Dakota County is great about sharing their tools and their processes for getting fiber. A lot of effort has been made in getting anchor tenants fiber with the back burner idea that once fiber is pulled throughout the county that a commercial provider might be ready, willing and able to step in to use that fiber to provide FTTP connectivity to local homes and businesses. It looks like Ville du Parc (a neighborhood in Burnsville) has been paying attention to that plan.

Ville du Parc recently approached the Burnsville City Council about a plan to bring fiber to homes in the area. A lot to be learned from the question – and answers, here are notes from the recent meeting…

The City Council of the City of Burnsville met for a Work session at Burnsville City Hall, 100 Civic Center Parkway, Burnsville, Minnesota, on the 15^th day of September, 2015

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Mayor Kautz.

• Council Present:           B. Coughlin, E. Kautz, S. Nguyen, M. Sherry
• Council Absent:           D. Kealey
• Staff Present:               H. Johnston, M. Collins, J. Faulkner, B. Jungmann, S. Albrecht
• Others Present:             J. Gessner

ITEM 4.  RESIDENTIAL BROADBAND DISCUSSION

Public Works Director Steve Albrecht facilitated a discussion regarding the City’s potential role in residential broadband.  The City Council received a petition from Ville du Parc neighborhood requesting the City bring broadband/fiber optic service to that neighborhood and do a feasibility report detailing the costs.  The City Council has an adopted Outcomes statement – “Burnsville facilitates community-wide accessibility to broadband technology”.  State Statute allows cities to use the 429 assessment process to extend technology to properties under certain conditions.  One of the conditions would depend on whether current providers do or intend to provide fiber options for the residents.  Staff could contact all the providers to find out.

ITEM 4.  RESIDENTIAL BROADBAND DISCUSSION (continued)

It should be noted that the City’s overall fiber plan was never intended to provide access to all neighborhoods. There is limited capacity to provide fiber to certain areas; the Ville du Parc neighborhood is an area that is available. If the Council agrees, we would need a take a broader look at the whole system considering the possibility of receiving multiple petitions in the future. To conduct a broad study of the system would require someone with expertise since this has not been done before.

Mr. Albrecht proposed the following questions for the Council:

1. Does the City of Burnsville want to consider leasing limited fiber capacity for residential use?
2. If the answer to #1 is yes, will the City consider extension of fiber to residential areas that do not have access to fiber via private providers?

Mr. Albrecht clarified that the City would not become a provider, merely lease dark fiber to a provider who would then supply to the residents.  Staff is not aware what, if any, neighborhoods currently have access to broadband in the City and will inquire of the current providers.  All neighborhoods have access to internet and cable.

City Manager Johnston noted that the 429 assessment process provides a financing mechanism to get the fiber from its current location to the home.

Council discussed:

• Frontier has leased fiber from the City but has not used it
• Century Link or Comcast could potentially lease the fiber to provide broadband access to residents
• Expanding to other single-family residential neighborhoods could prove difficult; neighborhoods with associations would be easier.
• Since the City has adopted this Council outcome, should take a deeper look into the issue.
• Concerns about the City’s costs to evaluate the system for residential deployment
• Staff should contact current internet providers to find out which neighborhoods have broadband access and if they intend to provide in near future.
• Ms. Johnston reported that our current fiber revenue agreements are approximately $25,000
• The fiber is a City asset that should be used and could provide revenue
• School Districts and others are relying more and more on internet and need faster connections

Craig Ebeling, Ville du Parc resident, reported that the neighborhood does have access to Comcast and Century Link, however this petition seeks to have fiber optics brought into the neighborhood.  This would provide a much higher speed capability than Comcast or Century Link can currently provide. The dark fiber could be used by the current providers or some other provider.  The neighborhood recognizes that this hasn’t been done before in Burnsville, or possibly even in Dakota County, but there is the possibility to change how high speed internet is deployed to residential neighborhoods.  It’s important to remember, that the fiber exists today because it was the cheapest thing to do for City utility system at the time, but it also has this other benefit. The study would provide the City much information about how this asset could be used. This petition specifically indicates strong interest, but would ultimately depend on the cost. The neighborhood appreciates any consideration.

Mr. Albrecht recommended the City develop a plan and explore the options.  Once we talk to all the providers, we can get a better understanding of their plans for the City and whether the City needs to supplement this in the future.

Council consensus is that more information is needed before making this decision and directed staff to conduct research and bring back at the All Day Worksession; include discussions with Dakota County.