Town: Which lines are dead?

Beautification-minded town officials have searched for years for some way to hide the ugly thick clumps of overhead utility lines that line Main Street. The subject re-surfaced at the Nov. 6 Madison Town Council meeting, but a solution remained elusive.

Bill Gentry, chairman of the committee that oversees the Greater Madison Main Street Project, offered a summary of the situation for the council.
“There’s no advantage to the utility companies to do anything different than they are already doing,” Gentry said. “They’re making money as it stands. Period.”

Gentry said that burying the lines had been considered, but seemed impractical. “Burying would cost millions,” he said. “We had two meetings several years ago with the utility companies and they’re so nonplussed about it they don’t want to even discuss it.” Gentry said finding a private benefactor to help pick up the cost of burying the lines had been discussed, but that with the current economic environment that would be impossible.

He said that moving the poles off Main Street either a block east or west seems more feasible, but that it comes with its own set of hurdles to clear. “In order for them to put in new poles to do that you’re going to have to get easements from every property owner from point A to point B and if even just one property owner says, ‘Well I really don’t want to do that,’ then it’s going to be up to the town to come in and say, ‘We’re going to use eminent domain.’’’ Gentry said. “I don’t know if that’s something that the town would want to do or not.”

Gentry mentioned a third solution that at first sounds simple, but quickly becomes complicated by what town officials say is a lack of responsiveness by the utility companies. Apparently, many of the overhead lines that run along downtown Madison’s Main Street are not even being used. “When the utility company does an upgrade on the lines they don’t take down the old lines — it costs them money to take them down — they just add the new ones,” Gentry said. “You need to put pressure on the utility companies to take them down. I think that in itself would have a marked positive impact on the town.”

Mayor Willie Lamar asked Town Clerk Barbara Roach if she had contacted the utility companies to get a list of which lines are active and which are dead.

“I’ve written Comcast, I’ve written Verizon, I’ve written Allegheny and they all have told me in no uncertain terms they don’t want to even discuss it.” Roach said.

Discussion then turned to ways the town might be able to persuade the utility companies to be cooperative.

“There’s bound to be a way to use the press or something that will put pressure on them to (tell which lines are active and which are inactive),” Gentry said.

Councilman Charles Carter asked Town Attorney Jeff Early what legal remedies might exist.

“I don’t know of any that are inexpensive,” Early said. “And then, there’s no guarantee of success. They have the right of way, so they can do what the right of way allows them to do.”

Gentry capped the discussion by using humor as a way to reduce the group’s apparent frustration over a lack cooperation by utility company representatives.

“Maybe there’s a physician out there that we could contact to say that several of the citizens are suffering emotional distress over this,” he said, drawing several laughs.

In other matters at the Nov. 6 meeting, the council:

· Passed a unanimous motion to again have Weaver Works remove snow from the town’s sidewalks this winter. For every two-six inches, the town would pay the company $400; $475 for every six-12 inches; and $600 for every 12-inch plus snowfall. There would also be a one-time $250-$500 payment for chemicals.

· Heard that the new ground-mounted lights that illuminate Lawrence Beasley Park’s large deodara cedars at night had “burned-up inside” and that, resultingly the miniature downtown park now stays dark all evening. “It’s going to be a major repair, it’s not a minor problem like just a bad bulb,” Councilman Charles Cater said. Washington Circle resident Ron Taylor said the light was needed to add to the town’s holiday atmosphere and asked when it would be repaired. “I don’t know, we’ll need to get a response from Linco (the company that installed the lights),” said Main Street’s Gentry.

· Decided to consider at its next meeting whether to agree to defer getting a re-zoning fee until the vacant, old laundromat property at 609 S. Main St. can be re-zoned. Apparently, half of the building on the property is zoned commercial and the other half is zoned residential. Officials said they are unsure how this happened. Resultingly, potential buyers are said to be declining to purchase it. Its current owner reportedly lacks resources to pay for the $750 re-zoning fee upfront.