e e e e mares here here here here here here Davis heref here
here n zero please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation go indivisible with liy and justice for
all any proposed additions or deletions to the agenda motion to approve the agenda as presented second we got a motion and a second discussion roll call council member Oz
I Nelson I Gilbertson ier I hi Davis i butfield i i z that
passes consent items I'll call on ver Larson city clerk Mr Mayor and council members tonight for your approval I have the city council minutes of February 3rd 2025 the city council work session minutes of February
10th 25 Wilmer Municipal Utilities Commission minutes of 20 February 10th 2025 wmer police commission meeting minutes of December 18th 2024 wmer police commission meeting minutes of January 22nd 2025 Planning Commission
minutes of February 5th 2025 Wilmer Fest inks lawful gambling application Prairie Lakes chapter Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation lawful gambling application the accounts payable report from 13025 to 21225 and for your information
director's reports the monthly building permit reports for January 2025 and the Wilmer Municipal Utilities financial report for December of 2024 motion to approve the consent agenda second got a motion and a second
to approve the consent agenda roll call council member Nelson I Gilbertson hi Gardner I baggerly hi Davis Hi Butterfield hi shoulders hi an
askos hi eight eyes zero nose that passes good evening um it's an honor and a privilege to Mar yeah there is open Forum people did you
get the list yes oh I'm sorry that's on the bottom of the page I turned it before that I apologize yes thank you for correcting me Justin
rucks give your name you got three minutes name and address please hello I'm Justin rucks um thank you for allowing me to speak I live in Spicer 417300 4th Avenue Northeast um I'm here on behalf of the
Wilmer Hockey Association I'm the president of the Wilmer Hockey Association um along with Michelle Hansen I want to thank her the president of the Wilmer hockey boosters and Rob bomgar for his hard work on the outdoor rink proposal and the monies that have
been allocated towards that um as you know by my address I'm a Spicer resident when we bought our house we purposely open en rolled to Wilmer schools to be a part of this Association and be a part of that beautiful facility so I want to
thank you guys for your support of the outdoor rink and growing that facility Rob's work out there to make it an incredible destination um it's been a boon to the economy for all of our tournaments that we've had out there and I want to appreciate want to show my
appreciation to you guys for supporting that so thank you that's my only address for tonight well thank you it's a way to start yeah well we appreciate what you're doing thank you thank you Matt um Matt Dawson 1010 metal Lane
Wilmer Minnesota uh word two just want to say thanks to the city staff the council and uh the mayor re for for all that you guys are doing for our community and uh thanks for giving us a fair shot at uh taking a look at uh the the uh the proposal tonight that Rob
will um present and um it's been uh eight years in the making and just want to thank council member Davis for all of her support she has always uh listened uh open-minded to myself living in War I and Julie is fantastic have no doubt
Steve's going to be fantastic as well as long as and uh Mr Gilbertson as well so just want to thank thank you all for your service and appreciate the opportunity be here tonight thank you Matt Andrew martinka I'll pass tonight thank you
okay and Joel good evening Council and mayor Joel Ridler 1912 20th Avenue Southwest Wilmer um I was talking to a couple friends of mine that are on the fire department and their home towns and uh rumor is is that
a law is changing that uh equipment has to be 10 years or newer and I don't know if you folks are aware of that and uh I got looking at our equipment and it's quite
old and so I just want you guys to think about that we didn't even have enough money to buy a ladder truck our ladder truck is quite old but yall are looking to spend big money on a a cable
system fire department reflects on our homeowners insurance too so we may have bigger bills coming at us so I want you to think
about as you guys digest spending 24 million on a on a whim I know there's been a lot of discussion on it but we need to look at at this I don't
know if if staff is aware aware of the new oosha requirements or not and I'm quite concerned when I look at our equipment so please think before you vote Yes on this cable thank you thank
you Joe all right with that I think that was the last one wasn't it yes each year the mayor delivers a state of the city address which I'm going to do this evening and I just welcome
everyone and it is an honor and a privilege to come before you tonight as your mayor to deliver a state of the city address and as we reflect on the past year and look towards the future
I'm filled with optimism and pride about the direction in which our city is headed together we are building a thriving inclusive and Vibrant Community for us all and as I look back at
2024 I'm proud to highlight the significant milestones and achievements that have defined our city first I want to address the changes within our departments we have recently Bid
Farewell to some of our long serving colleagues who have retired after Decades of dedicated service these individuals have shaped the very Foundation of our city and we are grateful for their contributions however as we say goodbye
to some fil familiar faces we are excited to welcome new talent and fresh perspectives into our department departments we have successfully onboarded a number of skilled professionals which each brings their
unique expertise and energy to their roles with their leadership we are poised to continue providing the services you rely on while embracing the new ideas and strategies that will help our city adapt to The Changing
Times 2024 before continued the city of Wilmer commitment to be a welcoming growing Community where everyone feels respected and has equal access to resources and opportunities our city has changed
substantially over the past 30 years Wilmer City leadership and staff want Wilmer to practice equity and inclusion in all our sectors we have turned the vision of welcoming and belonging into to a
reality to respond to these opportunities our office of community growth has focused its work on three pillars Community engagement civil engagement and Leadership
engagement Wilmer Community growth effort is determined more by what we do than by what we say we believe this is the right path to take because it will make us stronger and more welcoming and
growing on February 21st 2024 Wilmer launched its new city logo the rebranding initiative aiming at creating a unified and modern image that reflects the city's growth and
diversity the rebranding effort included a new logo tagline and visual identity to be used across all City departments and Communications the goal is to enhance Wilmer perception promote Community Pride and
attract businesses residents and visitors since the rebranding we have received numerous compliments from visitors who have enjoyed the new look and information provided by the Wilmer
convention Bureau one of the city's goals for 2025 is to amplify Wilmer messaging in the social media realm recently our staff completed an 8-day training session with one of the top 10
social media Executives to Sam tols a key change to watch for in 2025 will be how the city of Wilmer engages communicates and promotes Wilmer in the realm of social
media in 2024 the city of Wilmer experienced a signif ific boost in commercial de development with an estimated $42 million investment driving growth in new business and services among the most notable
developments are Popeyes a new Subway on iway 12 East Les Schwab Tires out by Menards happy Halal goat processing plant Wilmer middle
school gymnasium and in addition to the kidney dialysis center through our Planning Development Department we issued 731 permits leading
to an increase in housing units including six new family homes three duplexes and the currently under construction 118 unit senior apartments by Bethesda in total commercial
residential permit valuation was over $71 million in addition to these developments the Planning Development Department facilitated a robust Community engagement schedule with more than 20 events and
Counting the feedback gathered last summer laid the foundation for our new the city's comprehensive plan with Wilmer this plan is the result of extensive collaboration between the city
council Planning and Development Department Community stakeholders and most importantly you our neighbors of Wilmer our valuable your valuable input ideas and feedback have been the driving
force between this plan ensuring it truly reflects the needs and desires of our diverse Community we look forward to the draft documents release in the coming weeks the industrial park has long been a
