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Council presses staff on repeated utility damage and fiber-optic permit enforcement
Summary
Council members and city staff discussed recurring damage caused during multiple fiber-optic installations and asked for stronger on-site inspections and permit enforcement after recent gas-line and irrigation-system strikes.
Council members raised complaints about multiple outside contractors installing fiber-optic infrastructure across the city and causing property and utility damage. Complaints included two gas-line strikes and an irrigation-system break tied to fiber construction work reported in the Stonewood Villas area and other locations.
Councilmembers said contractors from several providers are working in overlapping areas and that the volume of crews is creating confusion, safety risks and repeated damage. Staff and council described four active fiber providers working in the city, and councilmembers said additional providers carrying state or private grant funding may enter the market.
City staff said inspections and permit oversight are being increased: building and code inspectors will more frequently check right-of-way permits and temporary traffic-control (MOT) plans, and staff said they will suspend contractors'permits in problem areas until deficiencies are corrected. City staff described one recent example at a city complex entrance where crews were asked to relocate work off city property and had an expired permit; staff said the contractor was shut down for the day and required to restore the property.
Councilmembers asked staff to step up roving inspections and to coordinate permitting officers with utility owners (TECO, Ocala Electric) when strikes occur. City staff acknowledged resource limits for continuous monitoring but said they will increase spot inspections, use CIP and code inspectors to check active crews, and consider suspending permits for repeat offenders. Council asked staff to visit the Stonewood Villas site the next day.
The mayor and council described the wider market forces: several companies are taking federal or state grant funding to build fiber infrastructure, which encourages rapid deployment and, in some cases, overlapping construction in the same neighborhoods. Staff noted that the city will continue to enforce permit conditions, require restoration, and pursue compliance when installations extend onto private or city property.
Ending: Council urged faster on-site enforcement and asked staff to report back on permit compliance steps taken. Staff said they will coordinate daily inspections where needed and apply suspensions for noncompliant contractors.
