Key Biscayne Master Plan 043944000.18w_Key_Biscayne_MP(forJooMag) | Page 56

VILLAGE OF KEY BISCAYNE UNDERGROUNDING OF UTILITIES — MASTER PLAN undergrounding program of implementation as recommended in this master plan meets the criteria to qualify for the GAF Waiver.  Multiple phases reduce the risk a single contractor fails to execute the work of a single large phase. Contractor failure introduces risks to both project schedule and costs related to delays, re-work, re- mobilization activities, and potential litigation.  Community impacts due to the construction must be considered in selecting a project size. Each construction phase duration is anticipated to be 18 to 24 months. It has been our experience that durations longer than this can cause strain within the affected community due to traffic impacts, noise, and other construction-related impacts. We have found that confining activities in a relatively small area are desired and better tolerated by the community than large scale activities that impact a large geographic area. Physical Size of the Individual Phase While the FPL tariff contains minimum project size requirements to be eligible for the GAF Waiver, the individual phase area should not be excessively large for several reasons:  Multiple phases also provide the opportunity for the Village to better control the flow of funds to both the utility companies and the contractor constructing the work. The utility companies require upfront payment of their construction costs. If the entire Village were to be designed and constructed at one time, significant costs would be incurred very early in the process for materials and equipment that may not be installed for several years.  The amount of work performed within a given time period needs to be manageable not only for the Village’s contractor, consultants, and staff, but also for the utility companies. There are operations that must be performed by FPL, AT&T, and Comcast so their scopes of work for both design and construction are feasible to complete within the given timeframe.  52 Sufficient time must be provided in between the construction start times of sequential phases to allow for design, permitting, contractor procurement, and easement acquisition activities. Design activities are performed by the Village and the utility companies as a joint effort for each phase. Breaking up the design into multiple phases allows the initial phases to go to construction earlier while the balance of the program phases can continue in design. This overlap of design and construction creates schedule compression to allow the overall program to be completed in an expedited manner.  Breaking the project up into multiple components provides for enhanced competition amongst the contracting community to perform the work.  Breaking up the total program cost into phases reduces the bonding capacity required for qualified contractors who may choose to pursue the individual projects. This allows the pool of bidders to remain high, which fosters competitive pricing. 6.1.2 Electric and Communication Utility System Technical Requirements There are also technical requirements that must be considered when setting the phase area limits for an undergrounding conversion program. For this program, Kimley-Horn held a workshop with FPL, AT&T, and Comcast to review technical issues and mutually agree upon specific phasing limits. For the most part, the utility companies were willing to accommodate the phasing as it is proposed. FPL and AT&T were relatively flexible with where the phase line limits were to be located. FPL’s recommendation was to ensure that three-phase service was provided in each of the phases to loop existing feeders. AT&T was concerned if we skip areas to minimize disruption, additional plans may be needed to bridge over an area to be constructed in a later phase. Comcast had the least flexibility because of the way their fiber optic nodes provide communications service to a very specific area. Changing an existing node boundary requires a significant amount of device programming that can both increase cost and create a higher level of customer disruption during the reprogramming process. To the greatest extent practical, Comcast recommended our phasing work proceed from the South end of the Village to the North end because that is how their fiber trunk line is currently routed. In any case, temporary facilities may be necessary for each of the utilities to implement the recommended phasing.