Latest news with #ConnectWillmarInitiative
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Willmar City Council approves amendment to Connect Willmar service agreement
Apr. 22---- The on Monday in a split 7-1 vote approved an amendment to the city's service agreement with the engineering firm Bolton & Menk for design services for the Through the design phase of the fiber internet project, it was discovered that there are 76 parcels within phase one of the project area that do not have documented right of way and easements for city utilities, according to Willmar City Operations Director Kyle Box. He explained that the utility easements are not only needed for the , but also for upcoming street and utility improvement projects. Survey services are needed to establish and record these project needs. Councilor Carl Shuldes made the motion to approve the amendment to the service agreement; Councilor Tom Butterfield seconded. Both voted in favor, along with Councilors Stephen Gardner, Tom Gilbertson, Audrey Nelsen, Justin Ask and Vicki Davis. Voting against the motion was Councilor Rick Fagerlie, who has consistently voted against the Connect Willmar Initiative. The Connect Willmar Initiative is the city's plan to construct a city-owned, open-access fiber-optic network throughout the city in three phases, with the first phase to be constructed in 2025 and the next two phases scheduled for construction in 2026 and 2027. will manage the network, which will allow internet service providers to lease access to the network to provide internet services to residents and businesses. Phase one of the Connect Willmar Initiative includes the and residential and business neighborhoods that are north of 19th Avenue, south of the railroad tracks and west of First Street. The current contract with Bolton & Menk for design services for phase one of the Connect Willmar Initiative, is $403,000. The additional costs are estimated to be $100,000 for a total of $503,000.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Willmar Council rejects Charter offer, continues city fiber-optic project instead
Mar. 4---- The on Monday in a split 4-3 vote approved a motion declining to accept the offer by to end the Councilor Carl Shuldes made the motion, which was seconded by Councilor Vicki Davis. Both voted in favor of the motion, along with councilors Justin Ask and Tom Gilbertson. Voting against the motion were councilors Stephen Gardner, Tom Butterfield and Rick Fagerlie. Councilor Audrey Nelsen was absent from the meeting. "I think it's time for the council to make a decision," Shuldes said when making the motion. " ... I think the people of Willmar have spoken very loudly, very clearly, they want this to happen, and I'm in agreement with that." This decision comes after Charter, which does business in Willmar under the name Spectrum, on Feb. 7 sent a letter to the Willmar mayor and council stating that Charter would build out a fiber-optic network in the at no cost to the city, but only if the city stopped its plan to construct a city-owned, open-access fiber-optic network throughout the whole city. Charter also promised to upgrade its existing network to provide better, faster and more reliable service to Willmar businesses and residents. Four Willmar residents spoke in favor of the Connect Willmar Initiative during the public comment portion of the meeting. "My concern with what Charter is offering is not to provide better service to the residents, but to eliminate healthy competition for the residents of Willmar," said resident Jim Miller, who said he is a retired information technology professional. "I'm excited about what is offered with the fiber project, but I'm concerned that the tactics that are being used by Charter are not in the best interest of the city of Willmar." "I wasn't really surprised that Charter stepped up. I was just disappointed that they didn't get involved at the very start," said David Feist, who was representing TPI Hospitality. "They still have the option to be a provider, but instead, they've been an opponent to this project from the very start. And to me, it seems very transparent what their motivation is." TPI Hospitality owns Best Western Plus, the Willmar Conference Center, Holiday Inn Express, Country Inn and Suites, Ruff's Sports Bar and Green Mill. Feist noted that even though Charter is promising to build out fiber in the WIllmar Industrial Park and upgrade its services throughout the city at no cost to the taxpayers, Charter will recoup its costs in the form of fees and increased charges. "It's not very often, at least to my knowledge, that a government entity has the ability to create a revenue source, and it's not tax-based, and also has the ability to help the residents and the business community in opening access up to competition," Feist continued. "From my perspective, it's a win-win — the city gets a revenue stream ... and then, also, the residents and the businesses see the benefit of competition, which should mean lower rates." Research and planning for the Connect Willmar Initiative began two years ago after the city issued a request for proposals to build out fiber-optic services in the industrial park and the city accepted proposal to build the citywide network; Charter did not submit a proposal. The city of Willmar, the Willmar Broadband Committee and Hometown Fiber have invested approximately $650,000 and countless human resource and volunteer hours on the initiative. The $24.5 million project will be funded with general obligation bonds, which, with interest, will be closer to $31 million. Fees paid by internet service providers who wish to operate on the network will be used to pay the principal and interest payments on the bonds, as well as the costs for network maintenance and operations. Members of the Willmar Broadband Committee include councilors Butterfield and Ask, Willmar residents with experience