Near the end of the Uniontown City Council Meeting on September 7th, a Uniontown resident stood up and took the podium. He revealed that Gulf Coast Underground, which has been contracted to replace and construct lines as part of the massive Uniontown water and sewer overhaul, had done some digging on his property to access the water lines and had left his front yard in a state of utter disrepair. The man stated that he had repaired the damage himself the first time but that GCU had returned a few days later and done additional work that damaged the property once again. This time, the resident was fed up and the damage was worse than it was before. He told the council that he had encountered a GCU truck on the street outside of his house and demanded they clean up the damage. The GCU employee got out of his truck and challenged the resident to a fight.
When he revealed this, the council’s reaction was one of shock. Councilman Lewis stated that he found the allegations to be “very disturbing.” GCU’s Coleman Miller apologized and stated that he would send workers to fix the issue. The resident stated that Miller should not send the individual who threatened him, as he did not want him back on his property again. Councilman Lewis used the incident to lament the state of GCU’S business practices, stating that “When we as a council and me as a citizen to hear about business practices like this, we find it very disturbing and it really raises some concerns.”
Unfortunately for GCU, this was not the end of their problems. On Friday, September 9th, GCU hit a gas line while digging, prompting Spire to come out and repair it. In a month in which it was critical for GCU to improve their image in the community, they did very little to inspire trust going forward. Though contact has improved and assurances have been made, in the relationship between GCU and Uniontown, skeptics remain.
