Arch Beach utility poles should be down soon

Mike Swanson

Residents of Arch Beach Heights who don’t convert their electricity

to underground power lines within the next two weeks can expect to

receive final notices from city officials threatening to shut off

their power.

Municipal Services Project Manager Joe Chiquete said underground

utilities were installed in the area more than two years ago, but

construction to remove above-ground wiring can’t begin until every

resident has converted. He said 10 or 15 parcels of 451 in Arch Beach

Heights are still using above-ground power lines.

Some residents in the area have expressed concern that the poles

are still visible, but Michael Weissman, a resident on Baja Street in

Arch Beach Heights, said the previous owner of his house had taken

care of all conversions before he moved in.

“There’s a telephone pole that I can see in my ocean view that

I’ll be happy to not see anymore,” he said, “but my view’s pretty

good as it is now. I didn’t know this was such an issue.”

While the construction of underground utility lines Downtown is

being paid for through the city’s street-lighting fund, Arch Beach

Heights residents are re-paying bonds bought by the city to install

their underground lines and to remove the above-ground wires.

Some residents have wondered why the old wires they are still

paying to be pulled down are still there.

“We make it abundantly clear that it’s their responsibility to

hire a contractor to switch feeds [from above-ground to

underground],” Director of Public Works Steve May said. “About 70% of

the people go out and do it right away, and the other 30% become a

real challenge.”

Not everyone in Arch Beach Heights voted to have underground power

lines installed. May and Chiquete suspect those who still haven’t

transferred their power underground opposed the move from the

beginning, about four years ago.

“Some people just don’t understand that this is going to be done,”

Chiquete said.

Residents and business owners Downtown will also have to hire

independent contractors to switch their power to the new underground

source, but the street-lighting fund is paying for the installation

of underground wires and for the removal of existing wires.

“This is not going to happen Downtown,” May said.

Downtown construction will also include the addition of decorative

street lights, which should be up by November. May said the

street-lighting fund can be used to finance the replacement of street

lights and anything related to street lighting.

Because the timeline to complete the undergrounding project

Downtown is so much shorter than Arch Beach Heights’, a current

concern is that too many contractors may be performing services in

too little time.

“In two months, we’re going to have all these businesses having to

go underground and a bunch of contractors walking over each other,”

said Attorney Kenneth Solomon, whose office is on Broadway.

May and Chiquete are looking into forming some sort of coalition

of contractors that they can direct to owners who need their power

converted when underground construction is completed in June. While

they won’t be forced to use contractors suggested by officials, the

hope is to have a group of contractors readily available to Downtown

property owners seeking service over the summer.