WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. - When a utility pole is replaced, you would think that the old pole would be removed. That's not the case when it comes to some out of service poles in the village of Williamsville.
A resident called our 2 on Your Side Tipline for help with the old pole in front of his home and we found out he is not alone with that problem.
It's an unusual arrangement that Matt Bierl sees in front of his Williamsville home a new utility pole placed here by National Grid. Tied together with rope, the old pole which is also supported in part by some old wooden two by fours.
Bierl says, "They dug it out and there's still a hole somewhat filled in now but a hole next to where it was."
Bierl says he's seen a couple of people almost trip when they encountered that hole from the old pole.
It turns out there is a policy called "last out" for utility companies which may share space atop a pole.
It's explained by National Grid's Steve Brady, "If we have to set a new pole, we've moved our equipment, we notify anyone else who has attachments to that pole that a new pole has been set and they need to come in and move their equipment. Typically that would be telephone and cable. It could be others like municipalities.
Usually the way it works is the last utility off the old pole removes it when they transfer their equipment to the new pole."
That could be some of the confusion with this pole where old equipment is still attached and wires still dangle. There's a similar situation with another old pole down the street.
The village of Williamsville says they have a similar situation with an old pole right behind the community library.
Bierl says he tried to get a message to National Grid without any success and when he went to the village about this issue he heard from village officials that it's back and forth between the utilities, "They guess they are throwing the ball back and forth and no one's taking responsibility to remove the old pole. After a year and a half you know enough is enough."
So he called us and again we called National Grid. Brady said "In this particular case, I have asked our folks to make some phone calls cause it sounds like this one's been lingering for quite some time."