focus for growth in the city two years ago the city began discussions about internet service and its importance in industrial park the council approved sending requests for proposals receiving three
distinct ones a Broadband committee was formed to provide guidance and over the past two years staff and committee have developed an Open Access Network system the system will provide the fiber
backbone for private companies to deliver a fast and more reliable broadband service to residences and businesses if approved this project will be the first of its kind in Minnesota the wa Wastewater Department
completed the construction of the Eagle Lake lift station and R roofed the treatment plant along 7th Street Southwest this year the department is working on designing and constructing the Iverson Park lift station and the industrial
bionutrient removal system this system uses biological matter for treatment processes and therefore saves on chemicals over the past two years the city has made significant improvements to streets paths and parking lots
including the Thompson Park parking lot 13th Street Southwest from Trot Avenue to Wilmer Avenue Grace Avenue from 11th Street to 15th Street and 19th Avenue path
improvements the Total Bond investment was $1 million supplemented by a $500,000 grant for the 19th Avenue path Improvement this year the council scaled back street reconstruction project
prioritizing Mill reclaim and overlays continuing the commitment to crack and seal coating in order to extend the life of city streets engineering estimates the cost for crack and seal
coating at 335 334,000 up from 286,000 last year Mill and reclaim and overlays included business business 71 with Ada improvements as part of the
project Eagles Landing Fairway Park Valley Brook glacial Valley Orton blad areas and Technology Drive will be reclaimed and overlaid with all projects totaling
about 7.8 million with 1.5 million grant funding from the state of Minnesota road local Road Improvement program for the of business 71 Improvement the city will bond approximately 5.2
million in 2025 the city county and BNSF will explore conducting a corridor study to assess at grade Crossings within the city and county this past year Wilmer
also made a significant investment in the purchase of a $1.7 million ladder truck for the fire department due to be delivered in early 2026 the fire department responded to 378 fire calls and the first responder
unit went out on 158 calls all calls were equivalent to 8,370 firefighter hours besides answering fire and responder calls our volunteer firefighters spent a total of
4,820 training and activity hours in 2024 our park and recck Department achieved significant Milestones including installing new playground equipment at valleyside Park and securing a
$87,500 grant from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to enhance the trail head of Civic Center Drive these enhancements will feature restrooms a pavilion and water services with a total project
cost of $250,000 furthermore excuse me the city of Wilmer was awarded a $1.3 million Grant from the Greater Minnesota regional
parks and trails commission as part of the state's Legacy funding to support the first phase of the amphitheater project at Robins Island earlier this year the council approved reallocating 1.5 million in local sales tax dollars
to explore the possibility of constructing an outdoor covered ice rink tonight we will review the bids received for that project in closing I want to thank the city council all our fine staff and each
of you for continued support and dedication to our city together we are building a bright future for Wilmer thank you all right under regular business the the next item is awarding the bid for to Tradesmen
Construction Incorporated for the outdoor covered ice rink and I call on Rob Bard our Recreation director thank you good evening mayor member of the council tonight we're going to adopt a resolution for the city
council of the city of wmer that the bid from Tradesman construction of Alexandria Minnesota for the outdoor covered ice ring Pavilion project is accepted and be further res resolved that the mayor and the city administrator of the city of warmer are hereby authorized to enter into an
agreement with the bidder for the terms and the consideration of the contract in the amount of 1,1 100,500 193 so just recapping a little bit of how we got here um in May on May 6 the
council approved reallocating the contingency funds from Swanson Fields project Island and the recre and the recreation Fields um to give us that 1 uh $59 million um Budget on December
16th of 24 the council approved the final plans and specifications for the outdoor rink in Pavilion and authorize the plans to go out for bids uh the bids opening were on January 23rd of 2025 at the Civic Center and we receiv seven bids for the project the lowest bidder
was the tradesman's construction out of Alexandria Bolton and mink and City staff reviewed the bid documents and it's our recommendation to approve the tradesman's construction for this project and also staff is recommending to approve the alternate 2A and 2B for
$73,700 these alternates will provide an asphalt service inside and outside the rank to fit and it all fits in with the overall budget so when we look at the budget we started off with 1, 590,000
$784 so when we put the ba the base bit of the tradesman's construction in there the Bolton and mink contract and the Becker Arena products which we'll talk about um on a septer agenda item right after this and then we put in our city
cost um which is uh $63,000 with our city contingencies and $18,400 of special inspections for like concrete pering surveying our total EXP comes to 1,563
N8 which gives us a remaining budget of $74,800 4 that's why we would um recommend the alternates of 2 a and 2B of $ 73,74
so so everything fits within the budget um and then we still have contingency dollars if they're or anything that we have to do special Beyond this so it all fits within the budget these are all lost funds correct yes
sir so you have any questions Carl so the 2 a and 2B the asphalt inside the rink and outside the rink what would that what's the purpose of that what so now we have a hard surface so when the boards come off we
can do other things in there in the spring summer and fall time until the wards go back again I I thought I guess that we kind of wanted gravel for the cuz if we had a hard surface we couldn't repair the the cooling or it'd be harder to put in the pipes for the cooling or
my misunderstanding well this is a non with this project here is non-refrigerated so right now we would just want the hard surface is what we would want to go with I think what Carl's getting at is we had discussed future if there is consideration to put
in artificial ice though there's two ways to do it then you would have to put the piping which is going to be between three and $400,000 just to lay the pipe in and that's without the refrigeration system or they're the coils that you can put on top of a hard surface and then freeze it
that way Audrey just a follow up on that question if it's okay um if I remember the conversation correctly the statement was made was maybe to let it be first that concrete would be better in the
future and to just leave the gravel for now and do the concrete when you could in the future or am I wrong is asphalt as good as concrete I think well no the concrete's going to be for the term of it or the life of it's it's going to
last a lot longer than the asphalt I think our main goal was to have it so we did have a hard surface in there so it's more multi-purposed in the spring summer and fall instead of just having a gravel base this is allows us to do things
um outside of just the hockey okay and skating just a followup if I may um chances are it looks like the other is probably another hund some thousand dolls to do the concrete and chances are that's not going to happen with any kind
of fundraising or anything else for that no okay thank you any other questions just thank you Mr Mayor um talk a little bit about the Becker Arena um project I know that's coming up next on the agenda but
I mean we we could do the concrete right now if we didn't do that project correct but we would not have hockey boards or hockey glass to be able to Contin the skating inside there so the boards are as an a Very necessary
piece to have it to be able to be skated on and why is that associated with with this project the boards and glass right we w't be able to hold that but this is okay now I'm understanding okay that makes sense to
me thank you okayy is the roof still on there yes and it's that plastic or whatever you yep it's a fabric roof fabric roof yes okay Steve maybe you noce to answer the
question Rober or maybe um Jared would but is is there any concern that the low bidder met the spec of the project as it's intended because there is a pretty good spread in these bids is there any concern that Tradesmen is or is not meeting the specifications of the
