Grafton residents upset with fiber project work in neighborhood
GRAFTON (CBS 58) -- People living in Grafton are upset with how a fiber project in their neighborhood is being managed.
Yards have been dug up and many lost power to their homes Sunday.
Those living in the area near Cedar Creek Road and North Green Bay Road said the project has gone on longer than expected, equipment has been left in their yards, there are large holes in yards, and the internet has also been impacted.
The issues were brought up at a Village of Grafton Board meeting Monday night.
"From what I understand, it's an AT&T project, they are permitted to work within the right of way and within easements that they own on private property. I understand they are just updating their fiber to provide service to village residents," said Public Works Director Amber Thomas.
"We don't really have any control, they're working within the right of way and as a public utility, they're allowed to work within the right of way, and we have asked for verification of their easements on private property, so there's not a whole lot we can do, but I have been reaching out to AT&T to try and get them to comply."
"It’s very annoying, the noise, early in the morning and very close to our home with their machines," said Doreen Leret.
"Neighbors joked with me, 'Hey did they ask if it was okay to park that front end loader that they’re using to dig a hole in your property?'" said Ernie Tamm who has a large hole in his front yard because of the work.
He's also experienced internet outages.
"Where work is being done my wife happens to work out of the house she has a home office here, her employer allows her to work remotely, and her job is actually dependent on that internet," he said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for AT&T said: "As we work to bring faster speeds to the Grafton area, our goal is to minimize the effect on residents. We are working to complete the work and restore the area as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.