Commissioner Faulstich speaks with Brightspeed on issues, commissioners approve requests to work in county's right-of-way

The Marshall County Commissioners acted on the three tabled Brightspeed requests to work in the county’s right-of-way during their meeting on Monday.

Commissioner Adam Faulstich said he received a call the day after their last meeting from the government affairs representative from Brightspeed.  During the conversation, Faulstich asked what Brightspeed’s future was in the county and what direction they were looking at going. He also expressed the county’s interest in their upkeep of services in the county, especially since they provide services in the County Building and some at the Sheriff’s Department to a tune of over $40,000 a year. 

The man said he would call the commissioner back in two days, and a week and a half later, Faulstich called because he hadn’t heard anything and had to leave a message.  The rep from Brightspeed finally called back this morning.  Faulstich said, “So, as it stands, it looks like I’m going to get to play some reindeer games here going into the holidays with these guys.”   

Commissioner Faulstich said he thought the best course of action at this time is to approve Brightspeed’s requests to work in the county’s right-of-way since there is a conversation going on with them.  

Faulstich also suggested looking for an alternative provided for the county’s services because “I’m not a fan of being a customer of a service and then having the service do the bare minimum.”

Commissioner Jesse Bohannon addressed what he called a misconception with the media, saying that Commissioner Faulstich “had a personal ax to grind” against Brightspeed because he uses their services at his home.  Bohannon said the county has experienced inconsistent services from Brightspeed and that he received a couple of constituent calls, while Faulstich had also received a few calls about issues with Brightspeed.  Bohannon said, “It might not be our statutory responsibility to go and fight for these people on this issue, but who else is going to do it?”

The Marshall County Commissioners approved the three Brightspeed requests to work in the county’s right-of-way that had been tabled, and twelve additional requests to work in the county’s right-of-way that were presented at Monday’s meeting.