project we asked that question um Jay pay who's we're working with and we're we did our due diligence and asking them um their question the question about that as well making sure that all the specs are going to be required because um of making sure it's a rigid frame and
then meets all the specs in there so and I um reached out to someone that has used Tradesman before up in the Alexandria Area and they said that they're great to work with appreciate it Tom with the roof if we have another
unseasonably warm winter um like we did last year does that mean that we're going to have ice time for maybe a month or two um or does that help with the keeping the ice on the having it in if you want to say enclosed it's going to to give us cooler temperatures so the
ice is going to stay longer that's the whole goal is so um if we do get warmer temperatures that the shade if you want to say that will keep the ice longer over A Garfield or some other correct y Rick thanks Mr Mayor so these boards
are they fiberglass or they're steel frame with a plastic on it they're very similar to what's in the Cardinal Arena and the blue line Arena right now how do they differ from what we have like at Garfield those are all wood that
wouldn't be appropriate n not really um just I think there would be a lot of repairs to the wood we have like two sets at Garfield correct they don't get used that much so are you planning on taking them down then or leaving them up
year round we will most likely take out the radiuses which are the ends for right now um we just don't have a place to store them all and that type of stuff so um it's plus and minus sometimes if you have the boards and glass up you're still going to be able to do some activities in
there um just we would if we want to get more into like so it's set up more for like a concert then we would like to have the board and glass down but as of now we're probably just going to keep the sides up and take the radiuses out Audrey um just one more
clarification somewhere along the line there had been a statement made about shutting down Garfield and and um Lincoln that's a whole different subject than this is it not correct okay thank you viy so if this passes tonight when
will it start and when will it be done do you think it would start this spring it would be done uh middle of October so be able to be used this year thank you if there's no further questions I need a motion so moved
second motion and a second discussion further discussion Audrey just a clarification the resolution is just for the 1,100 um 1,593 so are we going to do a second motion for
Alternatives if that's the council's wishes Mr may I can amend my motion to be the the base plus alternates 2 a and 2B if that helps okay that helps um who second to Tom you okay all
right any further discussion roll call council member Gilbertson hi Gardner hi baggerly hi Davis Hi Butterfield hi shes hi oos hi Nelson I
and Gilbertson still I oh sorry I miss I had to ask you twice I guess that's still only eight yeses and zero NOS that passes all right next is the
approval of the purchase agreement with Becker Arena products for the outdoor Dasher board system Rob y so this is adopt the resolution approving the purchase of the outdoor Dasher board system with installation for um from
Becca Arena products for 169,000 912 so this again this is just to get us to get the boards and glass and the installation done and of course it fits into the budget um we did receive two bids on it this one does work for us um
and also is beneficial for us that it's through the source well so the state contract Mo to approve second we got a motion to approve and it's seconded discussion roll call Council Gardner hi
baggerly hi Davis Hi Butterfield hi sches Hi O hi Nelson hi and Gilbertson hi eight zero nose thank you rob thank you next Gorton Avenue right away call
on Justin Deo our Public Works director Justin good evening Mr Mayor good evening Council um within this uh action request there's actually two items for your consideration I'll go through the first one U First and
describe that and then we'll come back to the second one um so the first action for your consideration tonight is to adopt a resolution approving the agreement to clarify RightWay lines on Gordon Avenue um as a brief uh backstory During the Reconstruction in 2023 of
Gordon Avenue Northwest a property owner raised concerns over the placement of the curban gutter he believed that were placed outside of the city's RightWay and onto private property and after review it was determined that there were discrepancies between
um between the written record and a 1990 RightWay agreement between the city and the previous property owner so after numerous discussions with City staff and Engineering staff um they came to an agreement with negotiated terms as
follows term number one the city would initiate a proceeding to vacate a portion of the existing Gorton Avenue RightWay after that the property owner would Grant the city a new permanent RightWay um drainage and utility
easement on the property and thirdly the city would pay compensation to that property owner for those new easements in the amount of $5,750 um so that's the the first action item I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have
questions Audrey thank you mayor re this has taken us a really long time this was an error or I mean our error correct when we did that that we missed this or so there was an agreement back
in 1990 between the city and the property owner for whatever reason that agreement never got recorded thank you and it just came to light now Okay so thank you y any other questions otherwise I'd like a motion so
moved second we got a motion on second discussion Rick thanks Mr Mayor there wasn't any other property adjacent Property Owners or anything that had any issues just no this one just this one correct thank you any other
questions roll call council member faggle I Davis hi Butterfield hi sches hi OS hi Nelson hi Gilbertson I and Gardner I eight eyes
zero nose that passes and so following up on that um as part of that agreement the city is to initiate the process of vacating a portion and so that's what I'm asking for with this second item the that uh
you adopt a resolution initiating a vacation of Gordon Avenue RightWay call for a public hearing on April 7th 2025 and refer the matter to the Planning Commission um the reason that it is being referred to the Planning
Commission is that under the city Charter section 9.1 after a resolution for vacating right away is introduced no further Council action will be taken until a report or recommendation is received from the Planning Commission um this proposed vacation will be
brought before the Planning Commission on their March 19th meeting and then be brought back to Council on April 7th okay be happy to answer any questions you may have any questions move to
approve we got a motion in a second discussion roll call council member Davis I Butterfield hi toldes hi OS hi Nelson hi Gilbertson hi Gardner Hi
and fagly hi eight eyes zero nose thank you thank you Justus that passes next is uh Broadband discussion consideration and I'll call on operations director Kyle
box good evening mayor uh thank you members of the city council [Applause] on Thursday February 13th mayor Reese council member OS myself representatives of Hometown fiber and representatives of
Charter Communications Spectrum met to discuss the letter sent to the mayor and city council dated February 7th 2025 that's enclosed in your P like to highlight uh kind of summarize that letter for the council within that letter Charter
expressed their commitment to build AI to build fiber optic Lines within the Wilmer industrial park if the city council determines that the connect Wilmer project is not feasible and elects not to move forward with its project Charter would provide these services in the industrial park at no
cost to the city during the February 13th meeting Charter Charter further Charter fur excuse me Charter further clarified that the areas of service of fiber optic lines would be located uh
mainly west of County Road five five within the industrial park to all accessible Lots within the Readiness with Readiness to expand further as future Parcels are developed they have also expressed the willingness to expand to unserved Parcels within the industrial park as
those are developed into the future the connect Wilmer project has evolved beyond the boundaries of the industrial park and as did our conversation with Charter uh Charter had indicated to the city a network Evolution to a highs split
Network this type of network generally utilizes the same coax infrastructure but at a higher frequency range to expand the bandwidth available uh for faster download and upload speeds this was again reiterated uh in a Friday sent
to the city council late Friday afternoon um 12:14 2025 again reiterating and stating that they would extend fiber lines to existing locations and add fiber infrastructure to accommodate further expansion within the industrial park
