ORLANDO, Fla. – When neighbors begin to see color-coded flags on their lawns, it’s a sign that construction will soon be underway.
In Baldwin Park, a company called Hotwire Communications is installing fiber street by street.
The process requires crews to dig in certain areas to lay cables.
Eugenia Montiel has been a homeowner in Baldwin Park for about 20 years.
Property upkeep is a priority for the HOA community, but over the past few weeks, neighbors said their spick-and-span lawns have been ruined.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
The fiber company hasn’t made it to Montiel’s block yet, but she is dreading the day they do.
“You were hired to do a job, OK, that’s fine — do it. But if you’re doing a job, you need to leave the area in the same condition you found it,” Montiel said.
Some neighbors have complained chicken bones were left near the work sites.
“You can tell that some of them eat lunch instead of taking the trash away. They just leave it in the area, and that’s not sanitization,” Montiel said.
A representative for Hotwire Communications told News 6 reporter Treasure Roberts the company understands construction can be very disruptive but said this is short-term pain for long-term gain.
They added that residents don’t have to foot the bill to fix their lawns. The representative said additional crews will fix any damage within 30 days of the initial service.
“Thirty days, I believe, is a long time. We need to know why 30 days because you don’t want to live in a house where your front is a mess or the grass is ripped,” Montiel said.
She worries the HOA will penalize residents if it’s not fixed sooner, although what happened to the lawn was out of their control.
“If they don’t fix it, then the homeowners are the ones who (are going to) have to take the consequences and take the costs of taking the property back to the way they found it,” Montiel said.
News 6 reporter Treasure Roberts called the HOA to ask whether residents will be fined if the lawns aren’t fixed by a certain time. News 6 is awaiting a response.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: