Verizon to Repair 21 Poles in Twp. This Summer

If you see Verizon personnel roaming the roads and replacing utility poles in the next 90 days, don’t be concerned: they’re cleaning up a months-old mess.

Verizon Area Manager Mark Bocchieri met with the Washington Township Committee recently to introduce himself as the new representative, but to also discuss some issues the company hadn’t addressed.

The township has counted 21 Verizon-owned utility poles in the township that were either cut, broken, or dangerously situated since Super Storm Sandy devastated the area.

“Admittedly so, there may have been some areas not taken care of during the power restoration phase after Sandy,” Bocchieri told the governing body.

But now, more than six months later, the phone company is ready to fix the mess left behind, and will have it complete in the next three months, Bocchieri said.

Once a utility pole is replaced, Bocchieri said, it can last as long as mother nature allows it – 50 and even 100 years according to the representative. Poles are inspected every 10 years, but there is no preventative maintenance completed, Bocchieri said.

Who’s Got the Right of Way?

Verizon’s line crews are not equipped for vegetation removal, Bucchieri told the committee, and won’t remove any branches or tree limbs hanging on their wires.

If a piece of vegetation is more than four inches in diameter, Verizon’s personnel won’t touch it, Buccieri said. Moreover, if a property owner’s tree or tree limb falls on a Verizon line or pole, it’s the property owner’s responsibility to have it removed, Bucchieri said.

“Eventually, if that’s the set up, some people are going to lose power,” Mayor Ken Short said.

Bocchieri reasserted that his company will not assist in vegetation removal.

FiOS Still Far From Here

Short wanted to make sure an answer or explanation was received from the company regarding the underground conduits it laid some years ago.

Some 4.5 miles of conduit was laid, meant to carry fiber optic cables and bring the service to Washington Township, but over time have begun to unearth and forced the pavement above to buckle, Short said.

Bucchieri dashed the hopes of FiOs seekers, however, saying it would be years before the service came to town.

The representative said the state has mandated the company bring fiber optics to the 60 most densely populated areas of New Jersey over the next four years. Clearly, Washington Township is not one of them

“[FiOS] won’t be here for at least four years,” Bucchieri said.

Verizon’s contract with Washington Township ends in November of this year, and the company is seeking a renewal. The communications company is seeking a 15-year pact, while the township is leaning toward just a five-year agreement.

Negotiations will continue in the coming months.