in the field of internet technology Dave Sisser and Larry Fujan, and four city of Willmar staff members. They include Dave Hillenbrand, communications and multimedia technician; Jonah Johnson, information systems coordinator; Planning and Development Director Christopher Corbett; and City Operations Director Kyle Box. A memo from the Willmar Broadband Committee included in the City Council's meeting packet "strongly" suggested that the city move forward with the Connect Willmar Initiative. "Charter Communications does not need Council approval to apply for a permit or install fiber in the industrial park, nor do they need approval to provide existing customers with higher internet speeds, more reliable services or competitive rates," the memo states. "Pausing this initiative goes against the community's need to increase service providers and offer more options to residents and business owners." The memo goes on to state, "While there are risks associated with this endeavor, they are minimal compared to the inaction of private interests, which has added cost burdens to residents and businesses relying on an unreliable and dated coax network." It notes that evaluations of the initiative show that it will yield returns that could be reinvested in the city and will provide a "more superior system than what is currently offered elsewhere in the state" and "forward-thinking cities must explore initiatives to create an environment that attracts and retains businesses and residents for growth." Box shared a simplified chart at the meeting sharing the financials of how the Connect Willmar Initiative will be funded and how it will generate revenue. "Ultimately, we have conservative goals and numbers put in place in the pro forma to ensure that the Connect Willmar project isn't going to overpromise and underdeliver," Box said. He noted that it will take several years to get to the 40% take rate, which is the percentage of households and businesses that sign up for service on the network. However, the Connect Willmar Initiative is still expected to generate millions of dollars in revenue for the city. Fagerlie, Gardner and Butterfield remain skeptical that the Connect Willmar Initiative will be successful. Gardner also questioned, "What other monopolies are we going to go after next?" However, other councilors agreed that the initiative is providing needed infrastructure for the city to provide better services for residents and businesses. They also argued that the initiative does not prevent Charter from continuing to do business or upgrading its services in the community. The West Central Tribune reached out to Charter for comment following the meeting. Charter will no longer be installing fiber-optic lines in the Willmar Industrial Park, but it does intend to continue its plan to upgrade its services beginning in 2026, according to Mike Hogan, senior director of public relations. "Spectrum's commitment to serving the Willmar community is unwavering," he said in an email response. " ... Spectrum and our team of local employees will continue to advance our comprehensive plans to enhance our network infrastructure, including our commitment to provide reliable, high-speed internet service with symmetrical and multi-gigabit speeds."
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Willmar City Council declines Charter Communications offer in 4-3 vote
Mar. 3---- The on Monday in a split 4-3 vote approved a motion declining to accept the offer by to end the Councilor Carl Shuldes made the motion, which was seconded by Councilor Vicki Davis. Both voted in favor of the motion, along with councilors Tom Gilbertson and Justin Ask. Voting against the motion were councilors Rick Fagerlie, Tom Butterfield and Stephen Gardner. Councilor Audrey Nelsen was absent from the meeting. Four Willmar residents spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting in favor of the Connect Willmar Initiative. "I think the people of Willmar have spoken very loudly, very clearly, they want this to happen, and I'm in agreement with that," Shuldes said when making the motion to continue forward with the Connect Willmar Initiative. This decision comes after Charter, which does business in the city under the name Spectrum and is the city's largest provider of internet and cable television services, on stating that Charter would build out a fiber-optic network in the at no cost to the city, but only if the city stopped its plan to construct a city-owned, open-access fiber-optic network throughout the whole city. Charter also promised to upgrade its existing network to provide better, faster and more reliable service to Willmar businesses and residents. After sending out a request for proposals to build out fiber-optic services in the industrial park, the city accepted proposal to build the citywide network; Charter did not submit a proposal. The city of Willmar, with the assistance of the Willmar Broadband Committee and Hometown Fiber, has been researching and planning the Connect Willmar Initiative for two years and has invested approximately $650,000 and countless human resource and volunteer hours on the initiative. The $24.5 million project will be funded with general obligation bonds, which, with interest, will be closer to $31 million. Fees paid by internet service providers who wish to operate on the network will be used to pay the principal and interest payments on the bonds, as well as the costs for network maintenance and operations. A memo from the Willmar Broadband Committee was included in the City Council's packet of meeting materials "strongly" suggesting that the City Council move forward with the Connect Willmar Initiative. "Charter Communications does not need Council approval to apply for a permit or install fiber in the industrial park, nor do they need approval to provide existing customers with higher internet speeds, more reliable services or competitive rates," the memo states. "Pausing this initiative goes against the community's need to increase service providers and offer more options to residents and business owners." The memo goes on to state, "While there are risks associated with this endeavor, they are minimal compared to the inaction of private interests, which has added cost burdens to residents and businesses relying on an unreliable and dated coax network." It notes that evaluations of the initiative show that it yields returns that could be reinvested in the city and provides a "more superior system than what is currently offered elsewhere in the state" and "forward-thinking cities must explore initiatives to create an environment that attracts and retains businesses and residents for growth." This is a breaking news update from Monday's meeting. More about the discussion will be published later on
