The Mystery Of Aletha Player, FP&L Area Manager

Councilman Scott Galvin got a letter from Aletha Player, area manager for Florida Power & Light (FP&L), as a follow-up to the meeting on Monday. She reiterated that it's a Done Deal, FP&L is going to put their poles wherever they please, residents be damned.

It's kind of difficult to photograph electric poles that will range from 80 to well over 100 feet tall when they've yet to be installed. This photograph was shot at the demonstration we had a month or so ago. To the left of the Hess station is West Dixie Highway, and N.E. 135th Street is to the right. The only poles in the photo are the aluminum street lights. and they don't have to stand up to the wind load on a couple hundred feet of cables strung between them. Their power supply is underground. How tall are they? Good question. Based on my own estimate, aided by my camera's rangefinder, under 50 feet.

Aletha Player, imagine a massive concrete pole, at least TWICE that height, a few feet outside of your bedroom window on the much narrower 14th Avenue right of way. Listening to you and the other FP&L execs and experts was really inspiring. It never ocurred to me before that I'd be blessed by a fantastic view of modernistc concrete and copper sculpture of artistic merit rivaling some of Joan Lehman's much sought after metal sculptures, but on a much more imposing scale. Lucky me! (Perhaps you'd donate one for MOCA Plaza?)

Wait a minute, you didn't say that, did you. No, what you really said was that it was a done deal, the public hearings were only a smoke screen to cover up that fact. Well, you didn't exactly say that either, now, did you? The thing that bothers me the most about that public hearing is that nobody with whom I've spoken knows exactly what the hell you guys did say, beyond Done Deal. I will give you credit for one thing though, Aletha Player. You're really, REALLY good at tap dancing, better even than your skills at obfuscation.