City Council Minutes 07-31-2009 SpecialMINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING — MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
Friday, July 31, 2009 — 7:00 a.m.
Members Present: Clint Herbst, Tom Perrault, Glen Posusta, Brian Stumpf and Susie
Wojehouski.
Members Absent: None
1. Call to Order.
Mayor Herbst called the meeting to order at 7:05 a.m. and declared a quorum present.
2. Call for Special Council Meeting.
BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO CALL FOR A SPECIAL MEETING ON TUESDAY,
AUGUST 4, 2009 AT 7:00 A.M. SUZIE WOJCHOUSKI SECONDED THE MOTION.
MOTION CARRIED 5 -0.
3. Consideration of alternate method of distributing fiber optic lines in a designated section
of Monticello.
Don Patten explained that the request is to utilize power poles for fiber optic feeder lines
within the older part of Monticello from Pine Street to Washingtbn north of the railroad tracks
and an area that extends eastward along the river to the edge of city limits. It is anticipated
that there would be significant cost savings over direct boring of main feeder lines in this area.
Don noted that homes would still receive underground drops from the poles to the house.
Jeff O'Neill asked about concerns due to aerial lines and greater chance of power disruption.
Don Patten explained that fiber cable is very strong and would withstand most incidents.
Weather would not affect the lines but accidents may be possible.
Clint Herbst asked if the City would be adding their own pedestals in addition to the new ones
installed by TDS. Don explained that the City would be adding some boxes but will be
locating them as strategically as possible for residents.
GLEN POSUSTA MOVED TO NEGOTIATE AN OPTION TO UTILIZE POWER POLES
FOR DISTRIBUTION OF MAIN FIBER OPTIC LINES IN THE OLDER AREA OF
MONTICELLO. BRIAN STUMPF SECONDED TIIE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED 5 -0.
Tom Perrault questioned how this would work with the Hospital District to ensure service
from power poles would not be interrupted. Don Patten explained that the lines will be part of
a redundant system so that, if power were lost, the signal could be delivered via an alternate
route.
3. FiberNet Construction Update.
Don Patten explained the phased construction zones and timelines that are being implemented
during the 2009 fiber optics construction project. This information is being posted on the
FiberNet website and will be part of the GIS Web Interactive system that is being put in place.
Clint Herbst and Glen Posusta asked whether construction dates for the zones would be
posted and suggested that they be noted as approximate dates.
Don Patten continued explaining that the weather has been very cooperative for construction;
progress will continue on phases as long as the construction season holds. MP Nexlevel will
be expanding to 4 crews as of August 15a', to 6 crews as of September 1, and to 8 crews as of
September 15a'. Drops to homes and businesses will be put in along with construction of
main feeder lines.
Bids for the FiberNet garage will be brought to Council sometime in August. Proposals for
video service will be going out shortly and should be ready for consideration by Council that
last week of August. Proposals for dial tone (phone) will be reviewed in the next few weeks
and brought to Council for approval. Phone service should be available 60 to 90 days after
the bid is accepted. The goal for internet service to be available is August 15"' and the goal
for video service is December 15`
Don Patten asked Council members if they had a preference for a billing cycle for
telecommunications services. Clint Herbst asked if it would be possible to offer variable bill
dates. Don explained that the City would need to provide one date for pulling billing
information. Consensus is to use the first of the month as the billing cycle date.
4. FiberNet Retail Office Space.
Jeff O'Neill talked about the sites that the FiberNet Advisory Board had looked at for
potential retail office space. He explained the options that the Board had determined as the
most feasible: Towne Centre along Walnut Street or the Meilke strip mall on Cedar Street
South.
Towne Centre may have several options for leasing, lease to own, or negotiate a purchase. It
was noted that the City would want to manage the parking and look at signage options. The
pricing is favorable and would fit the business model.
The Meilke building would offer a lease to FiberNet. The spaces available would be ready to
move in with some adjustments necessary. The strip mall is in the center of retail activity on
the south side of the City and relatively close to the Head -end Building. The pricing is
slightly higher than the Towne Centre option.
Clint Herbst suggested to Council that both options be kept open. If Council prefers the
Towne Centre location, they should first negotiate a purchase price for the building. Glen
Posusta suggested that it might be better to negotiate a lease with Towne Centre, with the
possibility of applying the lease to a future purchase.
Suzie Wojchouski asked if there was anything that Vaughn Veit, owner of Towne Centre,
might be interested in that could be discussed during the negotiation process.
Jeff O'Neill noted that it appears that there is interest in negotiating on a purchase of Towne
Centre.
SUZIE WOJCHOUSKI MOVED TO NEGOTIATE FOR POSSIBLE PURCHASE OF
TOWNE CENTRE ADJACENT TO HI -WAY LIQUORS AND TO HOLD ON LEASING
UNTIL OUTCOME OF NEGOTIATIONS IS KNOWN. TOM PERRAULT SECONDED
THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED 5 -0.
Council requested that information be brought back to the August 101h Council meeting for
further discussion.
Tom Perrault asked if a purchase would be by the City with a lease to FiberNet Monticello.
Jeff O'Neill confirmed that would be the most likely option.
After discussion, it was decided that the negotiating team would include Tom Kelly, Jeff
O'Neill, Glen Posusta, Clint Herbst and the City Attorney.
5. Discussion of use of Economic Development Director's time for marketing efforts with
FiberNet Monticello.
Jeff O'Neill expressed some concerns that have been brought up about the use of Megan
Barnett's time for FiberNet Monticello marketing and any possible effect on her
responsibilities as Economic Development Director. One suggestion is to hold IDC meetings
on a quarterly basis for now and reduce the number of meetings related to business retention
and higher education. With the slower economy, there is generally less need for these
meetings at this time. Angela Schumann and Jeff will cover the EDA meetings and assorted
tasks that may come up over the next month or so. Jeff asked Council if they had other
concerns or questions.
Suzie Wojchouski noted that she did not like reducing economic development efforts to
benefit FiberNet Monticello if it was going to be for a longer period of time. Jeff noted that
FiberNet marketing is anticipated to occupy a large portion of Megan's time into September.
After that, FiberNet will start to take over some of those responsibilities and Megan's focus
will return to economic development.
Tom Kelly noted that there will be an EDA meeting in August that Megan will be assisting
with. Jeff stated that, although it is very quiet in this area right now, if there are business
inquiries, Megan would give that priority.
6. "Inside Business" Proposal.
Jeff briefly explained the proposal from Inside Business and noted that parts of the proposal
seem rather sketchy. He said that it does not seem wise to put money into this for marketing
purposes. Consensus is to not do anything with the proposal at this time.
7. FiberNet Garage.
Glen Posusta suggested that design options include an alternative for gas for heating sources
in addition to the options already included in the RFP. Gas may help control operating costs
more than the other options.
8. Adjournment.
BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 7:55 A.M. TOM
PERRAULT SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED 5 -0.
Recorder: Catherine M Shuman
Approved: August 10, 2009
Attest:
Ci nistrator