'Once or twice a week they break something' Volusia struggling with fiber optic company

DAYTONA BEACH — Metronet, an Indiana company that specializes in high-speed internet service, continues to wreak havoc on some parts of Volusia County as it races to install underground fiber optic lines.

"Once or twice a week they break something," said South Daytona Public Works Director Steven Danskine.

For the past year, the company has been expanding into Daytona Beach, South Daytona, Port Orange, Ormond Beach, Deltona and Palm Coast. Metronet's crews have become part of the landscape in those cities as they plant wires underground.

And as they're installing miles of fiber optic cable as quickly as they can, they've been damaging some underground city utilities with their equipment and causing tens of thousands of dollars in damages, partial road closures and at least four boil-water notices, local government officials say.

Daytona Beach pulled Metronet's permits and shut them down months ago. South Daytona has made progress by talking through problems with Metronet, and Ormond Beach is struggling with the installation process.

Daytona Beach puts the brakes on Metronet

"They've been operating for three or four months in the city in different areas," said Ormond Beach Mayor Bill Partington. "I wouldn't say it's been a smooth process. We've had quite a few citizen complaints."

Partington said city staff "is trying to stay on top of them. It's been extra work for them."

Shawn Finley, Ormond Beach's Public Works director, said Florida state law allows public utilities, including telecommunication providers, to occupy public rights of way. But utilities have to register with the city of Ormond Beach and submit for a permit that identifies the size and location of their project, he said.

"We are aware that residents have raised concerns with the level and quality of work as Metronet installs the utilities," Finley said. "We continue to work with Metronet to address installation issues affecting residents and the community, and have allowed extended time during the permitting process to ensure issues are addressed before proceeding. The city has regular meetings with Metronet to review past work and coordinate upcoming work."

Metronet officials say they've been endeavoring to remedy problems, and they've pointed out that sometimes the locations of the underground utilities are not properly marked. They've also covered cities' costs for damages in some instances.

"As we’ve work to deploy service in Volusia County, it has always been our goal to do so quickly and safely," Metronet Florida Vice President and General Manager Bill Gilliam said Friday in a written statement. "Construction can be disruptive, but we are committed to collaborating with city leadership to address past challenges and avert new ones in order to lessen the impact of the construction process."

Metronet pays subcontractors by the foot, so it's been in the interest of work crews to install fiber optic cable as quickly as they can. Cities, however, only have two days and a few employees each to mark their utilities after being notified of where a company wants to dig, so it can be difficult to keep up with the dozens of requests that flood in.

Daytona Beach suffered two Metronet-inflicted water main breaks and about seven damaged service lines as the company's crews installed 23 miles of fiber optic cable in the city, said Daytona Beach Assistant City Manager Andrew Holmes.

One of the more serious incidents was at the intersection of Fremont Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard when a water main was ruptured on Feb. 7. Water gushed out of a hole in the street, part of a traffic lane was shut down and a boil water notice went out to residents on the southern end of the Midtown neighborhood.

A final straw for Daytona Beach came on Feb. 16, when a crew for the fiber optic company using a boring machine broke a reclaimed water line at the intersection of Nova Road and Bellevue Avenue.

Holmes said Metronet wasn't even supposed to be installing cable in that area of Daytona Beach that day. The permit the city issued for that area said there would be a blackout period for digging in the week prior to the Feb. 19 Daytona 500 because so many fans would be driving around the city.

The two February incidents cost the city tens of thousands of dollars.

Metronet hasn't been allowed to do any cable installation in Daytona Beach for more than four months. The company won't be permitted to resume work in the city until it provides a plan for what the company wants to do and city officials OK that masterplan, Holmes said.

"We told them to bring us an overall plan, and they have not provided that," he said.

South Daytona makes peace with Metronet

Metronet workers have broken at least seven South Daytona water mains, and in a few cases, parts of roads were washed out.

Other utility lines have also been broken in South Daytona on Metronet work sites, including a sanitary sewer lateral in the yard of a home on Yale Road. A few months ago, a hole opened next to the homeowner's driveway as the broken line started sucking in dirt and carrying it away.

Metronet workers put rubber and a clamp on the broken line, but that was not an adequate repair, Danskine said. Part of the homeowner's driveway will have to be torn out to install a new pipe, he said. Metronet has said it will pay the city to make the repairs, he said.

A neighbor's line was also damaged, but that's already been fixed.

Mitigation costs for all of the utility damages in South Daytona have pushed toward $100,000, but Metronet has reimbursed South Daytona more than $70,000, Danskine said. When the city makes mistakes marking utility locations, it's not charging Metronet, he said.

While South Daytona has had problems with Metronet, the company is trying to improve things, Danskine said.

"We've gone to weekly meetings with them," he said. "Metronet has been working with us."

Metronet has also fired six different subcontractors, he said. One employee was fired last week after he drilled right where he was just told not to, broke a water main and caused part of a road to be washed out.

Holmes also said he heard Metronet "dismissed some staff."

"Since we committed to bringing 100% fiber optic service to South Daytona in 2022, we have worked diligently with city officials to ensure that we are communicating every step of the way," Gilliam said. "It is with their support we have been able to continue building our fiber optic infrastructure and are pleased to share that we will begin connecting our first customers very soon."

More about Metronet

Metronet was founded in 2005, and it began with a fiber optic network in Greencastle, Indiana. Now the company is in a growth spurt and aiming to provide fiber optic home and business service in more than 200 communities in 16 states.

The company says it's the nation's largest independently owned, 100-percent-fiber-optic provider.

More than a year ago, Metronet announced that it would be bringing its ultra-high-speed internet, television and telephone service to Volusia and Flagler counties.

Metronet's two-year network installation began last summer, and the first customers were expected to start receiving service before the end of 2022.

Volusia County getting more fiber optic: What communities in need in Volusia, Flagler and St. Johns are getting high-speed Internet?

"Metronet is thrilled to provide Daytona Beach and its neighbors with a 100 percent fiber optic internet infrastructure that will allow residents and businesses to improve their online lives," Metronet CEO John Cinelli said in a written statement.

Homeowners should receive a series of messages before cable installation begins in their neighborhood, including a letter, postcard and yard marker. They will also see crews identifying underground utilities and marking their locations with temporary paint.

"We'll do our best to minimize any impact to your property as we work within the utility easement areas," Metronet says on its website.

You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Metronet causing headaches for Volusia County residents and governments