Charter has indicated they have completed project design and are prepared to begin permitting the construction of this project is to is expected to be completed within two months of the last permit being approved within that same message it was further stated that the Wilmer that
Wilmer is currently scheduled to receive an upgrade to the existing network network called a highs split Network again uh again this project is now estimated to be completed and available in early 2026 and with uh the project
and construction contingencies accounted for Charter projects completion of the entire city in summer or early fall of 2026 one of the underlying goals of the connect Wilmer initiative was to bring or is to bring a desired level of
internet service to all of Wilmer residents and businesses as described by Charter uh this could be accomplished this could accomplish that specific goal in the short term however when comparing the performance of fiber networks to highs
split networks highs split networks fall short in the categories of speed latency capacity reliability and scalability when you're looking at the long-term performance and future scalability fiber networks are the preferred
option throughout the connect Wilmer project we engag with various service clubs organizations includ including rotary Lions League of Women Voters with Wilmer residents at Rock and Robbins welcoming week Community engagement
sessions at the Wilmer Public Library we have collected letters of support from businesses like Best Western holiday in country in and Suites American Purina Brer Bank Wilmer Stingers Perkins Lumber
vova West Central Printing and more we have collected over 600 surveys 99.49% of survey respondents are satisfied with the current level of service they receiving 42% of survey respondents indicated that they would switch to
fiber if it became available 25% responded that the type of Internet service that they desired was unavailable and another 25% answered that they could not afford the internet they wanted or needed
these types of responses and engagements have guided our project in addition to reviewing other Municipal fiber projects understanding why they feel and defining why they are successful this work was completed and provided to you the city council to
evaluate the information necessary to make an informed decision and how you envision Wilmer Broadband future the connect Wilmer initiative's project goals are to provide fast reliable and affordable internet to every resident and business in Wilmer to
provide public infrastructure for private business to operate on and to promote economic development in the industrial park and throughout the entire city of Wilmer these goals are deeply intertwined with our future of our community that we all working
towards if Charter's level of commitment does not meet the city council's needs the connect Wilmer project remains a viable option for the city council to approve in 2025 and finally in its advisory capacity the Broadband committee continues to support
and recommend the connect Wilmer initiative project Mr Mayor I'll pause there for any questions questions from the council um yeah Kyle I've talked to you in the past about City of
Buffalo with their fiber optics Network mhm what they they have going on is uh $65 a month for $300
Mbps $80 a month for 600 Mbps or $95 a month for a one gig do we know what wmer is going to be charging uh for these type of services
off of this that's a great question council member butterf field um when we talk about rates and fees being charged um that was part of some of the survey respondents that we did collect um ultimately um my understanding is that
those the prices that would be offered would be faster um or similar in speeds um but incomparable in prices or less than some of the prices that you had stated um but ultimately the city is not going to necessarily get involved on how
the private Market op operates or charges their fees but with the understanding that um the council should understand as well that uh the prices will be competitive and cheaper uh and faster in a lot of those situations that they that Wilmer residents are
experiencing now yeah but we also have to make sure this is going to be self-funded and it's not going to go on the taxpayers of Wilmer you know on the property tax correct you brought up in uh I believe it was you that brought up in our work session that our property taxes go up 5% % just to have the fer
installed to our house that wasn't so we're talking another 5% added on to her property tax and you know so that's going to be wash and I just have concerns with City of Buffalo they only have 15% of what they want on on their fiber optic City
Network I I have some big concerns on this falling flat and we're going to be stuck pain board on our property taxes yeah I can answer couple of those questions council member Butterfield um the
numbers that we uh are estimating are very conservative low numbers and those were in the performa data that was handed out to the council at the work session so there are some key indicators in there at prices that we're expecting uh those prices are lower than what we
um than what we would be anticipating again kind of by it designed in that way not to overpromise and underd deliver um when we talk you had made made the point about property value increases uh yes I did make that comment at a work
session and actually uh some public engagement events as well um that is an example of what uh some communities have experienced and whether it would be a fiber Network installed by the city of Wilmer or a highs split Network
installed by Charter or another private ISP if the value if there is an asset brought to your residents that is valued at a higher rate um it doesn't matter who is bringing that value whether it's the city or another private company uh
your home value could increase because of that whether it's the city or somebody else um uh Mr Mayor and maybe to answer a little bit of your question uh councilman Butterfield I know that my current rate with Charter today for that
300 megabytes and I get 40 up is $29 a month so if it's going down 655 to $65 I'd be saving over $135 a month with my current rates right as we
speak today so um I guess I don't know what the pricing will look like but I know what Charter is currently charging is that with your cable on there too or is that just strictly Internet Internet only thank you mayor re um just to clarify so
you're asking um what you're asking us is to work with Charter and come back with something by March 3D but I guess some of the questions that I have are um what would the what will the pricing look like will we still
have more of a monopoly um by working with them than what we we have now um if we don't like what they have to say by March first 3rd are we still we're still okay with the time frame of who we've been working
with just holding with them or you know um kind of just a question of um as we work through this um I'm supportive of of looking at Charter um with that but um if they're
in investing all this money in Wilmer are the rates going to go up or are they going to go down and um how will we compare to um other communities and some of those types of things so some of those are the questions that I have as and I
have no issue with us holding and letting you work with them but their commitment to do it is still a second question of what's it going to cost the users sure I can answer the timing question first um timing is of the
essence um in this was communicated throughout to council throughout the the winter and early part of the year uh what our timeline was for a uh project launch in 2025 uh we are prepared uh we're getting
close to a point and be will be able to U bring an agenda item to the council to authorized bids in early April U waiting longer uh to have talks negotiations whatever that however the council envisions that um does put up
put the city up against the timeline to deliver a successful launch of a project in 2025 and what I mean by that is if the construction is delayed um in 2025 we may not have the full U the switch
not might not be turned on in 2025 and that what that does is ultimately um messes with the economic model of what you saw on the on February 10th um so is it doable yes but the numbers change uh the prices um and Mr Larson is
in attendance so please correct me if I'm wrong David um Char Charter did provide us with uh pricing options what that high net highs split Network would look like um they would be comparable um
to some of the prices that um Mr Butterfield was commenting on Buffalo um and I will ask you to correct me but I believe the gigabit plan started at about $70 a month if that sound right and then tearing down from there to
$50 a month to and then they offered a lowincome uh price plan um at $30 a month and then a internet assist package starting at $15 a month does that sound right okay thank you wasn't that $70 so just the initial
it was going to go up to 100 once you was it 6 months was it a year one year one year and then $100 tier up over time yes and that be applicable for those top plans else Steve I got lots of stuff written down but I don't know if I'll
