Optimum seeks parish' backing for fiber build to roughly 500 homes amid franchise dispute

Optimum' representatives asked parish leaders during the meeting to issue a letter of no objection that would let the company complete an initial fiber build covering roughly 500 homes in and just outside St. Martinville.

John Moyer, identified in the meeting as "senior director of government affairs for Optimum," said the company's current construction focuses on city limits and a nearby parish section and that the initial deployment would be largely aerial. "We wanna build here. That's why we're trying to invest in your own community," Moyer said. He and other company staff described the build as primarily aerial (the company's materials labeled about 97% aerial) with a small underground portion that council members said would require closer review.

Council members pressed the company on whether its work is covered by a state cable franchise that lists "Internet and video," or whether local permitting and council action are required. Moyer said the firm relied on state franchise authority for right-of-way access in some locations and on local permitting when required, but he acknowledged the distinction left questions for parish legal staff and councilors. A council attorney had issued a cease-and-desist letter earlier in the dispute, prompting elected officials to ask Optimum for maps, subcontractor information and vehicle records to verify who has placed lines on local poles.

A District 2 representative raised concerns about transparency, saying, "I don't feel like we're getting fully transparent information about what direction you're trying to go, what it is that you're you're trying to do." The representative asked for legal follow-up and additional information for constituents before the company proceeds further in the parish.

Moyer said the initial phase will offer residential broadband service with "over a gig symmetrical" speeds and that expansion beyond the initial 500-home area would depend on demand and subsequent design work. He pledged to provide maps and additional documentation to parish staff and said he would try to identify whether Optimum trucks or subcontractors had operated in locations that council members reported seeing lines.

Next steps recorded in the meeting: parish legal staff will follow up, company representatives will supply additional maps and subcontractor information, and the council will determine whether to administratively issue a letter of no objection for aerial work or require council approval for underground segments. The transcript does not include a recorded council vote on the request.