Mineral Wells council wants to rein in fibre optic installers; Multiple line jobs have ruptured water lines during drought

Weatherford Democrat
By Glenn Evans gevans@weatherforddemocrat.com
July 20, 2023

MINERAL WELLS -- Even the arrival of high-speed internet is costing Mineral Wells to sink further into drought, discussions of an ordinance updating how and when contractors lay underground networks showed.

The council tabled its decision on a new "excavations" ordinance to its next session, to better understand the first update since the 1970s and to give franchise holders Oncor Electric and Texas Gas Service more time to give input.

The next meeting is at 3 p.m. July 27. The council that day also is set to get its first look at Sullivan's proposed spending plan for fiscal 2023-24.

The gas and electric utilities also lay lines beneath streets and rights of way in Mineral Wells. At least one of them also is struggling with the influx of fiber lines going in.

"We've had 37 lines hit in Mineral Wells just in the last two months," Pete Dyson, the gas provider's North Texas operations manager, told the council. Ruptures have " ...greatly affected our operations. It's stretched us, not in a good way."

He added the breaks are not always the contractors' fault. Dyson also noted the city's fire department has to send resources each time a line is disrupted.

City Manager Dean Sullivan said fiber contractors are very active in the city.

"We have no clue where their stuff is," he said.

Mayor Pro Tem Doyle Light said he also is in the dark over how many contractors are laying fiber optic lines.

"But however many there are has multiple installers," Light said. "We have just been inundated."

Reading from weekly city drought condition reports, Light cited significant water losses created by contractors hitting main lines while laying fiber:

• June 16 -- 500,000 gallons lost;

• June 30 -- 10,000 gallons;

• Week of July 4 -- two strikes causing 300,000 gallons to leak;

• July 14 -- 1.7 million gallons loss in four water line intrusions, with four smaller cuts adding another 110,000 gallons lost.

"We cannot continue to have these water losses when I believe we can do better," Light said. "It is a combination of things that is making the situation more dire every day."

Ward 3 Councilwoman Beth Watson asked why the problem is arising now.

"They are just running amok," she said. "What's happening, and why are they here?"  

Sullivan cited action by the 88th Legislative Session this past spring that made public areas more accessible to the fiber companies. Expanding high-speed internet in rural Texas has been a theme of at least two legislative sessions.

"So all of the things they are doing around our homes around here, they're allowed to do it," he said.

Light urged City Attorney Eileen Hayman to add wording to the new ordinance authorizing the public works director to halt any underground network project that damages water or wastewater infrastructure during Stage I drought. 

The city now is under the harsher Stage II drought protocol. Stage III, when potable water can be used only for drinking, cooking or watering animals, is expected to descend before summer ends.

"What's happening now is contributing to a fast-approaching disaster," Light said.

Hayman went through some elements of the proposed ordinance before it was tabled, including requiring contractors to register with the city and obtain a permit 10 days before starting a job.

"So we can get a grasp on who all is out there," she said.

Contractors also will have to show proof of $1 million insurance, put up a surety bond and indemnify the city. (The insurance and bond requirements will not apply to franchise holders).

Digging jobs will be limited to between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday under the ordinance. Friday's are out because the fire department risks overtime that day.

Sullivan also shared with council members on Tuesday he is holding results of a Master Parks and Open Spaces survey until they can be folded into a 20-year plan for all city elements that's due in coming months.

The council also approved an outside auditor's look at how the city kept its financial records during the 2021-22 fiscal year.

Earlier Tuesday, outside auditor A.J. Bowers Jr. delivered an unmodified opinion on how the books were recorded during the 2021-22 fiscal year by Finance Director Jason Breisch's department.

"What that means is the best opinion you can get," Bowers said.

Sullivan closed out Tuesday's meeting reporting that a Master Parks and Open Spaces survey will be presented once a larger, citywide public survey is finalized.

Both public surveys asked residents -- and visitors during the Crazy Water Festival -- their opinions starting last fall and into the late spring. The comprehensive plan covered much more than parks, elements like quality of roads and city services. 

"We'll plug that master parks plan right in (with the comprehensive plan)," Sullivan said. "I'm reasonably certain we'll have that before September."