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Article Courtesy of
The Apopka Chief
By Teresa Sargeant
Published December 8, 2025
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In late October, Timothy Ondrey saw small flags planted in the easements
around Rock Springs Ridge, first outside the subdivision on Rock Springs
Road and then moving their way into the community. Eventually, they reached
Ondrey’s neighborhood.
Ondrey, who lives on Rock Hill Loop, is one of several Apopka homeowners who
say they’ve sustained property damage to their easements because of a fiber
network installation by Metronet, prompting the homeowners association (HOA)
to retain a lawyer in preparation for potential legal action.
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Although Rock Springs Ridge is within
city limits, Orange County is overseeing the rollout.
Ondrey described a “good amount” of his neighborhood as
being impacted by the installation, with the most
significant damage occurring to his easement.
“The grass was torn up and then, I’ll say, hastily put back
down, or it wasn’t remediated the same day that the work was
done,” Ondrey said.
He said he filed multiple complaints with Metronet via two
tickets and several phone calls. Although a crew eventually
returned for cleanup, the restoration was poor, according to
Ondrey. He said new sod patches had visible gaps, and some
sections of grass were left dead. While the work occurred in
the easement, the responsibility for maintenance falls on
the homeowner.
“I’m responsible for maintaining the property, and I
understand what an easement is, but it’s going to be the HOA
and the city who are going to come to me and say, ‘Hey, your
property is not being maintained,’” Ondrey said.
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Patches of dirt were left behind after Metronet
contractors finished installation.
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Ondrey said he wished the community had been notified in advance before
installation began.
“[The crew lead] told me that [they] should have gotten door hangers in advance,
letting us know that Metronet was in the area, that they were going to be doing
fiber installation, and pretty much everything that we should expect,” Ondrey
said. He said he did not receive any such communication and saw social media
chatter that he was not the only one.
According to Scott Shapiro, a spokesman for Metronet, Ondrey is currently the
only Rock Springs Ridge resident who has filed a complaint to Metronet. He said
the company was sending a crew to Rock Springs Ridge on Wednesday to inspect any
damage on the grounds.
“We respond to restoration issues within 24 hours. In Mr. Ondrey’s case, we
actually responded within one hour,” Metronet said in a statement to The Apopka
Chief. “Our goal is always to restore property as we found it, and we are happy
to work with him on that.”
The city also has not received complaints from Rock Springs Ridge residents
about Metronet, according to Sgt. Jennifer Rudich, the Apopka Police
Department’s public information officer. She added that if residents do need to
file a complaint, they would have to do so with Orange County.
Simon McKenna, Rock Springs Ridge HOA president, said Ondrey is not alone in his
concerns and cited damage to the community’s common areas. He said the issue
involves a significant lack of care from multiple contractors and subcontractors
working on installations for providers, including Metronet and T-Mobile.
“We’ve had issues with a number of about four different contractors,” McKenna
said in a Tuesday phone interview. “We’ve actually used our attorney to file to
tell them that we’re going to seek restitution for damages because they damage
portions of our irrigation.”
McKenna said all of Rock Springs Ridge — a community of more than 1,300 homes —
has been affected, but the HOA’s immediate focus is on the common areas,
particularly Rock Ridge Boulevard.
The primary cause of the damage stems from heavy construction vehicles pulling
off the road onto grassy areas where shallow irrigation systems and water lines
are located, according to McKenna.
“You pull a 10,000-pound truck to park it on grass on top of irrigation systems
that are within a foot or two of the surface, you’re going to damage stuff,”
McKenna said, noting the damage includes broken water lines and irrigation
leaks. He estimates the cost of repairs is “already into thousands of dollars of
repairs.”
The HOA wants full compensation for all repair costs. Calculating a final number
is difficult because contractors “just keep coming out and working at other
sections and doing damage again.”
In its statement to the Chief, Metronet said the HOA has not contacted the
company.
According to Ondrey, the city of Apopka is aware of Rock Springs Ridge’s
situation with Metronet. He filed a complaint to the city through the
SeeClickFix app but didn’t file a complaint with Orange County.
McKenna said the city “actually came down the first day and shut them down.”
However, he said the contractors were back to work within hours. McKenna
believes the city’s power is limited by the utility companies’ easement rights.
Despite filing a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission, Ondrey
remains skeptical of a satisfactory resolution.
“I’m not confident that anything’s going to happen at this point,” he said.
He urged other Apopka residents who will soon face similar installations to take
precautions: document everything with photos before and after the work, request
clear communication regarding the timeline and impact, and contact the provider
immediately when issues occur.
“I feel this is an issue the public deserves to be aware of,” he said.
Metronet said major infrastructure improvements always include challenges.
“These projects are unexpected and can be jarring, so we appreciate everyone’s
patience,” Metronet said in its statement. “But in the end, the neighborhood
will have state-of-the-art communications infrastructure.”
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