When it comes to burying utility lines on the island, Key Biscayne residents are used to their elected leaders being all talk and no action.
It has been discussed repeatedly since the Village鈥檚 incorporation in 1991. A task force, backed with a high-level engineering study, recommended going forward in 2019, but the Village slammed after a change in state utility law.
Now, the Council may 鈥� just maybe 鈥� be ready to finally greenlight Florida Power & Light putting shovels in the ground.
鈥淪o today we would give you the intent of the Council is to proceed to underground the entire island,鈥� Council Member Ed London said at Thursday鈥檚 workshop.
The Council is expected to take formal steps on the project at its Feb. 10 meeting, moving to bury all utility lines in a project that Mayor Joe Rasco said at the workshop will cost up to $81 million, nearly double the 2019 estimated cost of $46 million. Residents approved a $100 million general obligation bond in November 2020 to accomplish 鈥� among other things 鈥� a hardening of the island, which includes undergrounding.
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The funding method is a sharp difference from the approach recommended in 2019, which would have created a new user fee system based on a calculated benefit, instead of using property taxes to pay off loans. The fee approach was pushed by condominium leaders, who argued they should pay less because most island condos already have underground utilities.
鈥淧ending approval on February 10, we will underground all feeders, laterals, and telecom lines,鈥� Williamson told the Independent. Included in the undergrounding will be all transformers 鈥� though they may be elevated when necessary 鈥� switches, handholes, pedestals and other infrastructure.
鈥淭he project will also include all related paving restoration, swale repairs, landscaping refurbishment, and the branch connections from the new underground system to each customer鈥檚 junction box or meter,鈥� Williamson said.
During the workshop to discuss the island鈥檚 aging infrastructure, Council members expressed a strong preference for a comprehensive undergrounding project rather than a partial 鈥渉ardening鈥� of existing overhead equipment.
鈥淎ll we鈥檝e talked about is fully undergrounding today,鈥� Rasco said. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e serious about doing projects like this, if we鈥檙e serious about infrastructure, you鈥檝e got to start them, and you鈥檝e got to bite the bullet and go through.鈥�
The workshop focused on whether the Village should pursue a traditional undergrounding of all lines or a hybrid model involving hardened overhead 鈥渇eeders鈥� and underground 鈥渓aterals.鈥�
Council members voiced frustration with the power giant over a lack of comparative data regarding the reliability of underground versus overhead systems 鈥� something they had asked FPL previously.
鈥淣ow what I鈥檓 understanding is that you don鈥檛 have that data at all, so you can鈥檛 compare what an underground reliability is of a feeder versus overground hardening,鈥� Vice Mayor Oscar Sardinas said. 鈥淚 thought that鈥檚 what we waited for.鈥�
The financial scope of the project has come into sharper focus, with estimates for the entire village鈥攄ivided into several zones鈥攔anging between $60 million and $80 million.
Under current formulas, FPL provides an equipment credit of roughly 50% for electrical conversion, while the Village remains responsible for all labor costs. For the completed design of Zone 1 alone, the FPL cost-share was cited at approximately $6 million, Williamson said.
Unlike the electrical portion, telecommunications providers do not offer credits, meaning the Village will fund 100% of the equipment and labor to move those lines underground, he said.
Williamson presented primary recommendations for the program鈥檚 execution:
- Finalizing design and moving toward construction on Zone 8 (the southernmost residential neighborhoods) as a fully underground project.
- Advancing design work for Zones 2-7 (central and northern neighborhoods) to preserve momentum.
- Pausing work on Zone 1 (neighborhoods around the K-8 elementary school) until a final decision is made regarding the Village鈥檚 stormwater system to ensure the two projects are coordinated.
Formal recommendations and funding plans will be presented to Council at its Feb. 10 meeting.
Residents at the workshop voiced concerns over the visual and physical impact of the work, specifically regarding transformer pads that may need to be elevated due to the island鈥檚 low elevation.
鈥淚f it鈥檚 going to be elevated, show us what it鈥檚 going to look like,鈥� said resident Luis de la Cruz, a former council member. 鈥淧eople want to see what it鈥檚 going to look like in front of their house鈥�.
Council Member Nancy Stoner said she was 鈥渢ickled鈥� about some of the pushback. 鈥淚f we want to underground, if we want to improve, we鈥檙e going to have to suffer a little bit,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t can鈥檛 be seamless.鈥�
This story was originally published in the Key Biscayne Independent, a SA国际传谋 News partner.
