Summary of Findings:

Post Ian, city-wide inspections of aging metering equipment, conduit, and placement of such items, were examined by the City of Naples and found to be in conflict with the Florida Building Code. Specifically, many communities are faced with unsafe conditions due to age or Ian-related damages, which could eventually become a life safety hazard. Our buildings specifically have corroded conduit and metering equipment which needs to be replaced. This includes the Florida Power and Light Transformer Room in Building B. As such, we must:

1.) update our current 100amp meters to 150amps at all buildings
2.) relocate the meter center on each building a bit higher on the building to comply with the 10’ + 1’ above flood plane requirement
3.) install a service platform in front of the meter center to ensure proper service when needed

Additionally, the City of Naples Building Official has expressed caution with individual unit owner renovations. He stated it would be wise for our Board to prohibit residents from upgrading to 200amp panels, in order to avoid drawing too much power from the new center, putting any one building in a situation where the entire bank needs to be upgraded to 200amp meters and potentially, additional, future upgrades to the FPL transformer room. In other words, even if code allows for a 200amp panel, the new community infrastructure will not support it.

RESULT:

The end result is that the project costs as identified in the recent assessment discussion must move forward. Should the vote not pass, the “Life Safety Classification” will trigger the Board’s authority to take steps necessary to procure funding which may result in additional costs. Most likely, it would ensure a line of credit is not only taken out, but drawn on.

Supporting email correspondence has been provided below.

Common Questions from Owners

Question 1: Do all meters have to be upgraded to 150 amp service?

Answer 1: Yes. The State of Florida has recently adopted the National Electric Code’s 2020 standards. A load calculation for residential units of our size and square footage is used to calculate average electric load. It assumes commonly used equipment in each unit, such as AC units, washer/dryer stacks, dishwashers, garbage disposals, etc. Actual load by residential unit is irrelevant. Even our 1-bedroom units use over 100amps, per the NEC-2020 load calculation. The next size up is 150amps.

Question 2: Do all units have to upgrade their panel to 150amps if they don’t intend to draw that much power?

Answer 2: Yes. This goes back to the NEC-2020 code. The load calculation says each unit should consume, on average, more than 100amps. Thus, each unit must have a 150amp panel.

Question 3: What if I already upgraded my panel to 150amps (or greater) during a recent renovation?

Answer 3: We have asked Irish Electric to split out the cost of the panels, plus the chase/conduit, for each unit. Several units have upgraded their panel, have the chase/conduit installed and ready for new wire, or both. This may result in a lower assessment amount for those who have completed work already, and a higher assessment for those who have less work or no work done.

Question 4: Can this project be done in phases?

Answer 4: No. The “life safety hazard” classification requires us to move swiftly. Should we not continue on this path, some or all buildings could be classified under Item 10 in the Unsafe Buildings section of the Florida Building Code. This would result in our collective eviction until the project is complete.

UNKNOWNS:

Direction of underground conduit run from buildings A & D to Utility Transformer Room in Building B
- Option 1: Bore underneath the concrete between Building's B & C to pool entry, then bore right to A and left to D
  - Uncertain of plumbing or other lines/runs in the area. Further investigation needed. Locations must be determined. Potential cost to located lines.
- Option 2: Bore in front of buildings B & C and head to A & D through parking lots
  - Also uncertain of plumbing or other lines/runs in the area. Further investigation needed. Locations must be determined. Potential cost to locate lines.
Concrete sidewalk repairs nearest fountain and potentially, in the areas between buildings A & B and between buildings C & D. Tolson cost TBD.
Cost of electric panels, chase/conduit, into each unit. Irish to breakout from quote.