Cape Coral City Council has reached a consensus on the location of the future LCEC transmission lines and substation to serve the north Cape.

The lines will run along Kismet Parkway and will be installed above ground. The substation will be at Kismet and Chiquita Boulevard.

George Smith of LCEC told Council that without the new substation on the corner there, the Burnt Store Road area will reach near 100 percent capacity, which means there likely would be reliability issues.

Council considered four options, including the one which takes the power lines straight down Kismet for more than three miles. It is the easiest and most direct route and included an undergrounding option that nobody on Council had interest in due to costs.

The downside of the preferred option was that since FPL has power lines on one side of Kismet, the LCEC lines would have to go on the other side.

The concern expressed was that would make the lines the street’s focal point, an aesthetic Council didn’t like.

Council suggested some beautification efforts in conjunction with the infrastructure project.

“The better looking the street, the better partner you become. You can make it look beautiful,” Councilmember Gloria Tate said.

“Everybody is doing their part to make the city look better. The people here will look at the power lines instead of the medians,” Councilmember Dan Sheppard said. “LCEC can invest in the medians and turn a negative into a positive.”

Councilmember Jessica Cosden was worried that if the lines are run down Kismet, what’s to stop LCEC from then asking to run power lines down Diplomat Parkway. She wanted assurances that LCEC wouldn’t do that.

Smith couldn’t make that promise.

In other business:

City Clerk Kimberly Bruns gave a presentation on the upcoming redistricting of the Cape Coral City Council district boundaries in the wake of the 2020 Census.

There are seven city council districts with council members elected at large but required to live within the district they represent. The city’s mayor also runs at large but may live anywhere in the city.

Council will form a districting commission by appointing seven qualified electors, determined from the registration for the last statewide general election.

Within six months after the completion and receipt of the federal census, the appointed commission will file a report with the City Clerk containing a recommended plan for adjustment of the district boundaries.

As per the city charter, each district shall be formed of compact, contiguous territory, its boundary lines following the centerlines of streets or canals, with as equal population as possible.

The report will include a map and description of the districts recommended and be drafted as a proposed ordinance. Once filed with the clerk, the report will be treated as an ordinance introduced by a council member.

Council also got an update on economic development in the city from Economic Development Manager Ricardo Noguera and Community Development Director Vince Cautero.

Their conclusion is that “Cape Coral continues to attract investment, especially from developers and businesses expanding from the Northeast and Midwest seeking opportunities where growth can occur. It is critical the City take advantage of these opportunities and strategically expedite plan reviews in order to fast track development while development interest remains high; during the pandemic.”

Council viewed presentation on the FY2020 comprehensive financial report and on some land development code revisions made to clean up some of the language.