By AMANDA KIMBLE
TheFlashToday.com
STEPHENVILLE (March 27, 2017) — Erath County commissioners were looking for help from a local telephone service provider. An issue with locating service lines was discussed at the commissioners’ Monday meeting, but the only resolution they were given was to sit and wait or call on someone else for assistance.
County officials said county crews and company officials once worked together without any qualms or concerns, but changes in local leadership have uprooted a partnership and slowed road repairs. They said the issue is with locating telephone lines somewhere below the surface of county roads.
Commissioner Herbert Brown, Pct. 2, cited a recent issue in which he was told immediate assistance was not available from local technicians and the county would be held financially liable if a line was damaged during road repairs.
Herbert Brown said asking taxpayers to foot the bill was not the answer and urged CenturyLink representatives to find a more amicable solution.
Commissioner Joe Brown, Pct. 3, said in the past, the county could call on a local company representative and get immediate on-site assistance, but CenturyLink managers said the former employee was violating company procedure when providing that level of support.
Commissioner Dee Stephens, Pct. 1, detailed an experience of dialing 811 for line location information and getting someone in another state who couldn’t find the line using GPS coordinates and wasn’t familiar with the local area to provide any level of favorable assistance.
But, CenturyLink officials said due to customer demand – and a decrease from eight technicians in the area to four – the company would need at least a three-day notice to respond to calls for help. They also said a significant amount of money had been spent for mapping services and information about the location of lines was readily available to the county via telephone.
Commissioners said roads can move 12 inches in depth. They have also found lines that should have been three feet below the ground but were buried a couple of inches deep.
“What do I do when I find a six-inch line when it was supposed to be at three feet?” Commissioner Scot Jackson, Pct. 4 said, asking how the county could be liable for such.
CenturyLink officials said in that case, liability would fall on the locator service.
County officials said the last thing they want to do is disrupt communication for county residents and voiced some frustration that CenturyLink was not as concerned about their customer’s telephone service.
“Our citizens are your customers,” County Judge Tab Thompson said.
“It’s your line, but it’s our road,” Herbert Brown added, saying the county could solve the problem by asking CenturyLink to uproot lines when road repairs are needed.
“If it was all to specs, you wouldn’t be here,” Thompson said.
Ultimately, commissioners were told they would be provided an updated phone service and should call on the help of locator services before working in marked areas.
In other items of business, a representative of a local emergency service provider addressed the need for rebranding the organization.
Lt. Matt Boyd with Cross Timbers Emergency Response Team (CTERT) addressed the court, saying issues related to previous leadership and the inability of the public to identify with the nonprofit’s current name led to the request for approval of the name change.
He said changing the organization’s operating name to Erath County First Responders would help fundraising efforts while at the same time giving the organization, which was founded in 1993 and initially known as Morgan Mill Volunteer First Responders.
In addition to responding to accidents and emergencies to provide emergency medical services until an ambulance can arrive, CTERT provides services at public events such as the Larry Joe Taylor Texas Music Festival.
Boyd, who works as an emergency medical technician for Texas EMS in Hood County and is a full-time Tarleton student, said he “walked into a mess” when he joined CTERT in September 2015. That was about the time Cody Miller, CTERT chief, was arrested for firing a shotgun at law enforcement officials who responded to concerns that the lifetime resident and career responder was suicidal.
Boyd said the organization wants to start with a clean slate and has been progressively working to become an approved continuing education training center for area departments and would like to offer community programs such as CPR training.
Following questions by Erath County Judge Tab Thompson, Boyd said the emergency response team reports to the Texas Department of State Health Services and under the direction of the county health authority.
“If you’re going to use our name, you better be good,” Thompson said, adding the court would urge the responders to interact with county officials and not function as a “lone wolf.”
Boyd said he has been working with the guidance of Wes Green, county EMS director, and also plans to continue building relationships with officials at Erath County Fire Rescue and other area departments.
Meanwhile, Thompson said the emergency response team could continue to receive the $500 monthly stipend, but protocol that was not previously followed would be a requirement.
“We had an agreement with Cross Timbers Emergency Response Team since they were receiving county funds, they were required to provide a quarterly financial report and are subject to an annual audit,” County Auditor Janet Martin explained.
“We weren’t getting that,” Thompson added.
Commissioners agreed a few questions related to the proposed name change needed to be answered by the state as they related to maintaining the existing legal name while operating under a new name and potential impact that the shift could have on record keeping and other operational aspects.
They also agreed that concerns raised by Donna Kelly, county treasurer, relating to the team’s liability coverage in the case something occurred during an emergency response, needed to be explored.
“I’m certainly in favor of what you’re doing,” Thompson said, adding that the issue of supporting the name change would be considered at an upcoming meeting.
It is CenturyLinks product and therefore CenturyLinks liability to fix, locate, maintain, etc. If they can’t provide this and proper staff then a new phone company should feel free to move in!