Knox County advances resolution and first-reading ordinance to clear redundant and hazardous utility poles

Knox County commissioners on Monday advanced a two-track approach to clear redundant, damaged and abandoned utility poles from county rights-of-way, voting to move forward a nonbinding resolution that will establish quarterly coordination with pole owners and passing an ordinance on first reading that targets immediate public-safety hazards.

Commissioner Jay, who led the proposal, said the county had amassed photographic and field evidence across districts showing double poles and damaged poles left in the right-of-way after power lines were transferred to new poles. "We have 2,955 poles in the engine system awaiting telecom transfer and removal," Jay said, urging the commission to press attachers and pole owners to finish transfers and remove obsolete poles.

The nut of the effort is a split strategy: the resolution will create a forum for quarterly meetings and a shared factual inventory so county engineering staff and utilities can prioritize removals; a separate ordinance would place a narrower, enforceable clock on poles that engineering staff deem to present an imminent safety hazard. Commissioners explained the ordinance would allow a seven-day remediation window for immediate hazards and would include mechanisms to grant additional time when justified.

Utility representatives at the meeting responded with mixed but engaged reactions. Alan Hill, regional director for external and legislative affairs at AT&T, said his company has participated in stakeholder meetings and supports removing dangerous poles, but warned the ordinance as drafted could overreach. "We want to be part of the solution," Hill said, but expressed concerns about provisions that could require the public disclosure of private joint-user agreements or impose permit-related penalties that might conflict with state or private contracts.

Erin Gill, representing KUB, described system scale and recent progress: KUB maintains roughly 120,000 poles and has reduced its backlog of "ready to pull" poles by over 40% since 2021, she said, noting that over 2,000 poles have been removed in recent years. Gill told the commission that quarterly coordination would be a useful accountability tool.

Commissioners acknowledged the operational complexity. Jim Snowden, director of Engineering and Public Works, said the county could use the engines/NJUNS database and staff resources to identify immediate safety hazards and coordinate removals without immediately assuming responsibility for private contract enforcement. He said the county's engineers have the capacity to inspect and flag immediate hazards and that the ordinance is focused on those urgent cases rather than wholesale removal timelines.

Legal and procedural safeguards came up repeatedly. Several attachers requested that the resolution not compel disclosure of proprietary contractual details; commissioners and staff responded that the resolution is intended to be a partnership vehicle and that the ordinance language has been watered down in multiple drafts to allow reasonable extensions and avoid unintended conflicts with state law.

The commission voted by voice to move the resolution forward without a recommendation and then approved the ordinance on first reading, sending both forward in the legislative process. Commissioner Durrette recused himself from items 29 and 43 because of employment with a pole-attacher company; the recusal was recorded.

What’s next: County staff will convene the quarterly stakeholder meetings envisioned by the resolution, and the ordinance will proceed through the normal legislative cycle where its enforcement provisions and penalties can be refined. The commission and utility providers said they planned to start with a factual inventory of dangerous or redundant poles and prioritize immediate safety cases.