Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers said FPL is “shaking the town down” over the $150,000 in stolen copper wire for the new turtle-friendly street lights being installed on Estero Boulevard.
Somehow 54,000 linear feet of wire was stolen but nobody knows how or from where? Some of the wire was stolen from “hot” poles using high-voltage cutters.
Beach Talk Radio was actually notified by FPL’s contractor back in February that the wire was being stolen from open light pole boxes on Estero. They asked us to make a Facebook post about it.
Apparently FPL blames the stolen wire on the town because they stopped installing the new light poles until the issue was resolved. Allers said at a Town Council meeting last week that, “This is not the town’s problem.”
When we asked FPL Spokesperson Katarina Alvarez who was responsible for securing the wire, she said, “that’s not something I can speak to.” She also sent us this statement from FPL: “FPL is working closely with law enforcement and the Town of Fort Myers Beach to address and deter theft from infrastructure projects. For information regarding the investigation, please contact the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.”
We submitted a public document request Monday with LCSO to get the report about the investigation. When we have that, we will report on what it says.
Fort Myers Beach received $7.7 million from the state to install the new turtle-friendly light poles. FPL was supposed to have the project completed about a year ago and they stopped work until the stolen wire issue was resolved.
Vice Mayor Scott Safford said, “I want to know when this project is going to be done. FPL should do what they agreed to do.”
With cameras everywhere you have to wonder how nobody saw the wire being stolen.
When the new wire is purchased it will be stored in an off-site location according to Town Manager Will McKannay.
The town council will consider taking $150,000 from its ten-year maintenance budget of $300,000 reducing that pot to $150,000 for the new wire to get the project restarted. Neither the town or FPL or the contractor would admit fault when it comes to how the wire was stolen. If the council approves, FPL’s contractor would pay the $150,000 to replace the wire so the project can continue.
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Ok help me understand, when did this take place, was it over several days or just one night. How could someone steal that amount of wire and not be noticed? There were no sheriff patrols out when this happened. And why is the city responsible for a contractors negligence for their goods. Something sounds mighty fishy.
Vice Mayor S. Safford said it best, FPL just get it done!
This sounds to me like an inside job or at least advised from someone in the inside on when and how to do it.
I know how much that wire weighs and how difficult it is to roll up or pull out of the pipes once they are in (THIS IS NOT AN EASY OR QUICK JOB) this is very difficult to do quick on the main road no less, there has to be video somewhere from homes, businesses or others.
Yes they installed them on our block about 8 months ago and turned off our regular street lights but never illuminated the turtle lights and its so dark on our street. No wonder the theft could occur right under our nose!
I am confused as to how it’s the towns fault that the contractor’s wire got stolen. What a blunder if we agreed to secure it and didn’t take steps to insure it didn’t get stolen. Makes me question how competent our legal representation is when enter into a contract.
Again delays and finger pointing continue.