ask it all or not so if I can ask a couple of questions is that fair yeah uh I guess my initial comment is and a new to the board but or the council but I've known about this project for quite some time um it seems like were suffering from scope creep the
initial ask was the industrial park they came in over budget and then Hometown fiber pitch this to the city am I fairly accurate in that um it was P yes that was one of the proposals was fiber to the home I don't
know if I could accurately answer it came in overpriced but the initial ask was RFP for the industrial correct so the scope is crept from running fiber to a very small part of the city yes correct to the entire city okay um I I
think and I tend to agree with Council but Butterfield is I'm averse to risk and as a somebody who has the authority to spend taxpayer dollars I think we should be averse to risk I think push pushing this to Private Industry is a way to mitigate or
eliminate risk and the risk is not 25 or $245 million it's 33 by the time we pay interest so am I willing to risk 33 million taxpayer dollars for zero product if this fails I'm not
um the next question I have is I thought I saw some communication at one point where if Charter did this they wanted exclusive rights to the industrial part is that has this been amended so that Clause is not in there there would
not be exclusive rights granted in city right ofo to any anyone um it was indicated in that letter that they would proceed only if the on the in the industrial park only if this project did not move but not not excl we're not granting exclusive rights we would not
Grant exclusive rights to to anyone all right um this next thing is just a comment really um I saw a comment in the paper I I apologize for not being at the working session meeting last week um that there was a comparison to this being we're building infrastructure and
and in reality we are but the the analogy that I saw was and I believe Justin you made it CU I read about in the paper was Minneapolis Builds an airport and then it's just a matter whether you use Delta American or whatever right I think that's a fine analogy if you peel it
back a layer though I think it sort of falls apart because we're about 40 years too late to the internet game you know there there are many many options if I go to Minneapolis I don't get a choice on which airport I go to I go to MSP
right if somebody wants internet in Wilmer I don't even need to have a connection to anything I can pull this out of my pocket I don't need an internet plan I have a all data plan and I have the internet right I've heard people say people are cutting the cord like crazy right Charter will probably
David will probably attest that they're losing customers for people cutting the cord that means they're completely disconnecting disconnected from anything related to a a line starlink is offering through T-Mobile I use starlink at work
it's great right so I I think saying we need 30% of Charter's business to make this viable and if we think Charter and and and I've told this to David space if we think Charter is going to sit back and
let that happen we if we build it they may not come and I'm not willing to wh risk taxpayer dollars to do that the other the final thing I have uh is you mentioned and I've heard you mentioned this multiple times is Affordable
options who decides what's affordable yeah that's a great question so when we this pro project started uh two years ago in 2022 that was still a government it was a subsidized program that the federal government um had in
place that has since gone away and that was still something that we wanted to offer and that's why it is that was put into this into this model so will we mandate users on the Network provide an affordable option under a set specific
criteria or how will that work yes it would be under specific criteria means tested I assume excuse me will will it be means tested like they'll have to prove that they meet some type of correct income criteria yeah the the goal with that was to follow the same criteria that was required under that
program and I assume that will be for a an inferior product or will that be for yeah it would do they get the top end product if their means tested it doesn't matter I just curious to know what the it would be for lower speeds okay symmetrical speeds but lower speeds and
that would be similar to what this internet assist package that Charter is offering appreciate it y I can I add to one comment on on the cord cutting um you are absolutely right people are cutting the cords going to mobile services going to satellites going to
other means um everything has to connect somehow and when what I mean by that it's it's coming back to fiber um so when we look at some of these uh future options when starlink has to get a
satellite a feed back to the back to the ground um how do they connect it's not always just a end to end point connection they have to have a fiber backbone or a backbone of some sort in order to make their service works and that applies to all all of those
different scenarios but just wanted to add that thank you thank you J um talk to me about long-term scalability you mentioned that um that what Charter would do is kind of you
know this coax plus fiber that ultimately that doesn't scale into the future as well as a pure fiber Network and I know we spent a little bit of time at that Workshop talking about the importance of of trying to see into the future um and and I I think our experts
in the room convinced at least me that that fiber has that ability um tell me a little bit about what we're sacrificing if if we're not on a pure fiber Network sure so again I would um going back to what was discussed at the work session
um when you talk about scalability on fiber the way the data is transmitted is over it's over it's over light it's over it's not an analog um transmission when we look look at um highs split networks over coax
cables uh there is a certain amount of engineering or amplifiers or electronical equipment that they that would need to be installed in order to um push that data out at a higher frequency and over um more for more
bandwidth um it does have some and I'm not the expert U but I I do know it has some limitations on on um it has limitations on how far the distance that would be and these are long distances um where you don't run into those IM limitations with fiber and there is a
limitation with the amount of bandwidth that can be um spread out over those types of networks and these are massive networks this is more than just a a residential user U endpoint I mean these are multiple users multiple businesses um but when it comes to fiber there
isn't any interference or very limited interference or any degradation to the amount of bandwidth or data being transmitted over that line so when you look at scalability in the future of a fiber Network specifically um adaptation
happens quite seamlessly uh whereas there might be more significant work that would need to be put into a uh a different type of network solution um that answers your question and then the other thing I'm wondering if you could expand a little bit it's
noted that the committee uh continues to support and recommend the project um despite the latest development from Charter can you speak a little bit to some of their reasoning sure I think a lot of it
um it's a great question uh obviously the the committee's put a lot of work and spent a lot of time looking at the details in order to provide you the council the information that you've seen um a lot of it comes down to choice that was another Factor um in the
decision making process or the at the committee level uh having the having the regulatory oversight providing choice to to Res residents of Wilmer businesses of Wilmer um and being able to adapt more
quickly to the needs of our community um those are some of the high level concerns and I think or high Lev thoughts that put in went into it and then I'll uh ultimately it's a u a more long-term product and when we're tasked
to make a long significant decision the council is tasked to make a significant decision um looking at a fiber infrastructure was could be could be viewed as the most beneficial and our in the Broadband committee's eyes it was
the most beneficial product and specifically to the Open Access Network it was um when we talked about I had mentioned about looking at fiber projects that failed and succeeded some of those projects uh was brought up at the work session um Windom I don't the name of their
Network escapes me but they um isps uh that particular one I believe tried to be their own ISP adds a whole another level of complication and we're stepping away from that completely um that's never been this approach to it it's we want to
engage with private business to to offer those services and um offer more competition to the local market here in Wilmer so I think a lot of it does um has been summarized over the work session over various meetings but I think it the
