TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — After months of frustration, residents in Pinellas Park’s Mainlands community say they are finally seeing action on abandoned utility lines they believe have contributed to repeated power outages since being damaged during a 2024 hurricane.
Neighbors said the problem was complicated by confusion over who owned or was responsible for the aging lines. Unable to get clear answers, they turned to Better Call Behnken for help.
Bob Rindgen contacted 8 On Your Side after growing increasingly worried about unsecured utility lines hanging near his 93-year-old mother’s condominium.
According to Rindgen, the damaged lines had been linked to several outages. He said that during storms, the lines would sway into nearby power lines and cause electrical shorts. In one instance, he said, one of the lines caught fire.
Not long after Better Call Behnken began asking questions, Rindgen said Verizon reached out to him directly.
“Right after you showed up, within an hour, I got a phone call from Verizon,” Rindgen said. “How you brought this all about? You pack a punch, girl. That’s all I will say.”
Rindgen later took photos showing crews cutting and securing the abandoned lines, marking a visible step toward resolving the long-running issue.
He said Verizon representatives also outlined a longer-term plan to remove the remaining infrastructure safely.
Because the utility lines run through areas with soft ground, heavy bucket trucks cannot easily access the site, Rindgen said.
