NORTH SALT LAKE—Residents in Foxboro have expressed frustration to the North Salt Lake City Council as they’ve watched their yards torn up and large utility boxes pop up. Telecommunications company Lumen – formally CenturyLink – is making upgrades to its current lines to increase service to be able to offer 10 gigabit internet speed to homes in the area. Some have questioned why the work can’t be done in the parking strip or roadway.  

“Lumen came in and actually broke the main waterline underneath our driveway,” one resident told the council at the May 6 meeting. “The problem first off was they turned the water off and never told us. We had no idea until my husband went to turn on the secondary water four days later.”

They had to pump all of the water out (left by the broken pipe), said the woman. ‘They couldn’t guarantee that our driveway approach was going to be OK. Now mind you, this driveway was just put in a year ago. We would appreciate any help we can get from the city.”

“I haven’t had any property damage,” said another resident. “What’s been done actually looks good. My concern is when Google Fiber came in there was zero intrusiveness. Everything was built underground. It’s proof of concept that it can be done.”

The resident said he has had a good experience with trying to get things resolved. “My frustration is if you look down my road there are already communication boxes between every other house. Now there’s another one every 60 feet down the road.”

The new boxes are not tiny, he said. “They’re rather large. We’re trying to have fun in our yards but now I’ve got a tower in the middle of prime football space for kids. How do we prevent this as a city going forward? I’m proud of my yard and now I have this unsightly box and it’s ‘sorry you get it.’ Frustration in the neighborhood is huge.”

“Lumen is the provider of internet service and Fugal is working on the project,” said North Salt Lake City Manager, Ken Leetham. “The difference between when Google Fiber came in and Lumen is Google Fiber had never done work with North Salt Lake so there was no agreement. We spent a City Council meeting looking at it before we signed a franchise agreement.”

That allows Google or anybody else to work within the city’s right of ways, he said. “In the case of Lumen, formally known as CenturyLink had been in the city and state for a long time and already had an agreement to work in the Foxboro neighborhood.”

Utilities, including telecommunication, have already been installed in the streets and sidewalks, Leetham said. “There’s no more room. There’s a public utility easement anywhere from seven to 10 feet from the sidewalk. That’s why it has raised so much concern. It’s different when it’s in the street instead of going through finished yards.”

Leetham said the city has established communication with residents and it’s been much better than before. “Fugal has been working with residents to correct problems in people’s yards where it has caused disruption. Fugal has been very responsive.”

“I have personally visited every resident’s house who has had a concern,” said Douglas Hale, Lumen network implementation program manager. “We’ve discussed plans and come up with creative solutions.”

There is a Utah law that any property must be restored to at least as good as it was found, said Hale. “We’re doing what we can to follow that law and restore it to the customer’s satisfaction.”

The project is to install the physical materials then come in after and put in the fiber optic wires and activate them, he said. “The service will expand to everybody. They may not want to participate or if later they change their mind there’s the ability there.”

Hale said once he met with the residents and explained the whys behind it he’s been able to come to some sort of arrangement. “The objective is not only to do things right but to do the right thing.”