said while affected property owners polled in a straw ballot approved the project 56 percent to 44 percent, Gulfstream Shores “from the very beginning’’ was opposed to the assessment methodology.<br />“If one excluded Gulf-stream Shores, who voted overwhelmingly against, the total for the town would have been 65 for, 35 against,’’ Ganger said. Condo residents also disputed variations among condo assessments. Bill Dugmore of Gulfstream Shores said the average unit there is 750 square feet; Wibbelsman told him condos at the Somerset are 1,200 to 1,300 square feet.<br />“That’s approximately twice the size of a unit at Gulfstream Shores, and you’re being assessed the same amount of money that we are,’’ Dugmore said.<br />“But you’re benefiting the same amount I am,’’ Wibbelsman responded.<br />John Caldwell, who lives at the Golf View Club, said his building’s seven units are being assessed $8,200 each, more than 300 other properties on the list.<br />“With all due respect to our friends from Gulfstream Shores, their average is $6,200 for all of the condos,’’ Caldwell said. ‘’We’re paying $2,000 more than that for our tiny little building, and I just think that’s on its face unfair.’’<br />Before the public commented, Gulf Stream’s consultants reviewed the safety and reliability of underground electric wires and defended the fairness of the assessments. Nolan at two April meetings had charged that the project’s only benefit was improved aesthetics.<br />Consulting engineer Danny Brannon said he did not know of anyone being electrocuted by an underground system, but said the same is not true of overhead wires. He also said converting to underground is so important to Florida Power & Light Co. that the utility will pay 25 percent of the project’s costs. Brannon said he also has discovered an electric cable under the Intracoastal Waterway connecting Gulf Stream to the mainland. That should negate fears of power outages caused by downed overhead wires in Briny Breezes or Delray Beach, he said.<br />Lee Evett of Willdan Financial Services said his firm is the only one in Florida to have completed assessment methodologies, in Jupiter Inlet Colony and the towns of Palm Beach and Gulf Stream, as well as 11 others in California. <br />Only one was challenged in court, and Willdan was upheld, he said. <br />“There isn’t a more fair system under Florida law for assigning costs of a particular project than an assessment methodology,’’ Evett said, noting that Palm Beach, like Gulf Stream, has a number of condominiums.<br />Meanwhile, Gulfstream Shores wrote state Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff requesting that Florida pass a law declaring condominium complexes a single parcel rather than multiple units when special assessments are imposed.<br />Mayor William F. Koch Jr. then wrote Bogdanoff to say it would be ‘’unfortunate’’ to take legislative action based on “incomplete information’’ about Gulf Stream’s plans. Gulfstream Shores has other ways to challenge the project, he said.<br />“The established process for local government legislative decision-making has not been completed and should not be cut short,’’ Koch wrote.<br />The Town Commission approved an ordinance 4-0 authorizing the special assessments and scheduling the public hearing. Commissioner Chris Wheeler was absent.<br />“We’ve listened to all your thoughts today and we’re considering them and will consider them,’’ Koch told the condo residents in the filled commission chambers.<br />Town Clerk Rita Taylor said the hearing, which starts at 9 a.m. June 30, is akin to a “board of equalization,’’ where residents can present grievances over assessments for possible adjustment. <br />After the hearing, the commission can adopt, reject or modify the assessment roll.<br />Notices of the hearing had to be mailed to the affected property owners 30 days in advance, Taylor said.<br />If approved, the assessments will show up on property tax bills in November. The proposed project does not include Place au Soleil, which was built with underground <br />lines. </p>