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Willmar, Minnesota, among many communities constructing municipally-owned fiber-optic networks
Feb. 28---- Charter Communications, Willmar's largest internet and cable television provider, sent a letter to the city of Willmar and the on Feb. 7 asking it to stop its , which the city has been researching and planning for two years. In exchange, promises to build out fiber-optic service in the and enhance its services throughout the city of Willmar. The Connect Willmar Initiative started two years ago after the city sent out a request for proposals to build out fiber in the industrial park. Charter did not submit a proposal at that time, and the city chose Hometown Fiber's proposal to construct a citywide, open-access fiber-optic network. Along with the letter, Charter has targeted Willmar residents with Facebook ads, and a mailer from the has been sent to Willmar residents stating the city will "burn your tax dollars" if it moves forward with the initiative. The Alliance for Quality Broadband on its website says it is "supporting high-quality internet solutions," and Charter is one of its coalition partners. Charter did the same thing in Maine, successfully defeating at least two municipal broadband projects in Readfield and Southport, according to on opposition to Maine's municipal broadband efforts "funded by the big internet service providers that have long refused to expand their networks." The Connect Superior project in Superior, Wisconsin, is a similar project to the Connect Willmar Initiative. According to an email from Superior Mayor Jim Paine, Charter used the same tactics it is currently using in Willmar to try to put a stop to that project. Other organizations, such as the MacIver Institute and the Wisconsin Cable Communication Association, also conducted targeted campaigns to stop Connect Superior. The MacIver Institute, "a Wisconsin-based think tank that promotes free markets, individual freedoms, personal responsibility and limited government," wrote about the Connect Superior Initiative in calling the Connect Superior Initiative a "boondoggle" and saying the cost of the initiative had "exploded" to $52.6 million from its original estimate of $31 million. "Connect Superior's estimated costs did not rise from $31 million to $52.6 million. Those are different versions of the same story and represent the same number," Paine said, noting the city conducted two studies for its project — a preliminary master plan and a feasibility study. " ... Both presumed an eventual take rate (percentage of households that will subscribe to the network) of about 60% after the entire network was built out." He further explained that the estimated construction costs of the project include connecting to each home and that cost would fluctuate depending on the take rate. "The master plan estimates the construction cost for 60% of the city, while the feasibility study estimated the cost to connect the entire city," he continued. "In other words, it will cost $52 million if every homeowner and business wants to connect, but if only 60% want to connect, the cost is $31 million." He added that it was also worth noting that users pay for the service and a 60% take rate is more than adequate to fund construction and operations of the network. If 100% of residents sign up, it brings in more revenue for the city, which can either reduce the cost of the service or be used toward reduced taxes or other services. The Connect Superior construction is 100% union-based and coming in under budget, according to Paine. The first customers can begin signing up for the network this spring and the city expects to hit a take rate of 40%, but Paine noted it will take several months to accomplish. "Connect Superior is not yet active, so it hasn't succeeded or failed," Paine said. "Charter continues to provide a slow, unreliable service using obsolete technology at steadily increasing costs. Charter is a failed private internet project." During a Feb. 10 Willmar City Council work session regarding the Connect Willmar Initiative, Jason Jenkins, vice president of open access at Silver Star Communications, compared internet service providers who continue to run their services on coaxial cable to Kodak. "You may have heard of a number of companies over time that failed to adapt, and they've been eliminated. Right?" he said. "I was just reminding myself of the story of Kodak." He noted that in 1997 Kodak had 160,000 employees and held 75% to 80% of the market for photographic needs. "In a relatively short period of time, (by) 2012, they filed for bankruptcy because they couldn't adapt to the digital camera environment, the evolution of the cellphone and everything else — it just couldn't change fast enough," Jenkins said.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Willmar City Council to hear more about proposal from Charter Communications
