Title
A Discussion regarding the Proposals Received for the Fiber to the Residents Project.
Brief Description: The City staff met with the Council Ad-Hoc Committee and determined to interview each of the companies that submitted a proposal for the Fiber to the Residents Project. The goal of the project is to provide high-speed fiber service to the residents and to reduce our existing debt in Velocity Broadband.
Body
Legislative History
None.
Purpose & Explanation
The City staff met with the Council Ad-Hoc Committee and determined to interview each of the companies that submitted a proposal for the Fiber to the Residents Project.
The Ad-Hoc Review Team was made up of the following: Councilmembers: Skylar Sutton (SS); Karen Heater (KH); Chris Banweg (CB). City Staff: Thomas Sheridan (TS); Jeff Knoblauch (JK); Paul Leedham (PL); & Will Ersing (WE).
The technical presentations were conducted on January 12 and January 24, 2023. All presentations were conducted via Zoom and each meeting was limited to a 45-minute presentation.
The goal of the project is to provide high-speed fiber service to the residents and to reduce our existing debt in Velocity Broadband.
The following are the Company Technical Presentations the Ad-Hoc Team Interviewed:
1. MCM (MUNICIPAL CAPITAL MARKETS)
Ad Hoc Attendees: SS, CB, TS, JK, PL, WE
An investment group from Colorado that specializes in financing and coordinating the creation of municipal broadband projects. They propose a more conventional deployment strategy and revenue-based finance strategy. The City would continue to own and operate VBB which would now include all residential areas. This would require a significant investment from the City in terms of additional staffing, inventory management, system upgrades, etc.
o Suggested financing this project with a revenue bond.
* This strategy has been successful in other parts of the country such as Colorado, but apparently this strategy has not been used in the state of Oh...
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