GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – A major upgrade will soon get underway in Green Cove Springs. The City Commission has approved a plan to spend $10 million for an overhaul of the city's utility, something the mayor said is long overdue.
Many people living in Green Cove Springs joke that if the wind blows the power would go out.
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Resident Willie Heard said, " They have a lot of businesses (and sometimes the) lights will go out for a day or two before they come back on."
Mayor Mitch Timberlake said most of the old power problems are not around any more, but the city is about to see unprecedented growth and subdivisions like Magnolia Points are adding hundreds of homes.
He said by the year 2025, Green Cove Springs should have 10,000 more people, but even so rates will not go up due to the upgrades.
"It is a tax-free loan, so it equates to a bond. Basically what we’re looking at is the city is getting ready to experience what I would call unprecedented growth. And that is with the beltway coming through, the first coast expressway," Timberlake said.
Timberlake adds power poles around town are 50 to 60 years old and they must keep up with growth while maintaining the current system.