“Brutal,” is how Key Biscayne Village Councilman Fernando Vazquez labeled the aesthetics of an elevated generator just outside his residence.
“Incredibly horrendous.” is how former Councilman Luis de la Cruz described the one at the end of Ocean Lane Drive.
A pair of fixed standby generators, reaching some 14 feet high while perched on concrete, are the newest topics of discussion for Key Biscayne residents.
During last week’s Village Council meeting, Councilman Ed London called for a pause before any other generators of such magnitude would be installed, not only due to their size, but he also felt the probability of usage should be considered (i.e., collecting data on such outage frequency from FPL) “before making an educated decision.”
Village Manager Steve Williamson said these generators arose from a previous Council’s decision in 2020 to go forth with them.
Public Works Director Chris Miranda, who was not in his current role when that decision took place, said the backup generators are for two pump stations, one on Ocean Lane Drive and the other in the Garden District. The funding came from COVID money from FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).
Village Public Works Director Chris Miranda.
Power losses back then were becoming frequent, he said, and renting a generator through a subcontractor, who would have to wait until the water receded, was taking too long for the power to return.
Miranda agreed that the platforms are pretty tall but said, per Village code, they must be at BFE plus 1 (Base Flood Elevation plus a foot).
“The structure itself is constructed to meet storm surge requirements,” he said.
Vazquez wanted to know what makes the generators work.
“I don’t see what constitutes an emergency … I think we’re just adding too many contingencies as a high priority to have a generator of that size, of that magnitude stuck in there,” he said.
Councilmember Fernando Vazquez.
Miranda said the generators were sized to the pump station, adding that it’s important to have fire-rescue and police get through in times of flooding.
“We have a very strong landscaping plan,” Miranda said, adding that it’s one that residents would start seeing in about three weeks. “The job’s not done.”
“Construction is ugly, never pretty, so why do we do this? It is industry standard,” Williamson said, although noting that “Key Biscayne plays by its own rules. … However, in the Garden District, that is FEMA money and they require a backup generator. We can run a risk assessment on the others (two more are planned).”
Mayor Joe Rasco said living with generators is “part of being on a low-lying, barrier island. It doesn’t mean you have to like it.”
He compared it to, say, a huge house being built in the neighborhood and people panicking, thinking what a monstrosity it would be. “But, after the landscape is put in (and everything is in place), you look, and say, ‘Hey, that’s a nice house’.”
Williamson said there’s not much that can be done with the two under construction now.
“We will have to deal with it,” he said.