NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City mom calls FOX 4 Problem Solvers after she found herself in the middle of an argument between two utility companies over who was responsible for fixing the leaning telephone pole in her backyard.
Anna Novero has four kids who just want to play outside. But Novero is keeping them inside her North Kansas City home because she’s worried about a telephone pole leaning into her backyard.
“The phone cable, the Time Warner cable and electric cable are just drooping in my yard,” said an obviously worried Novero.
Novero called Kansas City Power & Light to report the pole a month ago, but KCP&L said the pole wasn’t their’s — it belonged to AT&T. So Novero called AT&T, which fixed the sagging telephone line, but said it couldn’t straighten the pole because it had a transformer on it. AT&T said it was KCP&L’s responsibility to fix the pole.
But when Novero called KCP&L again, it insisted it AT&T’s responsibility.
“I’m back at the beginning, ” said Novaro.
FOX 4 Problem Solvers understood her frustration and contacted AT&T. Spokesman Chris Lester did some checking and acknowledged the leaning pole is AT&T’s responsibility.
The next day, AT&T replaced the pole with a new one. Then, AT&T contacted KCP&L which moved the transformer to the new pole.
But what do you do if you find yourself in the middle of a finger-pointing match with two utilities?
You could try filing a complaint with the Public Service Commission, asking for help in determining who’s responsible for the pole. Once you find out, hit the internet and burn up that utility’s twitter account with complaints about how it still isn’t fixed. That should get their attention.
Note: As Fox 4 Problem Solvers reported last week, a KCP&L lineman was critically injured while the transformer was being moved to the new pole. A fund has been established to help lineman Shane Green and his wife and two young children. For more information on the Shane Green Family Foundation Fund, click here.
