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HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes_City Council Special Meeting_11032022 CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING IONA CITY HALL NOVEMBER 3,2022—6:00 P.M. PRESENT: Mayor Dan Gubler, Council President Rob Geray, Council Member Michael Thompson, Council Member Evan Mann, City Attorney Andrew Rawlings and City Clerk/Treasurer Keri West. ABSENT: Council Member Peter Wadsworth and Public Works Director Zech Prouse. VISITORS: Jeb Casper, Brooke Allen and James West. Mayor Gubler welcomed everyone and a roll call was taken by Clerk West to open the meeting. ITEMS OF BUSINESS: Approval of Contract with Direct Communications for Fiber Internet Project — Mayor Gubler stated this contract has been discussed many times between the City and Direct Communications. He continued and advised Attorney Rawlings to explain where the negotiations currently stand. Attorney Rawlings stated the most recent version of the contract is "Draft#8" and went through it by section and informed the Council of his concerns. Attorney Rawlings stated Section 1.1 of the contract addresses all City facilities that would require fiber internet access. Mayor Gubler stated the Iona Historical Museum, the Stanger Building (which the City owns), the Public Works shop and two connections to the City Building, one for the City Office and one for the Iona Library. He continued and stated the City is not requiring Direct Communications to provide internet services to the museum and the Stanger Building, but is requiring the fiber to be dropped to those locations. Council Member Thompson asked if the water tank should have fiber access. Mayor Gubler stated both water tanks are out of City limits and their supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems are already running properly. He continued and said fiber access is not necessary until lines are being installed closer to either tank. Attorney Rawlings then began a discussion regarding internet and intranet preferences for the City properties. Council Members all agreed an intranet service is not necessary at this time. Clerk West asked if the City will be able to provide a guest wi-fi network for people renting the building. Mayor Gubler stated he is not interested in providing and paying for public wi-fi at the City Building. Council President Geray stated if someone rents the City Building, he does not see an issue with allowing them to use a guest network. Mayor Gubler stated he does not think internet needs to be provided for building rentals. Council President Geray stated he thinks there are options to accomplish this,but it is not a decision that needs to be made tonight. Attorney Rawlings explained the difference between the various phases of the process, including the construction phase, etc. Council President Geray asked Brooke with Direct Communications how the paperwork is managed that determines if a customer has been offered the service and accepted, etc. Brooke stated they have representatives that will knock on every door and explain the service options. He continued and stated there will be a form available to accept or decline at that time. Mayor Gubler asked if there is an option for the City to have a form on their website for residents to sign up. Brooke stated they have a specific website for customers to go to sign up IONA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING—NOVEMBER 3, 2022 for services and the City will be able to provide a link on their website that will take residents directly to that website for information and to sign up. Council Member Mann asked if customers are permitted to agree to a drop to the home but decline service. Brooke clarified residents can choose whether they only want the fiber dropped to their home or if they want it dropped to their home and want the service activated. He continued and stated having a fiber line dropped to the home itself, even without activation, can increase property values by approximately $3,000. Brooke also clarified the fiber drop to the house will be done at no charge whether the resident chooses to activate it or not. Attorney Rawlings stated he has concerns regarding the City only having a 36-hour window to review any changes in the construction plans as the project is in progress. He continued and discussed ideas he and Direct Communications' attorney have come up with regarding the various phases of planning and construction. Attorney Rawlings stated the City's main concern is regarding the potential changes in construction pertaining to micro trenching and open trenching. He continued and stated Director Prouse will be involved in this process and will have a full 3 business days to review and address any of those changes. Council President Geray stated the intention should be to address the changes as soon as they are discovered, which could be weeks in advance. Brooke with Direct Communications agreed. Attorney Rawlings stated another concern that has been discussed is related to the commencement date and the subsequent completion date. He continued and stated the City has requested 547 days, which is 1-1/2 years, and Direct Communications has insisted on 730 days, which is two years. He continued and stated his concern from the City's perspective is to not have the project carry over into a third building season. Attorney Rawlings further explained if the construction phase was approved for 730 days and does not begin until June 2023, the construction could continue until June 2025. He continued and suggested moving the commencement date up to April or May 2023. Council President Geray asked if that is reasonable. Brooke stated he does not think April is feasible with the weather, but May could be possible. He continued and stated that would have to be discussed