Joplin leaders press fiber companies over unfinished work, ‘surprise’ sale

Joplin City Council members pressed ALLO Communications and Lumos Fiber over unfinished work, contract obligations and communication with the city as Lumos takes over ALLO's fiber network in Joplin.

Lumos publicly announced Friday that it had completed its acquisition of ALLO's Joplin network.

At Monday's council meeting, ALLO representative Al Schroeder said increasing competition from other providers had limited the company's potential footprint in the region, leading it to reconsider its plans and sell the Joplin operation.

Schroeder said ALLO has built 32 miles of fiber serving more than 5,000 homes and businesses.

But several council members questioned how much work remains.

Council member Mary Price said council members had been "blindsided" by the sale and questioned why they were not informed earlier that discussions were underway.

"I think part of some of the council members' frustration … is you shouldn't be having the discussions and having all the council members be blindsided and find out by the news or find out at the last minute," Price said.

Council member Ryan Jackson also questioned whether ALLO had completed all of its obligations to the city, pointing to restoration problems he said remained unresolved.

Planning, Development and Neighborhood Services Director Troy Bolander said the city believes the infrastructure it paid for is in place but may bring in a third-party inspector to verify the work.

Lumos Senior Director of Market Development Grace Simrall said the companies are coordinating on outstanding restoration complaints.

"Rest assured that we are not going to drop the ball on that," Simrall said.

Lumos officials said they are still conducting detailed engineering work to combine the company's original plans for Joplin with ALLO's existing infrastructure. No firm timetable was given for completing the citywide build.

The council also received an update on a proposed restaurant health inspection scoring system.

Assistant Community Health Director Devin Blankenship said the city modeled a 100-point scoring system using 785 routine inspections covering about 485 food establishments.

Under the Health Department's preferred scoring model, about 82% of those inspections would have received scores of 90 or higher.

Blankenship said staff favors numerical scores instead of letter grades and would like scores prominently displayed on inspection reports and posted at restaurants.

Council member Charles Copple said he wants the score visible before customers enter.

The proposal would first require changes to the city's food code and inspection software. Staff proposed testing the system for one permit year, with full implementation potentially beginning in April 2028.

In another closely watched vote, the council rejected a $1.49 million contract with D&E Plumbing and Heating for the Willow Branch culvert replacement beneath Wall Avenue between Sixth and Seventh streets.

The measure failed 5-4 after council members raised concerns about D&E's previous delays on city projects and whether the contractor could handle the work while also involved in a major MoDOT project.

Joshua Bard said previous problems with D&E had left "a bad taste in our mouths" and said he would be willing to move to the next bidder.