underlying uh the capabilities and expansion of what fiber can do um offering choice to Wilmer residents and businesses um ranked very high to the to the to the committee thank
you Rick thanks Mr Mayor so how many Parcels are in the industrial park that we want to get fber to yeah that that's a great question council member ferly it's going to take a little bit more research on our end I know in the letter uh it is specifically indicated
24 um we did ask about that number uh specifically and that was a Charter's best guess at the time looking at a map so if the council decides to move in that direction we would get a more clear and defined number of what that would actually look like in the industrial park and whole there's close to 170
Parcels out there some of them already are receiving some type of Internet service some are not undeveloped or Farmland currently uh those would be removed um but it would be a number that we would need to more closely look at so I would say 30 to 30 to 50 um without at this
point but we need to look at that a little closer but not all of them would hook on to our fiber you're talking about the connect Wilmer project we would run it ex sorry I'll I'll clarify that um we would run
fiber to the premise on each and every parcel if they but you are correct if they opted to or to not take that service we would either run it or not run it to the building or to the premise and then we might charge 20 to $30 a
month for them to whoever the IPS or isps they'll pay us 20 to $30 it would be the way the the SLA the service Lev Agreements are structured that it's a um it would be a
percentage of total revenue that would be build so the example I've been using let's say your uh internet bill is $100 um if it's a 50% lease fee that would come back to the city you would the customer would pay $100 to your internet service provider and turn the
internet service provider would keep 50 send 50 back to the city of Wilmer just round number example yeah just so that's going to take a while to uh pay us back so we can pay for the F
correct that's what the performa model on the work session laid out uh we used very conservative take rates uh using a 7% take rate in year one ramping up to a 40% take rate by year eight with all three phases turned
on and then we put fiber in who do we connect to where does that come from yeah that's a great question so Wilmer is geographically located very well when it comes to how Wilmer is served uh there are a lot of
um um get my terminology right I believe they're tier one providers that come through Wilmer that are offering internet to all of the isps here in the area in the region uh Wilmer is geographically located to have a multiple more than one of those
connections that come through Wilmer already uh we have had Communications with those larger providers um and it was um I wish it was more serious than this but it was well how much do you need well we need x amount okay it'll be this
much a month and I think you would be shocked at how much to buy bulk internet I was at least shocked of what it would actually cost the city to buy bulk internet on a a monthly basis to provide um a 100 Gig Network would it cost uh if a memory
serves correct it was right around $4,000 a month if my memory is correct but I I could be wrong but I believe that's I believe that's accurate so we pay that a month yep that's for the entire Community then
yep okay and then we have to pay Hometown 220,000 a year yes and that's for what that is for them to operate the network on the city's behalf so that is for a full-time full-time staff to be on
Wilmer Tech technicians into um be the operator of the network it was right around $20,000 a month I believe and it tiered up based on the number of customers uh after a thousand I believe and would they have a technician in town
here yes they would business hours one or two uh they would start with one and it would scale up as um as end users needed to be as more end users are brought onto the network and then they would have a 247 on call as well
so the gentleman that was from is it Wyoming or Idaho y I wasn't sure if he was pitching his business so we would hire him or no that's a great question what was he doing yeah so he start if you remember he started his conversation
on trying to get terminology straight so uh we have a network operator agreement with Hometown fiber he had used the same terminology but on a different Spectrum or a different scale so they are they what their model or what they what their product is is they're a network operator
for isps what that means is that other isps with them included are on this this Co-op or they have an agreement to all manage silver light manages other isps under their under their portal under their Network so they would not be doing
we the city would not be contracting for them for services but so but they they contract with other isps or other isps work with them in order to provide services on their networks or their portals which they would which they had
um proposed bringing isps with them in addition to themselves so they they manage their own isps it has nothing to do with the city's operational contract same it's the same terminology that he used but different
definitions clear as mud I'm sure okay I've got Tom G then Tom B and then Audrey um you rattled off I was writing uh here and you said the satisfaction rate on
the surveys for Charter was what and what was the following number I wrote 9.4 satisfied what was the next number yeah so none of these were ISP specific just in general on Services being provided uh so 99.49% were satisfied
with the current level of service 42% of respondents indicated that they would switch to a to fiber if it became available okay 25 responded that the type of Internet service they desired was
unavailable 25% answered that they could not afford the internet they wanted or needed and it's not ISP specific the questions are not driven that way just in general so the the 9.4 satisfied does that mean that 90% are unsatisfied or or
it was a tiered question yeah it's a tiered question um it would be I got to remember what that one looked like specifically I will follow up with you I can get that answer before the end of the evening it's on my computer all
right thank you I do have one one other one what's the life expectancy of fiber great question um we have been using 30 to 40 years and we'll continue to stick with that
Tom just to follow up on Rick fager Le's uh question where you said 50% the if it comes back to us we still have to pay Hometown fiber mhm you know we still don't know what the price Rate rates are going to be on
everything like that that's going to be the key factor is one thing we've asked for his Council on this since day one what's going to so we can see if this is going to be visable or not we're still sitting out here 2 years out from
when was first thrown at us we need to get this passed cuz we need to get this started on construction we're out two years now and we still can't get an answer on how we're going to how this could really be used or funded to pay for we
you know we don't know we know we're going to get 50% and then 50% we have to give Hometown fiber and at the beginning we mean not see a dime and we're having to pull out from uh our taxpayers to pay for this we need the
numbers on you know what's really projected on what's going on with this see if we can get this uh as user paid uh council member Butterfield I don't disagree with you and that is something that we are actively working on to get signed agreements with those
providers um the numbers that you saw in the performa document that was at the work session are significantly lower than what we are seeing being drafted by providers we unfortunately cannot share that information um but it will be Market
competitive and what do I mean by that um it will be um similar to or likely more less more likely less than what residents are paying now um but again I think it's
important to note that the the model the numbers you saw in the performa are less even less than uh what customers would likely be expecting so what I'm getting at is um if you have instead of a $50 internet bill you have a75 interet doll
internet bill that's only going to strengthen that performal model not make it weaker uh I don't dis however like I mentioned I don't disagree with you where we're missing some information other signed SOA agreements service level agreements with those isps we are we're close we're not there yet uh we
did have a conversation late last week um with one ISP or actually with both um depending how uh depending on how the council wants to move forward uh they is a not a guarantee but they are um floating
around the idea of starting to do pre-sign UPS and putting some marketing material out there um the hesitation that there is is um from isps is um how much of an investment do they want to make um if the council doesn't isn't sure if they want to move forward with
the project yet um did kind of respond to that a little bit and saying we we've invested heavily in this project and to date we have had Council support for this project um so I think there is a path forward to have information out there soon um it is a key component um
