Bidding for Utility Project in Surfside Reopened After Snag

A plan to bury overhead utility lines cluttering the gated Surfside community and rebuild a weak-pressured water system hit a temporary snag Monday night after City Council members rejected all bids for the project.

The council voted to reopen the bidding process after the two lowest bidders were disqualified for failing to properly complete city paperwork. The new bidding deadline is 10 a.m. June 29.

Project supporters on Monday night called the private community “a disaster waiting to happen.” They fear that heavy ocean winds blowing overhead utility lines could spark a fire that would be hard to extinguish because of low water pressure and a limited number of fire hydrants.

Last July, 69% of Surfside property owners signed a petition in favor of the plan. But the city has recently received letters of protest against the $1.6-million project signed by 94 residents who own 99 of the community’s 254 parcels.

Opponents are asking for a new vote on the project because of increasing cost estimates and questions about whether the estimated $9,100 assessment cost per parcel is tax-deductible.

But Surfside Homeowners Assn. President Randy Turnbow said that a majority of residents continue to support the project.

“After multiple meetings, multiple petitions, we’re always at the same percentages,” Turnbow said. “Thirty [percent] or 40% are against it for a variety of reasons.”