BREAUX BRIDGE, La. — Driving around parts of Breaux Bridge, you're likely to see several utility poles that are no longer in use or in disrepair. City Councilman Neil "Sam" Melancon says CLECO needs to address the issues.
"I think there are some safety issues, some of these poles are I-bolted together. Obviously some of the older poles have just been sitting there for years and I don't believe that the franchise agreement allows this," said Melancon.
CLECO Area Service Manager Willie Bergeron addressed the council during the January 14th meeting, and he says the problem lies with other utility services like phone and cable.
"It is for them to come out and remove their services and attach to our new pole, until they do so that pole has to stay there," Bergeron explained to the council.
Melancon says he plans to reach out to the other utilitie,s but he still doesn't think CLECO is fulfilling their end of the franchise agreement with the city. He pushed back against Bergeron's claim about the other utilities saying, "I can bring you to some areas where there's a single pole that's sticking out of the ground where the other services have been attached to the new pole but yet that pole hasn't been removed."
If the issue isn't resolved soon, Melancon says the next step is to involve the Public Service Commission.
