The citizens of the Eastern Shore have watched with fear and frustration as giant, ugly power poles have spread relentlessly further and further south. These rows of gray concrete monoliths are like toxic waste spills or viral agents – an ever-expanding blight that seems unstoppable. As they pass through communities, tree-lined streets become drab industrial boulevards, forests of tall pines and massive oaks fall to pylons and crossbars, insulators and cables.
Think I’m over dramatizing the situation? Take a look at the accompanying picture of an intersection on U.S. 98 in the Daphne/Montrose area and then answer. It’s suburban uglification being done in the name of service, safety and economy by Riviera Utilities. And when Riviera laid its plans for the march through Fairhope, it looked like it was going to be just a rerun of Daphne.
That possibility evaporated when residents saw Riviera’s plans for the northern portion of Greeno Road (U.S. 98) – the gateway to Fairhope. They had the highway flanked by multi-armed concrete power poles as much as 85 feet tall and strung with dozens of high voltage cables. A sight that a power company executive might love, but one unlikely likely to evoke such warm feelings in any residents and visitors.
And adding to the general visual degradation of the community was the decision not to bury the lines at the entrances to the residential subdivisions off Greeno Road. Current practice and esthetics were trumped by doing it cheap and recovering the costs as quickly as possible. And likely too, in the belief that no one could stop them, given the independence from local control granted utilities by the state. But it turned out the utility failed to appreciate the value that Fairhopians place on maintaining the beauty of their small city.
First, the tree preservation group got the route shifted from the east side of Greeno to an existing right-of-way that would require minimal tree removal. This change has the collateral benefit of being well out of sight of the main road. Next, a very effective group representing the Rock Creek communities rallied the residents and produced nearly enough supporters to fill the Council Chamber for the Planning Commission hearing. This group’s battle-cry was, “Bury It!” (Meaning the utility lines not the utility – I think). The Rock Creek leadership, Nick Gill and Eric Dyas, each spoke of the importance of esthetics in the community, both called for the burying of the new lines all along the route, but, failing that, at least maintaining buried lines where they now exist.
Gill added that Fairhope must avoid the power line blight that occurred in Daphne – as depicted in the flyers his group distributed. While Dyas spoke of the city’s goal of burying power lines and the value of doing it on this project – especially at the entrance to the city. He described the added cost at that location (roughly $700,000) as “miniscule” considering the scope of the overall project. Burying the lines would be well worth the cost with the city paying if need be.
Presidents of the two major city-wide garden clubs also spoke on the importance of esthetics and appealing to visitors. John Meyers of the Fairhope Garden Club sagely added, “Visitors don’t want to see power poles,” and finished with the charge, “Work for 21st Century solutions.” All good, albeit somewhat generic, advice – with the last maybe a sound bite from a graduation speech (quite possible – he is a retired school system administrator).
Less entertaining and certainly less helpful to the city were comments early in the meeting by Mike Perkins, president of the Woodlands Property Owners’ Association. He focused not on what would be best for the city, but narrowly on what he felt best for a small group of homeowners. If the recommended route were followed, these 22 (his number) residents of two adjacent subdivisions would have taller utility poles running behind their homes. A change in size but not in use, as there are power lines there already. The existing right-of-way, which has been there for decades, also has on it a cellular phone tower that is well over 100 feet tall.
Regardless, Mike pressed for placing the new power poles along Greeno Road – right at the entrance to the city. Here, thousands of residents and visitors would have to look at them – standing in an ugly long gray line just 30 feet or so from the road. Recall that this area is the very place that virtually everyone else wanted to be protected from “power line blight.” For someone who has hinted he might run for city office, Mike seems to be playing to an awfully narrow base. Anyhow, his proposal went nowhere.
The Planning Commission lead, Jean Wilson ran a tight, well-disciplined meeting, controlled the agenda and focused on proposals that were reasonable, feasible and had garnered broad support (confirmed by a quick raised-hand check of the public attendees). She was equally effective in crafting the commission’s position: First, recommend to the city council that the new lines be buried where lines are currently underground (subdivision entrances), noting that Mayor Kant committed to cover any additional cost associated with this recommendation. And second, recommend the new lines be placed on the existing right-of-way behind the Woodlands subdivision.
So moved, seconded, voted on and unanimously passed. Not bad, all things considered, with kudos to Jean Wilson, Nick Gill and Eric Dyas.
Contact Pete Gleszer at jubilee@lagniappemobile.com.
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