for the council to have when approving the project uh so it's it's an important factor that's what I'm trying to get to it's important and I agree with you um but I I just want to reiterate once more that um the numbers that the numbers
would work um they will work according to what our our data is showing us just to follow up on that TDS has fiber and Spicer M uh coworker just told me he signed up TDS
locked them in at $60 for life for month for one G is that what Wilmer is going to be going to are we going to be guaranteeing our our customers day one it will not go higher than this or are we going to use other
proportions where you start here A year later oh we're going to bump you up 50% yeah again the city of Wilmer is not an internet provider we are going to let the private market and private businesses dictate on how they offer their terms and conditions
um I can't speak that someone would be price locked in if there was an P that wanted to do that um that's in their that would be in their prerogative again we are providing the analogy right we're providing the infrastructure the roadway the airport
whatever it would be for other others other private entities to utilize and operate Onre thank you two questions the information that you were talking about that you said you weren't quite ready that you were still working on you couldn't share right now yes as far as the pricing and those
kinds of things will that be available to us to know by March 3rd when you're asking us to talk about I'm going to try my best okay so is it reasonable to say that that information should be shared with us whether it's March 1 or whether it's the next
meeting at the same time so that we can make an informed [Music] decision I will try my best to have that information to the council by March 3rd okay um my second question question is regarding the grant that we found out was going to be available and If I
understand correctly it was for infrastructure not necessar not the not the fiber but for the would you speak to that and what happens to that if we don't do anything yeah that's a good question council member Nelson uh the
industri the economic development Grant the Eda Grant um Federal Eda grant that the city is applying for is for fiber is for a Industrial Park infrastructure Expansion Project uh within that roads
water sewer power uh is included in addition to fiber that was we were asked to put that in by the federal Eda uh when they had heard about our project and that also includes the network Operation Center located at the old wastewater treatment facility
um I'm sorry the second part of your question was so the grant if don't do this then yeah so what um yeah that's a good question as well um we are still waiting again with all the federal pauses uh that are happening with federal grants uh this is one of the
grant programs that is being uh paused um so there isn't a clear answer on when when that would move forward we're still trying to actively communicate with that but it's just a little slow and hard to hear back from uh understandably uh what happens
if if we don't it's a reimbursable grant uh so if we do not spend the money we are not we're not able to reimburse for those costs so I don't foresee that being an impact um for anything other than the fiber but the grant is tied to
our um fiber project the grant is an industrial park Grant okay but you also said it's for the there's there's yeah really two parts to that okay infrastructure
there's two parts to that Grant the one part is infrastructure Road sewer water electric for the Improvement of the industrial park over to the Wilmer rail plat the second part to that Grant is
the Broadband in the industrial park build and it would also um include um the cost of building the knock which is the network Operation Center over at the old uh wastewater
treatment plant is that helpful thank you anybody else so we're going to come back to this on March 3 um Mr Mayor I guess I would I would
really like some direction on how the council would like to proceed whether that in whatever capacity I think we've got Council has some options to consider but um staff really need direction on how you would like us to proceed make a motion to approve that a
letter with charer okay we got a motion to we have a second I'll second that we got a motion a second discussion mayor Reese do you want to speak um I just wanted to uh if we move
if the council wants to move in that direction I um did consult with the city attorney um earlier this afternoon i' believe we may have a recommended amended recommended action for that particular path if that's okay Mr Mayor
okay um I let's hear what Robert has to say first then I'll call on auy Audrey and then Tom mayor members of the city council um if the council's intent or if the
council member who made the motion's intent is to um either pause or move in a different direction than pursuing the Wilmer uh the connect Wilmer initiative um I think I guess I I'd
appreciate I'm sure staff would as well uh the opportunity to make sure that all the that we can prepare documentation because the city is some way down the path for that project at this point you've entered into contracts with your
network manager and there's certainly Protections in those contracts there are abilities at this point to uh certainly determinate the agreement if the council makes certain findings there's potentially abilities
to um work with Hometown to suspend those contracts so I think we'd appreciate time to uh work both with Hometown and with uh Charter um in order to bring uh an agenda item back to you probably on
March 3rd um so I I I think uh as far as the the motion made was the intent to essentially uh follow the recommended action in the council packet I'm sorry to ask a question but I'm trying to make
sure I understand the intent of the motion well I've been against this project since the beginning there's no way the city should be involved in this utilities were in it when Intel came 2015 years
ago they stuck a lot of money in and they bailed they didn't want want anything to do with this project so as far as I'm concerned I would let Charter do it if you need more time to
write up appropriate uh uh findings go ahead I you need a direction from the council if anyone else believes that I appreciate and I think what we would uh suggest would be that the motion be to direct staff and legal counsel to work
on uh formal documents to move in that direction that's my motion then that's right who seconded that Tom you okay with that I just got one question
know we always can come back to this if Charter doesn't follow through with what they said they're going to do in their letter then we always can come back and we we already bought the paid for the fees paid for the network paid for
design spent you know $700,000 so if Charter doesn't come back we always can come back to this correct that would be um some of the evaluation we do in the in the um whether it's a resolution or documents that would be
prepared to the council is that we would want to make sure that certain stipulations would be met uh they weren't in a in a specific time frame but really it's a pause on the city project and if those stipulations wouldn't be met it City would proceed
has the option to proceed with this project I'm fine with okay Audrey I'm still going to see clarification are we doing what the recommended is the motion to do what the recommended action is no then I can't support that I think
where we're at now we owe ourselves a chance take the next couple weeks work with Charter see what we can come up with and to establish a timeline bring it back to us and then see um to just say stop does not make sense to me right
now we don't have all the cards on the table let's take two weeks to get the cards on the table and follow what's been recommended for us to do okay I think Tom was next St you can you work on finding that clarification for the unsatisfied number
that's all want to talk amongst yourselves please sorry might take me a minute I tried to pass that before when attorney was are you done Tom yep that that's the information I need to make this decision I think what Mr Scott's saying is Audrey
is he's they're just amending it to add City staff and and legal counsel other than that I think this the recommendation is still the same did I understand that right you're just adding legal counsel to the recommended action I also understand that we have to know what the legal ramification of this is
particularly from a financial aspect we have we spent a pile of money already but if we cancel contracts we'd w i I personally am interested in knowing what the cost of canceling those contracts and and how did those cont how those contracts have
that's whole other issue but um is is kind of what you're saying uh I'm certainly saying that all of that evaluation will need to be conducted so that we can come back to council with a solid recommendation for how to protect the city's interests obviously the council sets the policy Council decides
