ANALYSIS: On September 6, 2018, the City mailed a petition form to residents on North Bay Road, between Alton Road and La Gorce Drive/Pine Tree Drive Circle, in order to allow the subject residents to advise the City whether they are in favor of funding the undergrounding of utilities with special assessments. A copy of the cover letter and petition are attached hereto as Exhibit “B”. Each petition form stated that it must be returned to the City by October 8, 2018, in order to be counted. At the request of residents on North Bay Road, this deadline was extended until October 19, 2018.
On October 24, 2018, the petitions received so far were counted by the Office of the City Clerk. The tally of the petitions was published in LTC No. 570-2018 and is attached as Exhibit “C”.
Historically, petitions to create underground utility districts have been circulated and submitted by City residents and/or neighborhood associations. In this case, the City Administration affirmatively distributed petition forms, on a pilot basis, to residents on North Bay Road, between Alton Road and La Gorce Drive/Pine Tree Drive Circle.
At its September 26, 2018 meeting, the NCAC held a discussion regarding the potential undergrounding of utilities along North Bay Road, and how the City Administration might further facilitate the creation of special assessment districts to fund the undergrounding of utilities.
Attached as Exhibit "D" for the Committee’s review and consideration is a copy of the City’s current policy applicable to the creation of special assessment districts for the underground conversion of overhead utilities.
At the request of the North Bay Road residents, the petition deadline was extended and the final tally is expected to be received and published by the City Clerk's office by January 18, 2019. As of January 15, 2019, the ballots received are: 105 Yes Votes and 68 No Votes.
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