Putting all the power, cable, and telephone wires and infrastructure underground in a city as complex as Carmel is a massive undertaking.  Surprisingly, at present, even eliminating one power pole is a confusing, frustrating, time consuming, and expensive undertaking.  We think it is time for the State, County, and City government leaders and citizens to attack this challenge, build on previous efforts and figure out a way forward.  As we’ve seen recently in Napa, the cost of not doing it could be astronomical and a disaster.  In fact, with the drought ravaging our trees in a “perfect storm” situation we could lose the entire city to a fire.

The problem isn’t just above ground.  The areas of Carmel that are still on septic systems and propane have major issues that also need to be dealt with.  We will be including the efforts in those areas as well.  Think of this as a place for “All Things Underground in Carmel”.

There are a lot of smart and successful people living in Carmel that have accomplished amazing things.  And, we figure some of them must have been thinking about or working on this problem for the last 30 years.  We hope to engage with those people to dream big and re-energize these underground projects or get support for ones already underway.  We hope to work together to develop a short, medium, and long-term plan to eliminate the unsightly and dangerous mess that plagues our community above and below ground so we can return our forest to be safe and pristine again.