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City plans ordinance to regulate fiber boring and right-of-way work after repeated locates and safety issues
Summary
City staff said a local contractor’s fiber-boring work has caused late locates, unsafe vault placements near hydrants and other problems; staff will draft a right-of-way management ordinance limiting work windows, restricting permit stacking and aligning language with local code, modeled in part on Lawrence, Kansas.
Staff reported recurring problems with a company performing directional boring for fiber work in Goodland, including excessively early or late locate requests, crews starting before appropriate permits or prior segments were completed, and unsafe placements of vaults close to fire hydrants or on valves. The absence of a local code provision to manage timing and sequencing left staff with limited enforcement options.
Code and public-works staff (Speaker 10) said they had reviewed an ordinance used in Lawrence, Kansas, and would adapt language to match Goodland’s code. The proposed local ordinance would set allowable hours/days for boring work, limit the scope of each permit to a specific linear extent until that segment is completed to staff satisfaction, and provide enforcement authority for the city to withhold subsequent permits and penalize unsafe work.
Commissioners expressed support and asked staff to clean the draft to match local code; staff said a proposed ordinance will be prepared for an upcoming commission meeting.
