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tolerated by the community than large scale activities that impact a large geographic area .
• ySufficient 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 Town and the utility companies as a joint effort for each phase .
• yMultiple phases also provide the opportunity for the Town to better control the flow of funds to both the utility companies and the contractor constructing the work . The utility companies require up-front payment of their construction costs . With a very large phase size , significant costs would be incurred very early in the process for materials and equipment that may not be installed for several years .
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
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limits . FPL and AT & T were relatively flexible with where the phase line limits were to be located . Comcast had less ability to be flexible 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 , the phase lines developed mimic existing fiber optic node boundary lines already established in the field by Comcast .
Cost Efficiency
There is a high priority placed on cost control for this program . Effective cost control begins during the planning process . From an electrical perspective , phase lines were set to allow the reuse of as much existing underground infrastructure as possible . For example , all the existing Intracoastal crossings for electric and communications cables will remain in service without the need for replacement in this program . We also took advantage of locating phase limits at the existing overhead to underground transition points that exist throughout the Town to reduce the costs . For example , the existing overhead system transitions underground on the north and south sides of the Palm Beach Country Club .
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By placing a phase limit at this location , the costs related to installing temporary poles to make the transition from the new underground system back to the overhead system are eliminated . Since these transition points are temporary , but necessary for the continued provision of power to the community , it is important that the number of transitions be reduced to the minimum required .
6.2 Sequencing Recommendations
Once the limits of each individual phase were determined , the sequence in which they are to be constructed was determined . This master plan ’ s sequencing recommendations for the undergrounding program , along with sequencing of additional planned projects ( i . e ., capital projects , gas / watermain replacement , etc .), are graphically depicted on the sequencing maps beginning on page 52 of this Master Plan .
To develop the recommended sequence for the program , several factors needed to be considered . These factors included the following :
• yMajor work programs
• yTraffic impacts
• yCost efficiency
• ySchedule Efficiency
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The above factors and their influence on the development of the recommended sequencing of the program are described in greater detail below .
Major Work Programs
As discussed in the Data Collection section of this master plan , there are several major work programs that will be in progress concurrently with the undergrounding program . There is a need to coordinate these major work programs with the undergrounding program to minimize community impacts to the extent practical . Major work programs in addition to undergrounding consist of the following :
‣ ¾ Town of Palm Beach Capital Improvement Program
‣ ¾ Town of Palm Beach Shore Protection Program
‣ ¾ City of West Palm Beach Watermain Replacement
‣ ¾ Florida Public Utilities Gas Main Replacement
‣ ¾ Florida Department of Transportation Work Program
Town of Palm Beach Capital Improvement Program
Several of the projects contained in the Town of Palm Beach ’ s Capital Improvement Program are being funded through bond proceeds which must be expended by the end of 2019 . These bond funded projects are considered to be part of the
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48 | CHAPTER SIX |
TOWN OF PALM BEACH |