Golden Shores undergrounding on hold; Breezeline says multi-gig service is available while AT&T did not attend

City staff told the commission the Golden Shores undergrounding project is on hold after a motion concerning IAM Electric failed to receive a second at the June meeting. Staff said the immediate options are to proceed with a second bidder at roughly double the hourly rate the city had with IAM, try to bring IAM back to the table, or defer the project six months to a year.

Mayor Svechen and three commissioners said they would favor putting the item back on the evening agenda for a decision; the city attorney said suspending the three-month deferment rule would require a supermajority (four votes) of those present. No formal decision was made at the workshop; staff said they would seek to add the item to the evening meeting where the vote could occur.

Separately, the commission heard from Breezeline about broadband options for Golden Shores. Lars Lofas, Breezeline's Florida general manager, said the company has completed underground work and now offers gigabit and multi-gig symmetrical services in many parts of Sunny Isles Beach, including Golden Shores. Lofas and his field director, Danny Ortiz, explained that in some buildings the final in-unit connection still uses copper or building-distributed wiring and that speeds delivered to devices depend on in-home Wi-Fi hardware.

Commissioner Joseph said AT&T had been invited but did not attend and said residents have repeatedly been promised fiber over the past two years without delivery. He described personal reliability problems and said he feared contracts or specifications that are not forward-looking could lock the city into outdated technology; staff said procurement does not control utilities and that some undergrounding decisions involve third-party utilities rather than city purchasing.

What happens next: The commission signaled support to add the Golden Shores item to the evening meeting so members can vote, and staff said they will present options and cost comparisons at that meeting. Breezeline said it can deliver multi-gig service to many homes now and will work with residents and building owners on the last-mile details.