if you want to move ahead Full Speed Ahead with connect Wilmer project or if you want to slow down and see what uh Charter can deliver and put that project on pause this is all those are all valid policy directions that we can take from the council um I think what I was saying
is I think we just would like the motion to be to direct staff and legal counsel if you're the council is to potentially hit the breaks a little bit at least on the connect Wilmer project to bring something back to the council that addresses all of this all of these
angles Justin um to seek clarification on the motion here's how I understood it the recommended action that the staff brought before us is to work with harder to gather more information to work with them to to put pen and paper to the
conversation that the mayor had with their representatives and our staff last week that was the recommended action I hear council member faggle offering a different motion that would basically be to to direct staff to move forward with
the charter offer um and that there's there's details to work out with that is am I accurate in understanding the difference between those two motions I think I mean it seems to me we have an option of saying just absolutely no to Charter to work with them and figure out what those
details can look like so we have something more than just the letter that they wrote us with unanswered questions and that they're working on or the option what I'm hearing from council member fagly is let's move forward with this this is the better option we don't
have to consider our own Network anymore my problem is you had Kyle you had the mayor and had yourself talking with Charter where was the rest of the council we would had committee meetings
we would had a committee there I'm voting on facts not a motion there's a difference Audrey I'm still looking for like yeah just I think he's just adding
the legal council the legal part of it into it I I think that the action is still essentially the same is get a plan from Charter and then if that plan goes forward what is the legal ramification of that how do we protect ourselves if that goes if we stop connect
Wilmer what happens then because we do have signed contracts with Hometown fivr and I'm guessing with at least one ISP so what happens then so I think he's bringing Mr Scott into the and Ricky you can tell me if I'm wrong or not no
that's fine the the alternative is deny the proos proposal we don't even talk then to Charter just going to cancel it out here Robert yeah I I I'm also trying to
make sure I'm understanding the intent of the motion and maybe I can ask uh Mr Box for some clarification but is the would you consider the staff recommended
action in the council packet to be a uh change of course from the city pursuing its own network buildout or was this just in addition to moving Full Speed Ahead of the city's uh
Network sure so I I think um for the the recommended action in the packet would be a a twoe pause until March 3rd that would allow us to provide additional uh detailed information on what a proposal more detailed proposal from Charter
looks like I know we did get more information from them late Friday after the um the council received that late Friday after the packet was printed um I guess what we're asking is um to direct staff and the City attorney to draft documentation or resolution to address
project status and eval give the council that information on an option either to proceed or not to proceed on March 3rd March 3rd I kind of waiting for Robert to see if he agrees with
that certainly as described that's very workable for us if that's okay for the council if that meets the intent of the maker of the motion I'm satisfied and we will get to work can have an agenda item or options for Action uh on March that's
fine but you still don't know how the council's on a vote do you but we haven't all along so we've been getting more information and all we're doing right now is saying let's find out if Charter's offer is good
enough to stop the other proposal that's all we're asking for fine is that the is that the motion we need a motion then
no well you made a motion and it was oh yeah we aren't ready to vote I guess they want more information that's typical can't decide anything Carl I excuse me yeah I I would I guess say I'm
I'm not ready to say no to Charter but I'm also not ready to say let's cut ties with connect Wilmer I I we don't know enough about the charter proposal yet and we don't until
we can get some numbers maybe from uh some of the other isps you know and I agree Rec it's frustrating it seems like we never make a decision but in the interest of due
diligence uh minimizing risk as much as possible we need some hard facts so I can't I can't say let's ditch the Wilmer initiative and vote Yes to Charter but I also think we need to seriously look at what
Charter has to offer and then and by March 3rd maybe we can make a decision then in the meantime then can you check with RS fiber you said Windom you meant winr Excuse me
yes okay the mayor is from winth yeah RS F they're in that RS fiber it's 10 little communities that had fiber for many years MH they went Belly Up winr has to pay $95,000 a year until the year
2037 okay by order of the Court okay the other community they're still in litigation M the amount they have to pay why didn't they make it I think one of the models is they tried to be an ISP the gentleman that was here from
Hutchinson he was in on that he was a competitor to that yes no he was in he part of it was I believe I believe he was a competitor I I will verify Council okay they didn't make it so
and just to follow up on Ricks can you also get in touch with City of Buffalo because my last report was they only got 15% of the clientele they were looking for on their City owned pyate Network y i we did I will I'll take that email or
that information out yeah because that's going to be very important too if if City of Buffalo you know similar size of Wilmer and they only got 15% of what they need that's going to put a lot of money on every body's property taxes going up here in
Walmer we still got a motion correct we have the motion read to us I'll withdraw the motion I'll wait till third or fifth okay the
the the one that made the motion and the second have withdrawn support are we okay to go ahead with what has been indicated to no I think Kyle needs
he needs guidance how about this I'll make a motion direct the city staff and City attorney to work with Charter Communications Spectrum in Hometown fiber on a commitment to offer Charter to offer fiber optic services to the industrial park establish a timeline for increased res Residential Services by
March 3rd 2025 and determine legal ramifications of what happens if we do that that's my motion second we got a motion in a second you okay with that all right I'm
good any further discussion R call council member Butterfield I shies Hi O hi Nelson hi Gilbertson hi Garder I
baggerly I and Davis I eight eyes zero nose motion thank you thank you mayor thank you councel all right next item on the agenda is request for joint work session on Monday March 24th and that the intent
is review the draft elements of the comprehensive plan I need a motion or discussion in regards to the Joint session okay the planning that's what I was just
wondering is it joint mean Planning Commission sir busy Mr Mr Mayor members of Council we are requesting a joint working session with planning Commissioners and um city council to yes okay move to approve second motion a
second discussion Tom what time are we looking at you know it is up to the council we're proposing either a day session or evening session we're not looking for any um any action at the meeting it's
just information only Justin I just want to point out that that is spring break week you I know that maybe on the Planning Commission there's folks with young children I know all of you guys are pretty old around here but just wanted to point that out
and insult all of you as well so well I would need it in the evenings if you guys wanted me to attend my schedu Audrey I'm okay with that but I would suggest that since there's more than just us you send it out to see who
can be there on that night on tomorrow we we are sending an email to planning Commissioners on their meeting tomorrow just ask us to respond who's going to show up I will all right well I've still got a motion in a second I believe
any further discussion roll call council member shes hi OS hi Nelson hi Gilbertson hi Gardner hi baggerly hi Davis I and Butterfield I
eight eyes zero nose that passes next is a closed session pursuant to Minnesota statute 1 1 d05 subdivision 3 to develop or consider
offers or Conner offers for the city's purchase or sale of real property Andor to determine the asking price for real property to be sold by the city legal basis for the closing is the portion of the regular meeting of the
city council will be closed pursuant to e e e e e e e
e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e