The West Central Tribune reports…
The Willmar City Council on Monday in a split 5-3 vote approved moving forward with the Willmar Connect project, a city-owned, open-access broadband network.
After more than three years of planning, the Willmar City Council on Monday in a split 5-3 vote approved moving forward with the city-owned, open-access broadband network now known as Willmar Connect.
Councilor Tom Gilbertson made a motion to approve the plans and specifications for the first phase of the project, as well as to solicit bids, which Councilor Vicki Davis seconded. Both voted in favor of the motion, along with councilors Carl Shuldes, Audrey Nelsen and Justin Ask.
Voting against the motion were councilors Stephen Gardner, Rick Fagerlie and Tom Butterfield, who all questioned the financial viability of the project to pay for itself without affecting property taxes.
Phase one of the project involves constructing the network operations center and installing fiber throughout all the neighborhoods west of First Street South, between U.S. Highway 12 and Willmar Avenue. Phase one may expand into areas within phase two of the project if there are clusters of residents and businesses who have completed the pre-sign-up for the service.
The infrastructure will be owned by the city and the network will be managed by Hometown Fiber. Multiple internet service providers can contract with the city to offer services on the network for a fee, which will be used to pay the principal and interest on the bonds that will fund the construction of the project. Eventually, those fees are expected to generate revenue for the city, as well.
Construction of phase one is estimated to cost approximately $7.8 million and phases two and three are estimated to cost just under $7 million each. The total estimated cost of the project is approximately $24.5 million, excluding interest on the bonds that will be used to fund it.
The city has already invested more than $1.1 million in planning the project, which has been funded by the city’s Industrial Park fund.