Power line plan riles residents

An electric firm wants to put poles in front yards for easier access.

By BARBARA BEHRENDT, Times Staff Writer
Published November 13, 2007

Workers with Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative dig a trench while installing an underground electrical connection from a newly installed utility pole to a house on Fentress Court in Spring Hill.
	[Stephen J. Coddington | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Stephen J. Coddington | Times] Contractors from Pike Electric, working for Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, install new power poles along Ardenwood Drive in Spring Hill. [Stephen J. Coddington | Times] Richard Maass, a vocal critic of Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative's program to install new power lines throughout his neighborhood, talks with Nick Proscia about what they claim is the utility's unwillingness to listen to residents' concerns. Proscia, a nearby resident who lives on Evenglow Avenue in Spring Hill, was as mad as Maass over the recent work.

SPRING HILL - When Richard Maass retired from the fire service several years ago, he planned to take that retirement seriously, trading in public service for focusing on his home and garden.

Then he learned that his power company, Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, was about the trample on his peaceful existence. The utility announced plans to relocate power lines from back yards to poles in the front yards of his neighborhood.

At that point, Maass was ready for a fight.

Not only do Maass and some of his neighbors argue that the relocation is destroying the neighborhood's aesthetics, but they also question the polling method to gain community support. Maass is also troubled by the aggressive way the utility has dealt with resident complaints.

Maass and several of his neighbors bombarded the County Commission with their protests about the utility line project last week.

Armed with a power point presentation showing the transformation taking place around the Spring Hill Golf and Country Club, Maass argued that the utility had not failed to plan but, rather, it had planned to fail.

The utility has argued that, as power lines have aged and residents have blocked access to the backyard utility equipment with sheds, garages and trees, servicing the lines has become difficult.

When the storms hit in 2004, that poor access led to delays in returning electricity to some areas of Spring Hill.

Maass has a different view. He said the utility simply failed to maintain its easements, which has made moving the lines seem like a logical step. He also argues that replacing the utility lines on new poles does not harden the system against storms.

Pictures projected before commissioners showed neighborhood streets before and after the installation of power poles and running of lines in front of homes.

They showed trees in front yards hacked off to make room for lines. They showed old power lines in the rear of homes covered with vines and bushes demonstrating, in the residents' opinions, proof that WREC has not maintained its own equipment and easements.

The complaints are familiar to longtime area residents. The utility has been relocating old lines for years and has often stirred up pockets of homeowners who don't want to see power poles in their front yards.

After hearing the latest resident concerns, Commission Chairman Jeff Stabins has asked for further discussion Wednesday during the regular commission land use meeting.

The issue is slated to be heard at 1:30 p.m. but could be discussed at any time.

Maass said he would like to see the county pull the utility's permits to do the work and not issue any new permits. His hope is that WREC realizes that the only way to make the electrical service more reliable would be to install underground lines.

He also wants the county to hear more about how the polling process worked in the neighborhood.

Hernando County requires a utility company show proof that the majority of residents want the power lines relocated.

In this case, WREC presented information to the Department of Public Works showing that more than two thirds of the residents voted yes.

But Maass argues that the ballot didn't give residents an option to vote no. And residents who did not return the paper were recorded as yes votes.

"I just cannot believe the way that they have trampled all over our civil liberties and our right to due process.," Maass said. "I just don't like the way this has been shoved down my throat."

Nick Proscia, another area resident who was upset about the utility line relocation, also had a problem with the way the poll was conducted. He wrote a big "no" on his sheet before returning it.

"If it wasn't illegal, it certainly was unethical," Proscia said. "You don't send out a ballot like that."

He was worried that a power pole would be installed in his front yard before the commission could even discuss the item Wednesday.

"We have fought it for years," he said. "They can access these power poles from the rear."

But it is not as simple as that, according to Mike Duncan, district manager for WREC. Power lines in the rear of homes fronting on the golf course cannot be fixed by trucks running over the golf course seeking access.

Duncan and utility spokesman David Lambert showed a Times reporter examples throughout the neighborhood of places where homeowners built garages, sheds and pools right up to the power pole, not allowing the 10-foot easement needed to provide the utility access.

In other yards, trees and flower beds grow to the edge of poles and fences of all sorts block access.

Duncan said he understood why people used the easements.

"They want to use the land they paid for," he said.

Yet, he said people need to understand that WREC has to be able to get to its equipment. When the community was dotted with undeveloped lots, it was easier to get to the lines. Now, access becomes tougher, Duncan said.

With access to poles from the street, utility workers can just drive up and service a line or a transformer, significantly shortening the time it takes to restore service.

Duncan also pointed out that, burying power lines is an option but a very expensive one costing residents thousands of dollars and requiring boring under driveways.

Lambert pointed out that the survey is something that WREC is only required to do in Hernando County.

Other jurisdictions don't require resident input for the utility to get permission to relocate lines.

"We have met all the requirements we need to in order to get these permits," Duncan said. "It's what we're required to do in Spring Hill."

He added that the utility has tried to be careful when impacting trees and plants in residents' yards and has tried to respond to all of their concerns.

"Whenever someone voices a concern, we've made it a point to come out and talk to them," Duncan said. "Most of our customers seem to understand what we're trying to accomplish."

Barbara Behrendt can be reached at behrendt@sptimes.com or 352 848-1434.

[Last modified November 12, 2007, 19:25:15]