Op-Ed: Calm Down Everyone: The sky is not falling yet and may not fall at all

The Underground Utility Citizen’s Task Force has been meeting for almost two years in an effort to help shape the proposed undergrounding of the Key Biscayne properties that remain with above ground wiring. The project is now estimated to cost in the neighborhood of $46 million and to be completed over a five year period.

The Task Force (TF) has worked diligently with consultants developing the Master Plan for this project and the members are very comfortable with the approach and details of the 138 page Draft Master Plan that will be discussed at the February 19th Council Workshop. The message from the TF members and the Village Manager and Public Works officials will be quite clear. This project is needed as part of the Village resiliency activity. And, it is a good project design and should be approved promptly by the Village Council so work can get started. The alternative hardening approaches, such as huge poles, will not do the trick either functionally or esthetically.

Part I of the TF concerns is for the Village Council to review and approve the plan to go with underground utilities for the entire Village.

Part II is the discussion of how to pay for this project. By now everyone should know that there are numerous ways to fund this project including straight appropriations, bond issues, tax increases and, of course, the assessment approach. Each of these has a certain viability and all of them ultimately are driven by the cost of the project.

The TF was asked to approve a study of the viability and methodology of an assessment approach. That study, which was completed in January, lays out a detailed formula for determining the burden this project brings to each taxed parcel in the Village. It is a complex and detailed study which will be discussed at the workshop and will be one of the methods the TF will be sending forth to the Village Council to consider on how to fund the project. One factor contained in the Study is the already undergrounding of a substantial part of the Village residences and businesses. The Council will have ample opportunity to consider all the various funding alternatives many of which were considered by the TF. While the TF did recommend to the Council that it approve the assessment approach, in my judgment it is not precluding consideration by the Council of the various alternative means. What the study did accomplish was to show in great detail exactly how an assessment would work, including the share of the project to be paid by each owner. It was also understood that this approach would require a vote by the property owners.

In short, we are pretty much at the beginning of the process of approval of both the project and the funding mechanisms. The TF did not tie the approval of the project to the approval of the funding. They are clearly separate activities.

Donald Elisburg is a Key Biscayne resident and member of the Underground Utility Citizen’s Task Force.