Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Cory Kunzman to build shed on east park parcel
TCA started boring in pipes for fiber optic cable along North 8th Avenue East in Hartley this week. The job is one leg of the utility's fiber internet expansion project, which is is expected to take two years to complete.
A vacant lot in Hartley's east industrial park has a new owner.
The city council on April 11 unanimously approved an economic development grant for Cory Kunzman and the property, which he purchased for $25,000. The grant is worth $25,000 as well. Kunzman plans to build a 50'x100' shed on the plot.
Kunzman, who owns Hawkeye Construction, said work at the site will commence shortly.
"It will be a nights and weekend project," he said. "We're hoping to have it up by the winter."
Kunzman plans to use the shed for storage and may rent out extra stalls for the same purpose.
In other business, the council heard an annual update from DJ Weber, of TCA. He outlined progress on the utility's fiber internet project, which will bring fiber to Primghar, Sanborn, Paullina and Hartley.
Hartley is the final leg of the project. Weber said TCA is done building the system to the city limits and is now working on installing pipe for fiber line in alleyways and along roads. Once that's done, workers will bring lines through to homes and begin the process of converting residences from old coaxial cable to fiber.
"Realistically, it will be two years [until the project is finished]," Weber said, noting the home conversion process is the longest part. "It's going to take time because we're doing it all in house."
The transition is needed not only to boost local internet speeds but to update TCA's system, a large portion of which is outdated, Weber said.
Council Member Roxann Swanson pressed Weber on internet outages in town. She said she had to change providers because TCA's service was so spotty, which threatened her employment.
Swanson said TCA was at her house several times to attempt to remedy the situation, but problems persisted. She said several business owners have approached her with the same issues.
Weber was sympathetic to Swanson's plight, and said if problems continue after they're "repaired," customers should call him directly.
"In most cases they don't call us at all when there are issues," he said.
