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Price for burying lines: out of sight

Indian Rocks Beach gets a huge estimate to put utility lines underground but also hears that choices can reduce the cost.

By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA
Published May 8, 2005

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH - Twenty-four million dollars. That mind-boggling figure is what it would cost this city to bury power, telephone and cable lines on its residential streets and along Gulf Boulevard.

The City Commission, largely inspired by the imminent placement of underground utilities in neighboring Indian Shores, had little comment Thursday on the total cost, which far exceeds actual or estimated costs in other beach communities.

The reason? Indian Rocks Beach has many more miles of residential streets than its neighbors do. Robert Brotherton, a consultant who helped Indian Shores plan its underground program, told the commission Thursday that the $23.8-million estimate could be reduced by burying utility lines in only parts of the city. The costs pan out this way:

Gulf Boulevard only: $6.44-million for 2.7 miles (about the same cost and distance as in Indian Shores).

Residential areas only: $17.4-million for 19.3 miles of residential streets, or about $3-million each for six "segments" of residential streets.

It will cost Indian Shores only about $300,000 to bury power lines along its few residential streets.

Brotherton cautioned the City Commission that it should decide by January whether or not it wants to bury utilities along Gulf Boulevard as part of a planned state Department of Transportation resurfacing project.

"It is much harder to get permits from DOT to tear up a road after it has been resurfaced," he said.

The commission plans to discuss the utility project at workshops, as well as hold a special town meeting and a possible referendum to seek support from residents.

If it decides to go ahead with the project, the town would need to secure easements, particularly along Gulf Boulevard, for installation of above-ground control and transformer boxes that in some cases could be as large as 3 by 4 feet.

The city would most likely have to borrow money to finance the project. Brotherton said a 30-year bond issue for the entire job could cost the town $1.7-million annually. Financing the undergrounding of just one "segment" of residential streets could cost more than $200,000 each year, while the Gulf Boulevard job could cost nearly $500,000 a year.

The city could also consider installing underground "conduits" in the south part of the city that could be used to later bury utilities, Brotherton said. That cost would be much lower: $494,400.

On Monday, Indian Shores will mark the start of its $6.1-million Gulf Boulevard underground utility project with a groundbreaking ceremony at Town Hall. Indian Shores secured a 30-year bond through the Florida League of Cities at a cost of about $280,000 a year, Mayor Don Tabor said.

The 2.6-mile project is expected to take about two years to complete. The first phase will include the southern end of the town from the border with Redington Shores to about 92nd Street. The remainder of Gulf Boulevard will be done in segments, coordinated with the county's reclaimed water project and the state DOT's resurfacing.

The city's side streets already have their utility lines out of sight. Six years ago, the town spent about $300,000 to bury lines along its only side streets in the Town Square area near town hall.

Redington Shores buried utility lines along four streets west of Gulf Boulevard, and expects to begin doing so in the rest of the town's residential areas this year.

The Town Commission will meet with Progress Energy officials May 23 to review firm costs - now estimated at $4- to $5-million - for the job in residential areas. Funding has not been decided; nor are there plans to bury utilities along Gulf Boulevard, according to Town Administrator Don Lusk.

North Redington Beach is nearly finished with a $1.8-million job on its 3.3 miles of residential streets. The city has not yet decided to proceed to Gulf Boulevard, where burying lines along about a mile would cost upwards of $2-million.

Underground utilities on Sand Key were completed in the 1990s, largely through a voluntary assessment program of properties along Gulf Boulevard.

Madeira Beach has buried lines in parts of the city, including 140th Avenue, Johns Pass Village and Pelican Lane, but has no plans for Gulf Boulevard.

St. Pete Beach put lines underground along Blind Pass Road during the DOT redesign and requires all new developments to bury their utilities, but it has no plans for major projects in neighborhoods or on Gulf Boulevard.

Belleair Beach, Belleair Shore, Redington Beach and Treasure Island have no plans to bury utility lines.

All beach communities have talked with Pinellas County through the Big C (Barrier Islands Council) about sharing costs of burying utilities along all 21.6-miles of Gulf Boulevard. To date, no funding source has been identified to pay for the underground job and beautification - last estimated to cost $46.2-million.

[Last modified May 8, 2005, 00:45:19]