Aging Grid Compounds Fiber Woes
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WATER VALLEY – The Water Valley Board of Aldermen ordered MaxxSouth to cease installation of fiber in the city after discovering work had started without following protocol. The problem, cited during the Jan. 7 Board of Aldermen meeting by City Attorney Daniel Martin, is an existing pole attachment agreement the city executed with MaxxSouth requires the company to apply for a permit before installing any additional lines on city-owned utility poles.
“They moved in without telling the city electric department and started work,” Martin explained to city officials.
The attorney added that Electric Department Superintendent Brandon Richardson had already requested that the company stop the installation.
“And rightly so,” Martin added. “We did not want them going through the city doing work without us knowing about it and creating a hazard potentially.”
Aldermen voted unanimously to send a cease-and-desist letter to MaxxSouth, with instructions for the company to submit an application that will be reviewed before fiber installation can begin. Depending on the scope of work, the proposed installation by MaxxSouth could also require a pre-construction survey and engineering plans that will be reviewed by the city’s electric department consultant engineering firm, Atwell and Gent, PA. The letter also states that Atwell and Gent, PA, has determined that the addition of new lines to portions of the city’s aging infrastructure could cause damage to existing poles.
MaxxSouth currently provides internet, television and phone service in Water Valley utilizing cable and some fiber lines that are attached to city-owned utility poles. The company’s existing services will not be impacted by the order to halt fiber installation.
The Water Valley Fire Department was dispatched to Duncan Street late last year to extinguish a power line that was on fire. The fire followed upgrades on adjacent poles that stressed the old infrastructure.
Martin cited a recent upgrade on Wagner Street where new metal poles were installed for an electric vehicle charging station on Main Street as an example of problems that can occur when work in done on the city’s grid.
“This (upgrade) has created additional stress on the older infrastructure behind them, which has created a hazard. We had to declare an emergency because of that,” Martin said.
The discussion during the city meeting also included details about an ongoing partnership with Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association (TVEPA) for fiber deployment in the city.
Martin explained that the city has been working with Tallahatchie Valley Internet Service (TVIS), operating as TVIFiber, a subsidiary of TVEPA, for several years for fiber installation in all areas that receive electricity from the Water Valley Electric Department.
The attorney noted that TVEPA had a utility pole survey performed in the city at a cost of approximately $250,000, an initial step in fiber deployment to identify utility poles that will have to be replaced to support fiber lines alongside existing power lines. Martin also said the city entered a memorandum of understanding with TVEPA in May, 2023.
“Our memorandum of understanding said we would work with them with the implementation of fiber to the city once we had the pole study back,” Martin noted.
The city’s agreement with TVEPA hit a snag last year when MaxxSouth petitioned the court to block $3.8 million in funding awarded to TVIS to help to help fund a broadband build-out in Water Valley.
“TVEPA is very interested in moving forward and I believe they are in a position to move forward. They have relayed to us that if this board continues to be supportive of them, they would probably provide the service,” Mayor Tommy Reynolds noted during the discussion.
Following a recommendation by Martin, aldermen also voted unanimously to send a letter to TVIS advising the company that a pole attachment agreement needs to be executed between the city and TVIS.
“Sufficient studies by engineers and our electric department are necessary and vital for successful operation,” the letter to TVIS states. “The city stands ready and willing to move forward with its partnership with TVIS despite the unexpected challenges that have arisen during the last year and a half,” the letter drafted by Martin also states.
The challenges cited in the letter are a reference to the litigation filed by MaxxSouth to block the $3.8 million awarded to TVIS.
The fiber deployment is expected to include replacing many older utility poles in the city, and Mayor Reynolds noted that $750,000 was allocated to the city by the State of Mississippi during the 2023 Legislative Session. The money is earmarked to assist the city for maintenance, repair and facilitation of broadband service.
“I look forward to the pole replacements, we have $750,000 which I hope can do a good bit of work for our poles. We have some areas where poles are terribly needed,” the mayor said.
Reynolds also said the city is not trying to stop MaxxSouth’s fiber deployment.
“We are not against anybody, I respect anybody who wants to offer a business in our town,” the mayor added.
