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Fiber-optic companies told to negotiate
By Carey King
 With gas, water and sewer lines crowding the public rights of way, two communications companies are going to have to cooperate if they want their fiber-optic cables to share space.
Sylva leaders voted Thursday (Dec. 9) to allow Balsam West FiberNet to lay cable in the town's rights of way, with the stipulation that the company work with Metrostat Technologies to determine a plan for both businesses to cover the same territory.
Founded by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Drake Enterprises, Balsam West is a "carrier's carrier," focusing on wholesale service to major telecommunications companies, said Sherry McCuller, BalsamWest's chief financial officer.
Metrostat, on the other hand, has a goal of "serving Sylva's small and large businesses" with Internet and voice services, said owner John Kevlin.
To date, Metrostat has laid lines in downtown Sylva, behind Mark Watson Park, and from the Webster bridge up N.C. 116, then up N.C. 107 to Wal-Mart.
"Our business plan is to cover every major road in Sylva," Kevlin said.
BalsamWest is in the midst of building a fiber-optic backbone throughout Western North Carolina, linking Murphy, Andrews, Bryson City, Sylva and Franklin. It currently has cable running from Dillsboro up North River Road to Southwestern Community College, a path that connects the school with its other campuses in Macon and Swain counties.
Sylva granted Metrostat right-of-way use two years ago, and BalsamWest came to the town in November seeking the same thing.
SCC President Cecil Groves attended the meeting in support of BalsamWest, calling the town's approval "the most important decision you'll make in a decade."
Saying the company wants to link with Verizon's central office on Municipal Drive, BalsamWest representatives presented a map of lines that would run from SCC up N.C. 116 to 107, then up the highway to Grandma's Pancake Barn, turning on Business 23 toward Harris Regional Hospital. From Hospital Road, the line would continue to U.S. 23/74, heading west on the four-lane to Exit 83, then down Grindstaff Cove Road into Sylva and west on N.C. 107 to Dillsboro. From there, the company could tap back into its already-established system.
"This is a small ring off our 235-mile network," said Balsam West's John Short.
Sylva leaders questioned the amount of competition Balsam West would bring Metrostat. The town gave Metrostat a $250,000 loan in August; Jackson County commissioners loaned the business the same amount in June.
"I certainly don't want to hurt Metrostat. I think I was the one who voted to give them the loan," town board member Maurice Moody told the group.
Questioned by board member Eldridge Painter, McCuller and Short said the goals of BalsamWest and Metrostat are quite different.
"There may be one or two businesses we may try to pick up and haul to Bryson City," said Short. "But the retail sector is really not our forte. It's more wholesale customers and large non-profit or government entities."
While Metrostat links small businesses and homes, Balsam West seeks customers including Cingular, Verizon and AT&T, as well as 911 systems, Short said. BalsamWest sells "dark fiber" – lines not yet in use that other companies can tap in to – and data transport across the region.
"We build the highways. We don't put the trucks on it," McCuller said.
"Out of 100 customers, maybe we might compete for one of them," Short said.
Town attorney Eric Ridenour disagreed with that description, saying that the route BalsamWest wants for its lines indicates it wants to do business with both Jackson County and the hospital.
"Those are the two big moneymakers. That's why they're going that way," Ridenour said.
He warned against granting right-of-way access too quickly, reminding board members that limited space remains amidst other utility lines.
"I don't know if we ever want to put in underground power lines, but then (the space) is all gone. Then we'd have to condemn property," Ridenour said. "I'm just working to protect the space we may need."
Kevlin agreed that the rights of way are "very, very congested.
"You may have seen me out on the side of the road (laying cable)," he said. "There's a high probability that if Balsam goes through there first, Metrostat may not be able to get in. There's incredible overbuild through the center of town."
Both Kevlin and Short described the difficulty of having to drill lines while negotiating between ones already built for gas, water and sewer. Fiber-optic cable is stored in a plastic duct that may be shared (see "Newspapers in Education" feature, page 6A) but doing so would require both companies to detail their expectations for construction, use and maintenance.
Representatives from Metrostat and BalsamWest met over the weekend to discuss their options, Kevlin said, but an agreement has yet to be reached.
In other business Dec. 9:
• Public works director: Sylva leaders recognized the town's new director of public works. Dan Schaeffer has returned to the post after serving in same capacity about a decade ago, said town Manager Richard McHargue.
• New police officer: Police Chief Jeff Jamison announced that a new officer has been hired to take the place of Jeff Postell, the officer who nabbed Olympic bombing suspect Eric Rudolph in May 2003. Postell left Sylva in October to return to his hometown of Murphy.
New officer George Lamphiear is a Western Carolina University graduate who lives in Sylva. He has worked with WestCare EMS for several years.
• Landis Street change: Board members asked Jamison to monitor downtown's Landis Street in order to decide whether the street should be made one-way. The idea stems from a request from the Sylva postmaster, who asked town officials to help ease traffic congestion in front of the post office.
• Mill Street renovations: The N.C. Department of Transportation has advised the town to move forward with its plans for renovations on Mill Street, McHargue said.
DOT recommended that town officials design parking and loading zones for the street, since its officers will be the ones to enforce them.
In addition, McHargue said, workers from Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority recently discovered six stormwater connections to the Mill Street sewer that must be removed and relocated. TWSA has plans to rehabilitate the sewer line on the street and its employees found the illegal connections while examining the infrastructure there, McHargue said.
Project engineers Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon are currently exploring the cost of installing an underground stormwater collection system, he said.
• TWSA directors: Board members reappointed Sybil Reed as a town representative on TWSA's board of directors. Reed's current term expires at the end of the year, and she indicated she is willing to serve again, McHargue said.
• Firemen's roster: Leaders certified the 2005 roster of the town's volunteer fire department. That 30-member list will be sent to the N.C. State Fireman's Association, McHargue said.
• Audit meeting: Accounting firm Dixon Hughes will present its audit of the town's 2003-2004 finances Tuesday, Dec. 21, at 10 a.m. at Town Hall.
• Hazard discussion: Board members will meet at Town Hall Tuesday, Jan. 11, at 6 p.m. to discuss what to do with 30-some abandoned properties around town.
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