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Sleepy Hollow officials respond to MetroNet outages as residents question vetting
Summary
Village leaders apologized for recent power and internet outages tied to MetroNet construction and said they are pressing MetroNet and USIC to ensure locators are present; some residents said the company was not vetted and raised safety concerns.
Village leaders told residents they are pressing MetroNet and the locators firm USIC to resolve a string of Internet and power outages that affected east-side neighborhoods.
At the meeting the president apologized for the disruption and said crews and locators were on site to check lines. "We knew there were some issues last Friday," she said, and noted the village has met with MetroNet and USIC to coordinate locating and construction. She added the village may pause work while companies sort out locator coverage and urged residents to notify Village Hall or police if they see unfamiliar workers.
Several residents at the meeting said they were upset about outages and how the rollout was handled. One resident said, "We never negotiated anything with them. We never talked about the risks that would come in. We just let them come in." That resident also told trustees the village did not run background checks and that many neighbors were angry.
Village officials pushed back on the claim that no diligence occurred. The president and staff said there were preconstruction meetings with MetroNet and engineers, and that drawings provided to crews included older buried copper lines that complicated locating work. "We did do research," the president said. "Accidents happen. Yes. There's been a lot of cuts. We're fixing that." Village Administrator Eugene said USIC went back out to sweep left and right of flagged lines and that the village will continue on-site oversight.
Officials asked residents not to remove utility locator flags because doing so can create safety hazards and make accurate line locating more difficult. The board also encouraged people who feel unsafe about a worker on their property to call the police so officers can verify identification and to call Village Hall to confirm scheduled work.
The board said it will continue follow-up with MetroNet and USIC and update the village website and Facebook page when it receives written information from the companies.
