(Audubon) The Audubon County Board of Supervisors have approved a utility permit request from Windstream, despite a previously announced suspension of all requests.
An exception was made for Windstream to run fiber-optic to a customer in the northern part of Audubon. “Apparently they were supposed to run him fiber-optic in July. and still hadn’t got it done. We’ve been holding them up by suspending any new permits until they clean up some of their other projects that they’ve started around Audubon that are still laying on top of the ground.”
Supervisor’s Chairman Doug Sorensen says the reason this request was approved is because the county doesn’t want to infringe on a local business that needs the service. “Because we don’t want to be holding up this guy getting fiber-optic. It was important for his business. We did go ahead and approve this emergency utility permit in north Audubon for this individual only.”
Meanwhile, the county’s stance towards Windstream when it comes to future requests has not changed. “We are still trying to get these other things resolved and Mitch (Rydl) has been on the phone with someone at Windstream to try to get these other things fixed up, particularly before winter because we have open phone lines laying on top of the ground that are in the right of way where we can get hit by a snow plow. That stuff just needs to get fixed and get done.”
In October the board approved a measure to suspend all utility permit requests from Windstream until the company tends to some of their unfinished projects within the county.