and approved by the installers and attorneys that have more experience with this situation. Brooke also stated they are concerned with supply chain issues. Mayor Gubler stated if there is a legitimate issue with weather and supplies, the City will be understanding and accommodating on pushing back the completion date. Council President Geray agreed and stated he is not concerned about the 2-year timeframe but would like to see the commencement date moved up to May 2023, if possible. Council Members Mann&Thompson also agreed. Mayor Gubler stated Director Prouse did request to be added as an alternate contact, in addition to Clerk West. Attorney Rawlings agreed and stated he will get that added to the contract, along with phone numbers as requested by Clerk West. Council President Geray stated the contract has a date of 2034 for Direct Communications to maintain the system. He continued and asked what happens after 2034. Attorney Rawlings stated after December 31, 2034, this agreement will be complete. At that time the City can choose to renegotiate a new contract with Direct Communications for maintenance, but Direct Communications will own the system at that time. 2 IONA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING—NOVEMBER 3, 2022 Mayor Gubler asked if any other Council Members have any questions or concerns to discuss. No response. Mayor Gubler then asked if anyone in the audience had questions or concerns. Jeb Casper of 4760 N. Davis Circle stated he recently moved to Iona and works from home. He continued and stated where he lived previously there was a fiber internet line with multiple providers to choose from. He continued and asked if this fiber internet will be like that. Mayor Gubler stated Direct Communications will be installing the line and will be the only provider on that line. However, Fybercom is also installing fiber in the City at their cost, so there will be two choices for fiber internet. Mr. Casper asked the cost to the residents. Mayor Gubler stated there is no cost to the resident to have the fiber line connected to their home. Council President Geray stated there are various options for service starting at $40/month, depending on speed. Mr. Casper stated that is more expensive than his previous service and asked why the City chose not to allow competition on the same fiber line. Mayor Gubler stated the City does not have the resources or expertise to own and maintain the fiber system to allow multiple providers to use it. Council President Geray stated the City had to consider the total cost of the project and what this is offering residents is no contract and no connection or activation fees. He continued and stated residents are only responsible for paying the monthly service fee, which is less expensive than the current internet options. Mr. Casper then asked if the contract with Direct Communications regulates the required speeds, etc. Attorney Rawlings stated the City is not involved in the relationship between Direct Communications and their customers. He continued and stated the City is only involved in the initial up front project to get the physical fiber lines dropped to each residence and business in Iona. Mayor Gubler stated this question has been brought up multiple times and even though it is not in the contract specifically, Direct Communications will not have data caps or maximum speeds. Council President Geray stated Direct Communications has recently lowered their rates, so they have demonstrated they are interested in being competitive and relevant in a changing market. Council Member Thompson stated Direct Communications has lower monthly rates than Fybercom,the other fiber company entering Iona. James West of 5281 E. Elliott Street stated he would like to go on record stating his concern that the City is giving Direct Communications a lot of money and not getting anything in return, from a financial perspective. He further explained and stated the City is not receiving any kickbacks or a percentage of money returned based on the number of customers that sign up with Direct Communications. He continued and stated the City is spending all the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds on one project with one entity. Mr. West stated he is interested in fiber and will definitely sign up for service, but he feels the City missed an opportunity to receive some of the funds back at the end of this project to invest in other projects throughout the City. Council President Geray stated he sees the project as an investment into the City. Council Member Thompson agreed and stated to have the fiber connected to every home, he feels $450,000 is a very good price. Mr. West agreed and stated it is a very good project for the City, but feels it would have been appropriate to include a kickback at the end of the contract period. Council President Geray stated if there was a guaranteed percentage of customers Direct Communications would receive, a kickback would be appropriate, but that is not the case. Clerk West asked if franchise fees are an option. Brooke stated there is legislation that prohibits franchise fees from being collected from internet providers. Mayor Gubler entertained a motion. Council President Geray made a motion to approve the Public Private Agreement for Broadband Development between the City of Iona and Direct 3 IONA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING—NOVEMBER 3, 2022 Communications as outlined in the Iona Agreement Option 2, Draft #8 subject to the changes that have been discussed in detail tonight as noted with the City Attorney. Council Member Thompson seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried. SUGGESTED AGENDA ITEMS: None. Meeting Adjourned at 6:57 p.m. COUNCIL APPROVED: November 15, 2022 Dan Gubler, ayor 1(ATTEST: LW J.4./L Keri West, City erk/Treasurer 4