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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.19.2023 telecommunications minutesTELECOMMUNICATIONS UTILITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Harold E. Getty Council Chambers July 19, 2023 4:00 p.m. Members present: Van Fleet, Young, Batemon and Kurtenbach. Ms. Wienands arrived at 4:07 p.m. Council Liaison Rob Nichols. Approval of Agenda. Moved by Batemon seconded by Kurtenbach that the Agenda, as presented, be approved. Voice - vote Ayes: Four. Motion carried. Approval of Minutes. Moved by Young seconded by Kurtenbach that the minutes of July 5, 2023, as proposed, be approved. Voice -vote Ayes: Four. Motion carried. Resolution approving the contract, bonds, and certificate of insurance, with ITG Communications, LLC of Hendersonville, TN in the amount of $77,864,565.10, in conjunction with the FY 2023 Fiber -to -Premise Feeder/Distribution and Backbone Network Project, Contract No. 1088, and authorizing the Board Chair and Board Secretary to execute said documents. Mr. Kurtenbach questioned the balance of work between ITG and any subcontractors. Courtney Violette, Magellan Advisors, explained that there will be one subcontractor, GPRF, who only does work for ITG. The intent is to use GPRF to get started over the next 2-3 months, after which ITG will roll out their staff and team. Warren Lyon, Magellan Advisors, commented that per the contract at least 35 percent of the work must be performed by ITG, but that ITG is the primary contractor. Mr. Young clarified that both the board and the city will need to approve this contract. Steve Nadel, Ahlers and Cooney, confirmed and explained why both governing bodies would be approving. Mr. Van Fleet commented that there is a misspelling of Management Holding, LLC on page 2 of the Affirmative Action Program that should be corrected. He also questioned how the required percentage goals for the hiring of minorities and women will be fulfilled. Jamie Knutson, City Engineer, provided an overview of the program. Mr. Batemon questioned the metrics of the percentages measured and compared on the contracts. Courtney Violette, Magellan Advisors, explained that all contractors will need to submit this information. He noted that we will be there every day to inspect the work and to make note and accept all subcontractors. He further explained that he has been working with ITG on a single material item which will provide savings with the contract. The item will be adjusted through a change order and will reduce the price of the contract. He also noted that there are a couple of minor items they are still waiting on from ITG. Kelley Felchle, Board Secretary, explained that there were a few email exchanges regarding the licensing status of ITG and the subcontractor to work in the state of Iowa. ITG is currently licensed and we are just waiting on the subcontractor to obtain their license. The city attorney has weighed in on the issue and does not feel it is detrimental to approving the contract at this point in time. She noted that if the subcontractor is not able to obtain the proper licensing, the contract would become mute and adjustments would be needed. She further explained that the board does have the option of tabling the contract until the subcontractor obtains the proper Page 2 licensing, or can make an amendment to the motion on the table to approve the contract subject to the subcontractor obtaining their licensing through the state of Iowa. Ms. Wienands questioned the anticipated timeline to obtain the license. Mr. Van Fleet commented that the email stated only a couple of days. Moved by Kurtenbach seconded by Batemon. Roll Call -vote Ayes: Five. Motion carried. Resolution No. 2023-016. Resolution establishing utility rate for Waterloo Fiber Internet. Courtney Violette, Magellan Advisors, provided an overview of the rates proposed for Waterloo Fiber Internet. Mr. Van Fleet commented that the pricing is incredible for the citizens of Waterloo. Rob Nichols, Council Liaison, questioned if the price breakdown incudes any discounted pricing for individuals who meet a certain income requirement. Mr. Van Fleet confirmed that it is reflected in the breakdown as LifeLine for 100MB at a cost of $29.95. Courtney Violette commented that there is requirement for Waterloo Fiber to be involved in any affordable activities program. Mr. Kurtenbach requested clarification on the business services SMB and Enterprise. Courtney Violette provided an explanation of the difference in the services. Mr. Young questioned if the rates are set and will not fluctuate among residents for the same service. Courtney Violette confirmed and said that additional fees would be added for any equipment rental, such as a set top box for cable, as well as the purchase of an additional level of service, such as resetting the Wi-Fi password, helping connect iPhones, etc. Mr. Van Fleet commented on the service and pricing that he currently has compared to what Waterloo Fiber is offering. Courtney Violette reminded the board that you have the leverage to make adjustment to these initial rates for any additional discounts you might want to offer for early adopters, as an example, over these next few months as you begin to deploy. Mr. Young thanked everyone for the work that has been done to get to this point, which is faster, local service at a reduced price. Moved by Kurtenbach seconded by Batemon. Roll Call -vote Ayes: Five. Motion carried. Resolution No. 2023-017. General update from consultants, city staff, and board member comments. Courtney Violette, Magellan Advisors, acknowledged the major steps that have just been taken. He commented that he had an opportunity to introduce Eric Lage to his team, they had a great discussion with a lot of great questions from Eric. They are very happy to have him onboard. He stated that there is an upcoming RFP for network equipment that should be on the agenda for approval at the next meeting. Page 3 Steve Nadel, Ahlers and Cooney, also commented on the milestone and congratulated everyone for their hard work and the major decisions made for the benefit of the city. He briefly spoke on the upcoming legal matters and the financial steps to be made in regards to working capital. Kelley Felchle, Board Secretary, provided an update on the total dollar amount for reimbursement for city staff time for the period of January through June 2023. Currently the amount is $4,144.65, however she does need to remind some staff to enter the hours. A meeting was held last week with Aaron Hilligas with Ahlers & Cooney to continue working on the employment agreement, which is anticipated to be in place before the first paycheck. She stated that preparations are being made for Eric to begin work on Monday. Mr. Van Fleet read an update prepared by Maggie Burger of Speer Financial. Once the board has established rates we can finalize a term sheet and send out to bank lenders for working capital. We are planning to give those lenders 3 weeks with the packet to review, ask us questions, and fully understand this new utility moving forward. We hope to have a timeline early next week along with my review of the term sheet which is in process now. We continue to have many calls and emails about interest on this new utility and hope to work with lenders following the working capital debt to establish some initial loans that can be drawn upon in CY 2024 as needed for construction. We appreciate the more frequent meetings of this group for the time being as everything gets started and underway. We would like the opportunity to talk in the coming week or so, and to be updated maybe monthly on interest that is generating from your website, and any other marketing efforts to come. This will be of interest to the lenders we talk with, they will want to know how many people are responding and what the sentiment of the project appears to be. Kelley Felchle commented that with an additional Wednesday available in August, it would be prudent for the board to keep August 30th on the radar for a potential meeting date should something need to be approved. With no further business before the board, it was moved by Young seconded by Kurtenbach that the meeting be adjourned at 4:41 p.m. Voice -vote Ayes: Five. Motion carried. 2(elley 'Fe(ch1 Kelley Felchle Board Secretary