OUR VIEW | Should you do fiber optic, too?

Take the Ranger Lane example. According to a town analysis of every property, a home on Ranger Lane valued at $564,000 and with overhead power lines would be assessed $208 a year for 30 years to cover the cost of going underground on Gulf of Mexico Drive. Then, to go underground from Gulf of Mexico Drive to the home’s doorstep, it would cost an additional $590 a year for 30 years.

That’s $798 a year, a 63% increase over the property’s current town taxes.

Suffice it to say, the proponents of underground utility lines — and we have been among them thus far — have a big job: Making a convincing case for today’s Longboat Key property owners that the return on investment will more than justify the cost.

The story, to be sure, will need to be more than aesthetics. Power officials often pitch the increased reliability, particularly after wind storms. But as we all know, the economics also matter.

Likewise, telling the story for underground utility lines also will need to include what other tax obligations will be required over the next 30 years and how those costs will affect taxpayers’ property taxes.

In the coming months, we’ll help tell those stories. 

In the meantime, one of those stories on other possible tax obligations is likely to be this one: whether Longboat Key taxpayers want to pay for the installation of an underground fiber-optic “backbone” to create a town-wide broadband system that would enhance wireless access for your smartphones, videos and other data streaming.

On the night the Town Commission approved two referenda on underground utility lines, commissioners also heard a consultant’s report on this idea. Unfortunately, the consultant failed to make much of a case, leaving commissioners annoyed and puzzled as to why Longboat needs a town-wide fiber-optic “backbone.” After all, they said, don’t we already have FiOS and Comcast? 

Yes, but it’s not the same as a town-wide, broadband fiber-optic system. Such systems are rare around the country, largely because of the cost, but they can offer substantial benefits. The tech news website for millennial, Mic.com, reported last year how a high-speed fiber-optic network has been a boon for Chattanooga, Tenn. 

“Since first offering its fiber-optic service in 2012,” Mic.com reported, “Chattanooga has generated $400 million in new business investments and 6,000 new jobs. Additionally, fiber-optic networks generate significant revenue, allowing cities to cover operating expenses and pay down initial costs. In 2014, Chattanooga [was] expected to bring in $93.6 million in revenue from its more than 50,000 fiber-optic subscribers.

“Moreover,” said Mic.com, “fiber-optic networks can serve as competition to the de-facto monopolies in the broadband industry, which typically make a 97% profit margin on Internet services. Since Google Fiber’s entrance into Kansas City, Time Warner Cable has boosted its ‘turbo’ service by 33% and doubled its fastest available service to 100 Mbps. After Google announced plans to come to Austin, Time Warner announced it would match Google’s 1 GB service and provide free Wi-Fi in public areas to existing customers.”

While that sounds compelling, the cost remains a catch, a big catch. Mic.com: “In 2012, the Chattanooga-owned utility company, Electric Power Board, installed a fiber-optic smart grid, connecting each home’s electricity meter with fiber-optic cables and allowing Chattanooga residents to purchase a gigabit service for $299 per month. The total cost of the project, however, totaled $320 million ($112 million of which came from the Federal Recovery Act).”

Ok, so that’s Chattanooga. This is Longboat, not exactly the nation’s hotbed of wireless technology and where cell towers are not welcome. Nonetheless, Bullock makes a good point: If the town is going to have open ditches for underground utility lines, it should make the most of the opportunity. 

As we already noted, the Wi-Fi consultant who appeared before the commission two weeks ago botched the opportunity to make the case for a town-wide fiber-optic network. The Town Commission might consider tapping the formidable business expertise on the Key for insight. And the Longboat Key Wireless Group headed up by resident Ed Krepela, which supports laying the fiber-optic network, needs to become more vocal to help make a convincing case for the network’s viability on the island.

Sad saga of the St. Judes seawall, unfortunately, doesn’t negate codes

When interested citizens strode into the Longboat Key Town Commission Chambers the night of June 1 for the Town Commission’s regular meeting, many, we presumed, expected a lively, intense debate over underground utility lines. As it turned out, the most controversial issue that night was whether town taxpayers should pay to repair a resident’s deteriorated seawall.

Talk about hitting a nerve. 

The topic triggered about an hour-long session of citizens, town commissioners, members of the Longboat Key Code Enforcement Board and the seawall’s owners providing comment — some of it emotional, some of it on the testy side, some of it merely explanatory. 

In the end, rather than make a decision on funding the repairs, commissioners opted to have town staff look into the matter further and report back with seawall safety inspection findings.

This particular seawall question has been festering since March. The seawall in question affects a property on St. Judes Drive. The property owners have said they have tried for two years to obtain a mortgage to pay for the repair. But because they lack steady income, lenders have rejected their attempts.

The owners, whose family has owned the home since the 1970s, said they are on the verge of bankruptcy. They told commissioners they want to stay in their home and would like to repair the seawall, but they haven’t been able to secure the funds.

Frequently, and typically, when a property owner fails to correct a town code violation, the code enforcement board is authorized to impose a per-day fine — to encourage a quick resolution. But in this instance, Robert Krosney, chairman of the code board, told the Longboat Observer, “We feel that putting $100 fines a day for this particular case won’t get the seawall fixed any faster.”

Instead, code board members opted to push the issue to the Town Commission to request it consider paying for the repairs and placing a lien on the property. Krosney, the board chairman, told commissioners the board used as its guide a state statute that gives the town the leeway to settle the matter.

Commissioner Irwin Pastor initially warmed to this idea, noting that if the seawall collapses, it could adversely affect adjoining seawalls and property owners. Pastor said the town’s first obligation is to protect its citizens. Neighbors shouldn’t be subjected to becoming collateral damage, Pastor intimated.

It’s a sad case. The owners’ stories are all cases of unfortunate circumstances. One of the owners recently suffered a debilitating illness, forcing her to give up her job. Another owner is in similar circumstances. And a third is caring for a child whose medical expenses are sapping resources. 

Compassion tugs at you when you hear the desperate circumstances of the individuals. And you can see Krosney’s point: What good is a daily fine?

But that line of reasoning triggered rebukes from Commissioners Phill Younger and Lynn Larson and former Mayor George Spoll at the commission meeting. Younger and Larson sternly warned if the town paid for this seawall repair, it would have dozens of other town residents also claiming destitution for the state of their seawalls. 

Spoll reminded commissioners that town codes clearly explain a long-established, multi-step process for dealing with code violations — including warnings, liens and fines.

Longtime Longboat Key Realtor Andrew Vac noted during a commission intermission that the region’s Realtors encounter similar deteriorating seawalls everywhere, with many of them subject to liens and unpaid code violations.

It’s unfortunate and sad, Vac said. But the remedy to this dilemma is the one that occurs most often. Barring a white knight who helps the struggling family satisfy any liens and repair the seawall, the most realistic remedy is also one that may be the most emotional: Sell the property.