<p><strong>Note to readers:</strong> Gulf Stream’s June 30 public hearing on special assessments comes too late to be covered in our next edition. Please go to <a href="http://www.thecoastalstar.com">www.thecoastalstar.com</a> for updates on the town’s underground project.</p></div>Gulf Stream: Condo residents seek cut in utility-burying costshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-condo-residents2011-05-04T19:18:02.000Z2011-05-04T19:18:02.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div>By Tim O’Meilia <br /><br />Gulf Stream’s plan to put all its utility lines — electric, telephone and cable — under ground has aroused the concerns of condominium residents worried about how much they will be assessed for the estimated $5.5 million project.<br />More than 20 condominium residents packed the Town Commission chambers April 28 to protest the method that will be used to assess town residents to pay for the project. <br />The typical condo owner would pay $6,128 for the work, while owners of single-family homes would pay an average of $10,260, based on lot size and other factors, according to Willdan Financial Services, which is preparing the assessment plan for the town.<br />“We are in no way opposed to undergrounding,” said attorney Marcie Nolan, representing the 54 unit owners of Gulfstream Shores, at the earlier April 8 Town Commission meeting. But she said the condominium alone would be paying $350,000 for the work.<br />At the April 28 meeting, Nolan suggested the assessment could be based on front footage and area, which would charge a condominium building as a single unit. Under her plan, condo owners’ share would be cut to $349 while charges for single-family residents would jump to about $18,488. <br />Willdan representative Habib Isaac said his firm’s methodology has been used in 12 undergrounding projects in the past five years. It relies on safety, reliability and aesthetic factors which differ between single-family homes and condos.<br />“Quite frankly, there is no way to make everyone happy,” said Susan Schoettle-Gumm, special counsel for the project. “When you reduce costs to one group, it increases for another. This is a common part of going through an assessment process.”<br />The commission prelim-inarily approved an ordinance to place whatever assessment is approved on homeowners’ property tax bills as a non-ad valorem special assessment. The commission has not yet approved a final assessment.<br />The town plans to offer residents a 10- or 20-year payment plan. <br />Nolan said a simple ad valorem special assessment would allow a tax deduction for the cost. A non-ad valorem assessment is not tax deductible.<br />However, that method would mean residents of Place Au Soleil, whose utilities are already underground, would have to pay the assessment as well. <br />In other business at the April 8 meeting, town commissioners approved three firms for consultant Brannon & Gillespie to negotiate with to map and survey streets, driveways, utilities and buildings in the south end. That step is the first phase of developing a design for the project. The town has approved $50,000 for the work.<br />Commissioners voiced concern about cost overruns, but consultant James Brannon, whose firm managed the burying of utilities on Jupiter Island and is handling Jupiter Inlet Colony’s project, said both had come in under budget.<br />“We had $15 million in Jupiter Island but came in at $8.4 million,” Brannon told commissioners. “We typically do not run over.”<br />The plan is to start work on the south end of town, followed by the north end — including the 16.6 acres annexed in March — by year’s end. The project should be completed by late 2012.<br />Voters approved the project in a straw vote in March, 175-136, a 56.3 percent majority. Similar projects were approved on Jupiter Island by 90 percent and in Jupiter Inlet Colony by 75 percent.<br />In other business: Mayor William Koch, one of the oldest and longest-serving mayors in Florida, was reappointed by commissioners for three more years. At 90, he has served half of his life — 45 years — as Gulf Stream’s mayor. Joan Orthwein was reappointed vice mayor. Both were by unanimous votes. <br />n Commissioners increased development and building permit fees for the first time in nearly a decade for development costs and four years for fees.<br />n Commissioners approved $15,000 to update the town’s comprehensive land plan following the annexation. They also approved $20,000 for costs of the annexation process, including poll workers and <br />legal fees. <br /><br /><em>Mary Kate Leming contributed to this story</em></div>Manalapan considering underground costshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/manalapan-considering2011-03-03T17:26:39.000Z2011-03-03T17:26:39.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div>Their interest piqued by Gulf Stream’s progress on putting power lines underground, town officials wonder how much it would cost to do the same thing in Manalapan.<br />“I sure would like to see the ‘Third World’ appearance go away,’’ Commissioner Donald Brennan said about the overhead lines along State Road A1A.