EAST AURORA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Trees across East Aurora could soon look very different. The village said every tree touching a power line or pole will be trimmed as a new fiber-optic company installs wires.
“A fiber-optic internet company is coming in and putting their line throughout the village. In doing so, they are going to have to trim some trees. In some cases, pretty severe trimming,” Village Administrator Shane Krieger said. “It’s going to look a little different.”
According to Krieger, that new fiber-optic network, GoNetspeed, will add its electric lines to every pole in the village.
To do that, Krieger told me that GoNetspeed is going to trim and potentially cut down hundreds of trees with power lines running through them. It will also add several new poles, which are five feet taller around the village.
The village must allow this to happen because this work is permitted by state and federal law.
I reached out to GoNetspeed to ask why this electric pole and tree trimming work needed to be done. I was sent this statement:
“As GoNetspeed prepares to connect the Village of East Aurora with 100% fiber internet, we have worked closely with the Village, NYSEG, and O’Connell Electric to prepare. As required by NYSEG, occasional tree trimming and pole replacements must be made through their approved contractor, O’Connell Electric. These measures are not required by GoNetspeed to begin our network installation. GoNetspeed’s construction is expected to begin in January, once approved to begin construction.
For those with questions regarding current activity including tree trimming and pole replacements please contact NYSEG.
I then contacted NYSEG to ask those same questions about tree trimming and pole replacements.
A NYSEG spokesman told me that NYSEG was part of the original planning for this project and gave GoNetspeed approval to hire their own company to add their lines to the NYSEG electric poles.
However, that spokesman said NYSEG is not doing any tree trimming, cutting or putting up new electric poles, nor did they ever tell GoNetspeed or O’Connell Electric where to trim trees or install new poles.
I spoke with many neighbors who are frustrated about this lack of clarity about who is actually doing the work and how widespread it is.
“Well, we know the basics of the plan, we just have a lot of questions along the way,” Chair of the East Aurora tree board Jesse Griffis said. “The problem is that we don’t have much transparency on what the whole project entails.”
“We really wish we had more communication, now we want more transparency,” member of the East Aurora tree board Jennifer Brazill said. “Our trees make up a majority of the village. We have so much green space here. If we can’t look out for that, we aren’t protecting the integrity of the entire community.”
“Frustration with lack of transparency,” Joseph White said. “We take some these trees out, and we are not going to see them again in our lifetime and perhaps never again.”
