Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Telecommunications topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Optimum asks to use parish servitudes for trunk line; council voices clarity and equity concerns
Summary
Optimum requested permission to run a trunk line into Saint Martinville using parish servitudes; council members pressed for clarity about overhead vs. underground work and whether rural districts would receive similar service, while the parish also entertained a sheriff’s request to relocate a temporary camera to the parish line.
Optimum representatives asked the St. Martin Parish council for formal permission to use parish servitudes to install a trunk line from Iberia Parish into Saint Martinville that would run along Highways 182 and 92.
Speaker 2 said Optimum’s request is for use of parish servitudes and that the company provided a draft servitude agreement. “They’re asking for formal permission from the council to work in the servitude, run lines,” Speaker 6 said.
Council members pushed for clarity about the project’s purpose and geography. Speaker 7 said the company’s presentation had shifted between offering service and seeking a trunk line and raised concerns about the potential for service disruption and whether the work would prioritize business districts over rural constituents. “I’m not getting honesty and clarity with that,” Speaker 7 said, urging clearer plans and concrete commitments to serve underserved rural areas.
Staff recommended bringing Optimum back for a council presentation and suggested a meeting with the company before the next council session to resolve outstanding questions about underground vs. overhead construction, pole usage and coordination with Entergy and other utilities.
Separately, the meeting considered a request to relocate a temporary traffic/camera unit near a new bridge: parish staff said Lafayette Parish had agreed to cover relocation costs and that the sheriff’s department asked for the camera to be moved to the parish line; the council noted the need to confirm sheriff’s coordination.
No final decision was recorded; staff was asked to set a follow‑up meeting with Optimum, provide written servitude drafts and secure sheriff confirmation for the camera relocation before the next meeting.