<br />Town Manager Linda Stumpf said Florida Power & Light Co. gave her a ballpark estimate of $4.9 million, not including the cost of restoring any landscaping and pavement or putting new connection boxes on homes. <br />Now she will contact the same consultants Gulf Stream is using to see if the price can be lowered.<br />“I think there will be a lot of people in favor of it and a lot of people violently opposed to it,’’ Mayor-elect Basil Diamond said.<br /><em>— Steve Plunkett</em></div>Gulf Stream votes for underground wireshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-votes-for2011-03-03T17:25:24.000Z2011-03-03T17:25:24.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960324680,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960324680,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960324680?profile=original" /></a><em>Town Clerk Rita Taylor and Town Manager William Thrasher count votes Feb. 7 at Gulf Stream Town Hall. <strong>Photo by Jerry Lower</strong></em></p>
<p>By Steve Plunkett<br /> <br />Property owners voted to put overhead electric lines underground, but the margin was much closer than in other coastal towns that approved the expense.<br />Gulf Stream’s tally was 175 for and 153 against, or 56 percent to 44 percent. Jupiter Island registered 90 percent in favor while Jupiter Inlet Colony had 75 percent support.<br />“It’s a go,’’ Vice Mayor Joan Orthwein said into her cell phone shortly after Town Clerk Rita Taylor announced the results Feb. 7.<br />The straw ballots were counted by Taylor, Town Manager William Thrasher, Civic Association President Bob Ganger and Ron Bennett, an accountant with the town’s auditing firm.<br />“Here’s one for Al Gore,’’ Ganger joked while he helped sort the ballots into 18 piles representing each street in Gulf Stream, from Banyan to Wrightway.<br />Resident Bob Meisel delivered his vote — in favor of the $5 million project — just a few minutes before the 2 p.m. deadline, adding that he thought he had until Election Day, March 8, to get his ballot to Town Hall.<br />“We have so few votes here,’’ he said, explaining his confusion over the dates. <br />The week before, town officials shifted from being neutral about the proposal to stating their full-fledged support. Commissioners voted unanimously to cast six votes in favor of burying the wires for the six parcels the town owns.<br />Besides boosting property values, underground wires will help protect the town’s signature Australian pines along State Road A1A from being overly trimmed by Florida Power & Light Co. crews, Mayor William F. Koch Jr. said.<br />“We’ve for the last three or four years had to have an arborist stop in and watch them when they come in so they don’t butcher them to death,’’ he said. “They’re not going to last.’’<br />Koch urged the audience at a special commission meeting to tell their neighbors the project is in their best interest. <br />“It makes sense,’’ he said. “You’re investing in your own property when you put the undergrounding in. And it’s also investing in the town’s heritage and what it really is. These trees are very important to us.’’<br />Ganger praised Koch for showing his feelings at a Civic Association meeting the night before.<br />“The mayor did this town a great service by standing up, endorsing the project for all the right reasons, with passion,’’ Ganger said. “We’re so used to trying to be very civil, very factual and so forth and so on. There comes a point in time when you have to put a little passion into it. ‘’<br />Koch and Ganger said condo residents seemed most opposed to the project and questioned why a multifamily building should have to pay any more than a single-family home that took up the same land area.<br />“Three-fourths of the project is on the street — that is, to bring it to your house,’’ Ganger said. ‘’So really, what they’re getting is what everybody else gets. And the issue is, is that fair? Yes, it is fair. Is it equitable? Yes, it is equitable. Do I want to do it? In their case, a lot of them say no.’’<br />Gulf Stream’s consultants said the cost to put electric, phone and cable TV wires underground for a typical single-family home is $15,218 and on a condo unit is about $8,500. The bill for Gulf Stream School is $44,200, they said. <br />Town officials plan to look for 20-year financing plans that could make the amount $600 a year for condos and $1,200 a year for single-family homes.<br />Work will start in the southern end of town first, followed by the northern section at the end of this year. All of Gulf Stream should be finished by fall 2012, the consultants said. <br />The project does not include Place au Soleil, which was built with its lines placed underground.<br /> <br /></p></div>