The Willmar City Council on Monday in split votes approved two proposals totaling up to $40,000 to assist the Broadband Committee and city staff in efforts to market and brand the Connect Willmar initiative.
The Connect Willmar initiative is an effort by the city of Willmar to install a citywide fiber optic broadband communications network throughout the city on which various internet service providers can provide their services to Willmar residents.
The city has partnered with Hometown Fiber to manage and maintain the network, and the marketing proposal in the amount of up to $30,000 was from Hometown Fiber, a Minnetonka-based broadband consultant. The marketing proposal passed in a split 7-1 vote, with Councilor Rick Fagerlie voting no.
The second proposal for branding the Connect Willmar initiative for $10,000 was from Replace, a Minneapolis firm which recently assisted the city of Willmar in its rebranding efforts. It was approved in a split 6-2 vote, with Fagerlie and Councilor Butterfield voting no.
West Central Tribune also reports…
Planning for the Connect Willmar initiative hit a bit of a snafu when it was discovered that contracted city engineer Bolton & Menk was working on the civil engineering portion of the project without formal authorization by the Willmar City Council. …
The City Council approved an agreement with Hometown Fiber at its Aug. 5 meeting to manage the network.
The council was also asked at that meeting to approve a service agreement with Bolton & Menk for the civil engineering services in an amount not to exceed $403,000.
However, after learning that Bolton & Menk had already started the civil engineering work without formal authorization, the council tabled that agreement until its next meeting — which took place Monday night.
The council on Monday approved paying for the portion of services already incurred in the amount of $155,068, but failed to approve the full service agreement. …
The council is expected to revisit the service agreement with Bolton & Menk at an upcoming meeting.