Mount Airy delays signing Antietam Broadband public-works agreement until company presents details

Mount Airy Town Council members reviewed terms of a draft public works agreement with Antietam Broadband on March 3, 2025, but decided not to sign the document until a representative from Antietam appears to present the project and answer questions.

Town Attorney Tom McGearn summarized key provisions in the draft agreement, saying the company would post a security to the town “in a total amount of $500,000” to secure completion of public improvements and repairs. McGearn also said Antietam must provide phased plans showing work “in what we’ll call quadrants” and may not move from one quadrant to the next until work in the prior quadrant is complete. He described additional requirements in the draft: two‑week resident notifications (likely door hangers), submission of contractor lists and schedules, reimbursement to the town for material costs of utility markings with “a cap of $10,000 total,” and limits on hours and months for construction work.

Town officials said the PWA is intended to protect public infrastructure and reduce disruption during fiber installation. A town staff member said staff has insisted the agreement prevent the company from “tear[ing] up the whole town” and require orderly, phased work with inspection and approval before crews move on.

Council members took a consensus position: the council will not sign the public works agreement until Antietam Broadband appears at a future meeting to present plans, show images of the work, and answer questions from elected officials and staff. The council said town staff will hold Antietam to the sequence, notification, inspection, and repair commitments in the PWA once a presentation is made.

The council did not take a recorded roll-call vote on the PWA during the March 3 meeting; members described the outcome as a decision to table or postpone signing pending Antietam’s presentation.