City staff propose new excavation-permit process after contractors hit underground infrastructure

City staff presented a draft excavation‑permit policy to the council aimed at reducing incidents in which contractors boring for fiber and other utilities damage underground infrastructure.

A city staff presenter told council members the city currently relies on an “honor system” to learn which contractor is on site and that in several incidents contractors damaged water or sewer lines and the city had to spend staff time and money to locate responsible parties. “They hit other infrastructure and then you find it three months later and we don’t know who did it because we don’t know who was working there,” the presenter said.

Under the draft, contractors would be required to submit plans showing where they intend to bore and to provide that information to the city’s engineers and field crews. Staff said the permit would give inspectors and public‑works crews a way to identify who is working in the right of way and to hold them accountable when damage occurs.

Council members asked whether major carriers such as AT&T and Comcast already share plans; staff said those carriers often do provide plans but that the problem occurred when third‑party contractors were engaged and the city could not identify them from on‑site crews alone. Staff said the permit would not be charged to public utilities that routinely submit plans to the city but that the proposal includes a fee provision to recover administrative costs. Staff noted one line in the draft using the term “kilo foot” (thousand feet) for fee calculations and said they would change the wording to yards or another customary measure and keep fees simple.

One council member asked whether the city could audit a large company’s inventory reports; a finance/assessment presenter said the city generally relies on self‑reported monthly inventory averages for business‑personal property assessments but that the city does have authority to audit if needed.

Councilmembers asked staff to refine the draft, adjust the fee language, and circulate the revised language before forwarding an ordinance for introduction. No formal vote or ordinance adoption occurred at the meeting.