During the May 2022 Seven Isles HOA Board Meeting, members spoke with Victor Carosi, Chief Engineer for the City of Fort Lauderdale on potential undergrounding in Seven Isles. In 2013, Seven Isles initially applied for undergrounding through the City. Records reflect that while the City Commissioners did authorize undergrounding for Seven Isles at that time, along with neighboring Idlewyld and Riviera, other imperatives by the City stalled progress.
Carosi acknowledged that the re-application by the Seven Isles Board in 2021 was accepted by the City but paused until the city could gain experience and lessons learned from a pilot undergrounding project they are currently conducting in Las Olas Isles. He shared that in Las Olas Isles, there have been challenging barriers, including a significant hurdle with materials availability. In Riviera and Idlewyld, transformer locations have been an issue, as residents seek a smaller footprint, but rising sea water levels and future flooding potential may require transformer boxes to be placed on platforms that sit above the grade. While these issues have slowed progress, they have assisted in identifying how to avoid delays with pending and future undergrounding projects.
Carosi noted that a consultant will be hired for Seven Isles and other Isles neighborhood. “This is critical to consolidate the data and formulate the initial magnitude of potential project costs,” Carosi explained. “A consultant can allow us to have intelligent discussions with the utility companies and with Seven Isles and other neighborhoods about things like how many and where and how transformer boxes will be placed on residents’ easements, as well as other detailed design issues.” His office will be procuring competitive quotes from consultants over the summer with a goal to hire one in the Fall. Carosi estimated it will take approximately one to one-and-a-half years to go through all the steps with coordination and consensus among residents of Seven Isles and utility companies FPL, AT&T, and Comcast.
The HOA Board remains committed to liaising with Carosi’s office and the City to minimize delays and obtain accurate and complete information that will be needed for residents of Seven Isles to make prudent decisions about costs and funding for undergrounding. All homeowners will have a voice.