Power Upgrade, Poles Peeve Islanders

STONE HARBOR – A packed house of over 75 residents turned out for a meeting of Stone Harbor Borough Council Sept. 15. The attraction was a promised question-and-answer period with representatives of Atlantic City Electric (ACE) concerning the imminent project to upgrade the Seven Mile Island power infrastructure.
Facing a projected capacity problem due to increasing demands for electricity on the island, and a current infrastructure that is in many parts over 40 years old, Atlantic City Electric has planned a major upgrade for the island including a new power substation and a redesigned transmission and distribution system that will convert existing 23 kilovolt (kV) transmission lines to new 68kV lines.
The problem is that accomplishing the $70-million upgrade involves use of power poles of a very different type than traditional wooden poles everyone is used to seeing.
The plan calls for power transmission across the back bay from a Court House substation to Stone Harbor. 
The lines will then come onto the new poles on 95th Street, and eventually run north to Avalon, the new substation at 60th Street and out along Avalon Boulevard. 
The poles to be used in the project are galvanized steel poles, 60 to 70 feet high, and with a wider girth than the current 40-foot wooden poles. 
At points where the function of the design requires a larger structure, like the Pole 69 structure recently approved for 30th Street in Avalon, is necessary. That can add 20 feet to the pole’s height and even wider girth.
Residents complained that they had not been kept informed by the borough about the project and that they were discussing it for the first time when the start of the project is less than a month away.
A team of eight individuals from ACE responded to questions from residents and to stress the upgrade’s benefits.
The project is scheduled to begin on the mainland in mid-October with work on the island starting sometime in November. The intention is to be finished by late April prior to Memorial Day and the start of the summer season. 
This plan unnerved many residents. While some urged a delay in order to have more time for consideration of options, ACE representatives said the project was going ahead. Mayor Suzanne Walters admitted that the borough had no power to alter the schedule.
Most residents favored a design that would have the transmission lines run underground rather than on new poles.
Atlantic City Electric representatives indicated that such a design would cost six to nine times more and create future problems for maintenance of the system. While utility company representatives were present, it seemed unlikely that any significant design changes would be considered at this late date in the project with implementation imminent.
The utility promises a more reliable system with capacity to meet island needs years into the future.  Representatives also cited the new system’s greater resiliency in the face of storms and heavy wind, greater ability to withstand the punishment meted out by the salty environment of a barrier island, and the opportunity for the utility to bring the infrastructure in line with new standards.
Keith Waltman, of the 200 block of 85th Street, expressed the views of many when he said “We’re against it. Everyone in this room is against it. We don’t want it in its current configuration.”
For others, the project meant “the quality of life in Stone Harbor is over.”
Residents expressed concern about the impact on property values, the “ugly string of giant metal poles” degrading the entire community, and the potential for damage to homes on shallow foundations caused by vibrations from heavy equipment used in the construction.
Atlantic City Electric representatives discussed the efforts to minimize the likelihood of damage and stressed that the utility will quickly and fairly deal with damage should any occur.
Two and half hours after it began the meeting ended with no one happy.
Residents with concerns specific to their property can meet with utility representatives at Borough Hall between 1 and 4 p.m. Sept. 18.
Walters stressed that the borough’s Utilities Committee will continue to study the issue and expressed special concern for the area of 95th Street where the power lines will first come onto the island. Residents left concerned that it was too late for them to have any impact on the design.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.