Town reviews and proposes changes to franchise agreements

The town of Basin held its second council meeting of the month on March 27. Mayor CJ Duncan, Town Administrator Deaun Tigner, Public Works Director Tony Harrison, Town Attorney Kent Richins and council persons Mike Dellos, Brent Godfrey and Linda Weeks were all in attendance. Weeks asked for an update on the franchise agreements that had been discussed at the March 13 meeting. Richins reported that he had received Wyoming Gas, TCT and Spectrum agrrements from Tigner.

“I can report that Spectrum franchise (agreement) is in really good order… It covers the issues you’re dealing with as far as notice to do digging and putting it back together.,” Richins said. 

He continued that one of the issues that has come up is the pole attachments. “There may be an argument that the franchise fee itself pays for the attachment fee. The way I review the agreement, they have the right to put up poles of their own and do all that stuff. But I don’t see anywhere in here that it says the franchise fee would cover their attachment to our pole. If that issue comes up that is my opinion at this point.” 

Richins added that the Wyoming Gas franchise agreement is in good order as well. 

“TCT West is a different story. It dates back to 1995 and has no term. It has no indemnification clause. It has nothing that deals with the digging and putting things back in its conditions,” Richins said.  

Richins said he would like to know if TCT has a franchise agreement with the town that the town does not have a copy of.  He believes the agreement needs to be re-addressed. 

Weeks expressed concerns about why there is no coordinated effort to tell the town what is happening as TCT has begun boring to put in updated fiber. 

Weeks, who works for Range, another internet provider, explained that her understanding is that utilities providers are required to come to the town and have a preconstruction meeting. 

She added that residents are calling the town to ask what is going on, and they can’t answer that if they don’t know. 

Harrison added that the only notification the town received of boring were locate requests through One-Call. Reportedly he spoke with TCT West project manager Colter VanLake regarding why the town hadn’t been kept up-to-date on the project.

“[VanLake] didn’t have an answer, so I think we need to have that discussion with TCT. They bored a lot of stuff in a short order in a couple of weeks in this town,” Harrison said. 

Duncan passed around a copy of the ordinance that states the town needs to be notified. He explained that the town wants TCT here doing what they are doing,but the town needs to be informed. 

His suggestion was that a new franchise agreement be made that includes a preconstruction notice. Dellos asked if the town was going to require the same from Spectrum and Wyoming Gas and was told yes by both Duncan and Richins. 

OTHER BUSINESS

• A building permit for a fence for Ben Gomez was approved. 

• A building permit for Cooper Brady was approved conditionally on a property line survey is done and provided. 

• An executive session was held for personnel. 

• Town Engineer Jesse Frisbee gave an update from AVI for the sewer project. He said that going to bid was running a couple of weeks behind. 

• Frisbee also gave an update on the Third Street Water Project. There was so discussion about a change in the road base specs for the project. 

• Budget Amendments 2025-2 and 2025-3 were approved by the council. 

• Dellos said he would like to make a statement prior to going into executive session. “Two weeks ago, I listened to the tape of the town council. (March 13 council meeting). At the end of that, at the public meeting, I was accused of giving a meter away. It was the district’s meter, and they got it back. I just want to clear that up. That I didn’t give any meter away that wasn’t theirs.” 

Duncan replied, “I talked to [John Joyce, Water District Manager] about it. The only reason asked is because we find it strange that the town of Basin had one for years and years. And now we can’t find it. That’s all.” 

Dellos responded, “I don’t know where the town of Basin’s was. I know that the one I gave back to the district was theirs.”