Fiber companies discuss installation issues with council
Sheila Selman, Goshen News, Ind.
Updated 6 min read
Mar. 7—GOSHEN — With the city receiving complaints about the number of yards messed up by crews laying fiber optics or other types of lines in rights of way and easements, Goshen Mayor Jeremy Stutsman invited the two most active internet service providers in the area to speak at the city council meeting Monday night.
"We are glad that these companies are helping keep our community on the cutting edge of communications," Mayor Stutsman said. But he wanted to make sure that everyone was on the same page with information.
The talk was to educate the public and council about what rights these companies have, what company expectations are for their crews and how to file a complaint. Residents were also given a chance to comment.
Goshen's Director of Public Works Dustin Sailor laid out the utility permitting process, the difference between rights of way and easement and the impacts and problems residents have been complaining about.
A utility receives a permit from the city with a charge of $20 for the first 100 feet and $15 for each additional 100 feet. This is for rights of way. Utility companies do not need a permit for easements. They pay a utility bond of $5,000, which can be used for the year. The permits are only good for three months.
The city has one person in engineering who is responsible for monitoring these installs, but is also responsible for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance for sidewalks and driveways. ADA compliance consumes much of this person's time, Sailor said.
As for permits, the city pretty much has to issue one to a utility company, Sailor explained. And it can only issue a stop work order if there is an egregious offense, which isn't necessarily defined.
The city's engineering department and mayor's office take complaint calls; however, they do not have a system of tracking them, he explained.
Some of the complaints include: sink holes in the streets, bored holes that have not been filled in or covered, sandy fill ins that sink, utility vehicles parked on the city's bike path (the paths were not built for that much weight) and even temporary lines in odd or questionable locations, plus drilling fluid (more like a bentonite clay slurry) draining into the storm sewer, Sailor explained.
And then there are "utility hits," where a company that is digging hits something like a gas line.
The two utility companies with the most known utility hits were Surf and Frontier, according to Sailor's numbers.
Executives from Surf Internet and Frontier explained the process for complaints and what their expectations are for their crews.
CEO of Surf Internet Gene Crusie told council members that his Elkhart-based company provides service to 73,000 households in the county, with about 6,000 of those in the city of Goshen. He said that their network construction with the city is essentially complete, with only a couple of areas still to go this year — Terrace Park and Gra Roy neighborhoods. They haven't done any significant construction in Goshen since 2021, except they are building some fiber for Greencroft.
Crusie told the council that 100% of their lines are underground and that when they work in an area they try to make a point of contact at least seven times. He said they really do try to communicate with and educate residents. He also said they are really conscious about cleaning up after themselves. They've had a couple of contractors "who were not the best," Crusie said, but they were moved out.
At construction.surfinternet.com, people can track where Surf crews are active and if a resident has an issue, they can log a complaint on that site.
Frontier's Vice President of External Affairs Michael O'Keefe said they are currently building and updating their infrastructure in Goshen, which includes the lines inherited from Verizon.
He explained that they use door hangars, brochures and other forms of communication to let residents know what's happening and how to file a complaint if there is a problem. There is a local number and complaints are logged and tracked so Frontier can see which crews are causing problems. There is a URL and a QR code on the material that when scanned will bring up a presentation on the project.
"It runs the customer through what they can expect to have happen in their yards," O'Keefe said.
"So we are building about 13,500 households, which is more than the city and will go into the county, but our plan is to cover 100% of households in Goshen." Multi-dwelling units are not counted in the number, he said.
The product, which has fast speeds, will be available to residential and business customers, O'Keefe said. Frontier is rolling out its product throughout their entire footprint across the United States. Their lines are 60% buried and 40% above ground, he pointed out.
Since they are using their own footprint, they already have easements and engineering prints so they know where those easements are, and they are able to use their aerial lines, O'Keefe explained.
Frontier started work in August, and started pretty slow, he said. They did have a recent issues at Clover Trails subdivision, he said, but they went back and fixed the problem within 48 hours.
O'Keefe said if the city gets complaints and they call Frontier, they will log those complaints as well.
Frontier also has a dedicated inspector for Elkhart-Goshen, and is in the process of hiring a second inspector.
The public also had their chance to speak about what they've encountered from crews throwing their food in yards, to as Dave Daugherty said some ruts were left in a yard that could have been a fatal hazard to an 80-year-old who walks around the area.
A few of the other complaints include:
Resident Glenn Null said there was a line with a lot of slack coming out of a little box near the street that could potentially trip someon, plus they should put good topsoil back on the ground they damage.
Mary Lehman Yoder said her neighborhood already has service from Quality Cable in New Paris and they don't need more fiber coming through. She realizes there is a system of competition, but she already has the service and doesn't need the extra lines.
Steve Minnich, a Third Street resident, said crews recently dug a deep hole next to his tree and now he's afraid his tree will die. They also exposed a gas line and wants to make sure there is no damage to that.
Mayor Stutsman iterated that if people have complaints they can call the companies or they can call the mayor's office or engineering department.
He also added that Goshen received notice that AT&T will be coming through Goshen next year.
Sheila Selman can be reached at sheila.selman@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240311. Follow Sheila on Twitter @sselman_TGN.
