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Commissioners approve excavation permit and $50,000 bond for Highline Fiber optic installation
Summary
Workman County land‑use staff told commissioners Highline Fiber will lay fiber across county roads; the county narrowed the project scope to county roads only, reduced longitudinal cut footage and required a $50,000 performance bond and contractor licensing as conditions of approval.
Sherry Chamberlain of the Workman County Land Use Office told the board that Highline Fiber Optic seeks a right‑of‑way excavation permit to install fiber along county roads. Chamberlain said staff revised the plan to exclude private roads and reduced the county‑jurisdiction longitudinal cuts from about 133,000 to roughly 53,000 linear feet, and recommended a $50,000 bond to ensure road restoration.
"They are laying fiber optic throughout the... area, and we need to ask for a bond for you guys to make sure that the roads are as good as they are now or better when they're finished," Chamberlain said on the record.
The board moved to approve excavation permit 26-000189 from Highline Fiber Optic with the $50,000 bond, the removal of private‑road footage from the permit, and a requirement that the contractor obtain required county contractor licenses; the motion was seconded and the board recorded the motion as passed.
Why this matters: the permit clears the way for broadband infrastructure across county roads but ties restoration to a bond and licensing requirements to protect county road assets; the transcript records staff recommendations and the motion but not a roll‑call vote tally.
