An election about legacy

“What is the legacy you want to create?”

We heard that question recently from a consultant coaching fundraisers. And it struck: How apropos for Longboat Key residents. 

Not because that question often lingers over Longboaters’ stages of life. Leaving a legacy, of course, is a part of the island’s demographics.

But it struck us as apropos in the context of the upcoming March 15 town election. It is about legacy. The legacy Longboaters want to leave future residents and future generations.

This is a dilemma for many Longboat property owners. Last November, Longboat voters committed property owners to being assessed $25.25 million over the next 30 years to eliminate the town’s above-ground utility lines on Gulf of Mexico Drive and convert to underground lines. And in less than three weeks, Longboaters will vote again, this time on whether to add another $23.85 million assessment to convert to underground the utility lines in many of Longboat’s neighborhoods.

For some Longboaters, mostly those on the bayside on the north side of the island, the assessment, if the election question passes, would be from $677 up to $804 a year for the next 30 years (see table). For most Longboaters, though, the assessment would cost from $228 to $659 a year. Parsed even more, the costs would run from $19 up to $67 a month.

Depending on how you look at it, those costs fall between a little or a lot. Either way, no one likes to pay more in taxes or assessments. And that feeling apparently is quite evident in some neighborhoods around the Key. Indeed, we recall one of the speakers at a Town Commission meeting in January telling town commissioners he has lived on the Key for more than 30 years and has done so just fine without underground utility lines. “I don’t need them now,” he said.

You can understand the sentiment. Especially for those residents who want to finish their journeys in peace and quiet, without anyone moving their cheese.

But as you prepare to cast your vote, consider the benefits. There is more to the cost than the 30-year assessment. 

For one, Florida Power & Light is giving communities a 25% savings to convert now. You can be sure those $25 million price tags will continue to rise. The longer the town waits, the higher the assessment will become.

And if the neighborhood conversion is rejected, the aesthetic benefit is likely to disappear. 

The start of this entire movement, in fact, can be attributed to FPL’s plans to replace Longboat’s existing utility poles. Because of higher wind-load designs for overhead lines, FPL is expected to replace Longboat’s existing poles with stronger, bigger and more poles than exist today. Once that is completed, it’s highly improbable FPL or Longboat property owners would be inclined to convert to underground neighborhood lines for a decade or more.

The two other benefits factored into the underground assessments are safety and reliability: no more downed lines from storms; and with the “looping” technology that creates redundancies, underground utility lines will reduce the frequency of outages and speed up restoration of service in the event of an outage.

This is not just a long-term investment for future generations; new lines will produce a tangible return on investment for today’s residents.

Which brings us back to responsibility and leaving legacies.

We often hear these days that many baby boomers today are concerned they may be become the first generation not to leave their world better than the way it was when they succeeded their parents. Surely we want our heirs and the future residents of Longboat Key to have it better than what we have had. Indeed, that sense of responsibility and selfish interest to preserve and improve the value of our assets has driven Longboat’s many accomplished residents throughout their adult lives.

So this election is much more than voting on a 30-year assessment for utility lines. Longboat is at the threshold of a historical moment, one that will become a key chapter in history.

The choices are stand still and fall behind; or invest to adapt and move forward, to be modern and competitive. Leave Longboat Key in the 20th century, or demonstrate foresight and wisdom and leave it a better place.

“What is the legacy you want to create?”

Jaleski reminder: Remember Klauber

“I know I can be a real pain sometimes, but I really do have the best intentions. I don’t do things maliciously. I try to do the best I can.”

Those were the words of Longboat Key town activist and watchdog, former Town Commissioner Gene Jaleski. He made them in reference to a Town Commission discussion on whether the town should pursue in court the payment by Jaleski of the town’s legal fees from a complaint Jaleski filed with the Florida Elections Commission.

The elections commission dismissed the complaint. The town’s legal fees totaled $20,561.18.

Jaleski complained the town should not have removed information from its website regarding the neighborhood portion of the town’s proposed utility line project prior to the town referendum in November on underground lines for Gulf of Mexico Drive.

Before the commission definitively decides whether to pursue payment, commission members may want to remember what happened with Murf Klauber, former owner of the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort.

Twenty years ago, Klauber won a $13 million judgment against the town in federal court for being denied due process. We won’t go into the complicated details of that lawsuit, but suffice it to say town commissioners should keep the Klauber outcome in mind as it determines what to do about Jaleski’s legal fees.

Yes, as Jaleski admitted himself, he “can be a real pain.” But as the U.S. Constitution notes, he has the right “to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”