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Residents Might Sue Electric Co-op

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Some Port Richey-area residents are considering a lawsuit if Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative doesn't move towering concrete utility poles now in front yards.

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: June 11, 2008

PORT RICHEY -- Angry over large concrete utility poles placed along their street, some residents in the Gray Fox Lane area are considering a lawsuit if Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative won't relocate the power lines.

The member-owned co-op planted the concrete posts on Gray Fox Lane, which straddles Embassy Boulevard between San Miguel and Fox Hollow drives. The concrete poles are replacing 30-year-old wooden poles, a co-op spokesman, David Lambert, said.

But the bigger concrete posts, 36 inches in diameter at the base, were moved toward the street. The wooden poles had been located more toward the back yards of homes.

The wooden poles were set when the area was largely orange groves, Lambert said. The co-op, however, is now concerned about access to power lines for any repairs on what is a "major electrical feeder" for the area, he said.

That is why the concrete poles were shifted toward the street, Lambert explained.
Letters explaining the shift were sent to residents, he said.

"They wouldn't have wanted them in their front yard," one resident, Clarice Deslauriers, said, referring to Withlacoochee executives.

Some 158 homes lie along the street near the concrete posts, according to Deslauriers. She would like to organize a community meeting on the concrete poles.

Deslauriers and another Gray Fox Lane resident, Carol Wiggins, are concerned that the power poles will cause the values of homes in the area to plummet. The power lines should be placed underground, she said.

"I can advise you that I met with Clarice and litigation is certainly an option that we will be exploring," a local attorney, James Magazine, wrote today in an e-mail message.

"They are huge," Wiggins said about the concrete poles. "You couldn't put your arms around (them). It's definitely an impact on the neighborhood. It looks like an industrial park."

Wiggins, whose husband recently died, is worried about her home declining in value.
Lambert said the co-op is not ignoring the concerns of the residents.

"Our engineer is going to look at our options," he said, adding, however, "The options are very limited."
The co-op had considered shorter poles held in place with cables called guy wires, Lambert said. That option, he said, likely would prove "more obtrusive."

The additional cost for underground power lines might have sunk that option, residents believe.
Deslauriers said precedents exist for a lawsuit. In Tampa, two groups of residents in the Egypt Lake neighborhood sued Tampa Electric Co. The company reached a settlement with both groups last year.

"If nothing changes then we'd pursue litigation," Deslauriers said.

Carl Orth can be reached at 727-815-1068 or corth@suncoastnews.com.

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