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County says its authority limited as residents complain about fiber installation quality in Liberty Township
Summary
County engineers and commissioners discussed resident complaints about fiber-optic installations in Liberty Township, noting most work occurs in private easements and is outside county regulatory authority; commissioners asked staff to contact residents and installers to seek improvements.
Delaware County staff and commissioners on July 14 addressed resident complaints about the quality, timeliness and notice associated with several recent fiber-optic installations in Liberty Township and elsewhere in the county.
Rob Riley, Chief Deputy Engineer, told commissioners the county has received “some correspondence, from residents, particularly in Liberty Township, asking about, some of the fiber builds” and that many complaints concerned installation quality and lack of notice. Riley explained that most of the fiber work “is outside the public right away” and occurs in private utility easements; the county’s permitting authority, he said, generally covers only work within public rights-of-way such as road bores for conduit under streets.
Riley said the county has contacted several installers, including AT&T and Ultra Fiber, and that the portion of work within the public right-of-way “has been fine.” He recommended the county relay resident concerns to the utilities, noting “this is a matter that really has to be resolved between the property owners and the utilities directly.”
Deputy Administrator Eric Hostetler said the commissioners' office can help by convening residents who have contacted the county to better understand complaints and by exploring whether regulatory or legislative changes could improve outcomes. Hostetler suggested the county could lead outreach and possibly host a community meeting so residents can speak with county representatives and installers directly.
Commissioners agreed to pursue outreach. Hostetler said he would work with the county administrator's office to organize contact with residents and discuss potential next steps. The board voted to approve the related right-of-way permit summary sheet (resolution 25-519), with both commissioners present voting aye.