Feb. 28---- The is expected to hear details of a proposed agreement between the city and at its meeting on Monday, March 3. The meeting takes place at 6:30 p.m. in the boardroom at the Kandiyohi County Health and Human Services building, 2200 23rd St. N.E. in Willmar. The agreement generally would be for the city of Willmar to terminate the , a plan to build a citywide, open-access fiber-optic network, in favor of a guarantee by Charter Communications to build out fiber in the and enhance its services throughout the rest of the community at no cost to the city. This would save the city from bonding $24.5 million for the Connect Willmar Initiative, but also allow Charter to continue its near monopoly on internet service in the city of Willmar. Throughout the two-year planning and research process for the Connect Willmar Initiative, there have been a lot of examples of "failed" municipal networks that have been brought up as Willmar has analyzed the feasibility of its project. The discussion surrounding the "failed" municipal networks is that they have saddled taxpayers with debt that should not have been accrued in the first place — and that municipalities should not be competing with private businesses that provide those services at "no cost to the taxpayer." However, the Connect Wilmar Initiative is expected to increase Willmar's tax base by giving the community choices for fiber-optic internet service and spurring economic development. It is also expected to provide choices for affordable internet services for low-income households and small businesses. Willmar Community Growth Director Pablo Obregon agrees that the Connect Willmar Initiative provides for equity and inclusion, noting that Justice Walker, the former planning and development director, included that in his vision when planning for the project first started. It is expected to provide affordable internet options while also removing a barrier for startup or small internet service providers to compete with large telecommunications companies. These are all things that the Willmar City Council will have to weigh as it considers whether or not moving forward with the Connect Willmar Initiative is providing public infrastructure or risking taxpayer dollars on something that should be left to private business. The Minnesota examples used for "failed" municipal networks — or those that have not performed as well as financially expected and relied on taxpayer funds to continue to make debt payments — are projects that do not precisely compare to what is being proposed by the city of Willmar, according to the discussions that have taken place during council meetings and work sessions throughout the two-year planning process. Willmar's network, as planned, would be the first municipal open-access network in the state. The examples used are municipalities that have become an internet service provider that owns, operates, maintains and provides services on the municipal network. Some of the networks have been fiber-optic networks and others are networks operated on coaxial cable. For the Connect Willmar Initiative, the city would own the infrastructure for the open-access fiber-optic network and Hometown Fiber would operate and manage the network. Multiple internet service providers will pay a fee to use the network to provide a variety of options for service for Willmar residents and businesses. The $24.5 million project will be funded with general obligation bonds, which, with interest, will be closer to $31 million. The fees paid by the ISPs will be used to pay the principal and interest payments on the bonds, as well as the costs for network maintenance and operations. To be financially successful, the initiative needs a take rate — the percentage of households and businesses that sign up on the network — of more than 30%. That take rate is achievable, according to the feasibility studies that have taken place. The Connect Willmar Initiative is expected to pay for itself, without taxpayer subsidies, while offering the community choice in ISPs and reducing the cost of internet service. The initiative is planned to be constructed in three phases, with the first phase proposed to be constructed in 2025 at an estimated cost of $9.2 million. It will install fiber in the Willmar Industrial Park and east to First Street between 19th Avenue Southwest and the BNSF Railway tracks. The network operations center will also be constructed during this phase. If the first phase does not perform as well as the city expects, phases two and three may be delayed or terminated. The Willmar City Council during its work session on Feb. 10 heard examples of municipal and private open-access projects that are successful from Jason Jenkins, vice president of open access at Silver Star Communications. Jenkins specializes in open-access consulting and designing and building open-access networks. SilverLight Fiber Network, a division of Silver Star Communications, is expected to be one of the ISPs that participates on Willmar's open-access network. Two cities in Idaho have successfully constructed and operate municipal open-access networks — Idaho Falls and Ammon. Jenkins focused on Idaho Falls, which started providing residential access to its network in 2019 and completed the build-out to reach all of its residential neighborhoods last year. noted that Idaho Falls Information Systems Foreman Jace Yancy commented that approaching broadband as public infrastructure means fiber will reach every neighborhood in the city, not just those where a private company thinks the biggest profits can be had. "It's not going to be a service that just the nice areas or the rich have," Yancey is quoted in the story. SilverLight Fiber Network is currently building out open-access networks in Rexburg, Idaho, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Mayfield, Idaho, and working with 15 additional entities — cities and counties, as well as developers — pursuing open-access fiber-optic networks, according to Jenkins. The take rates of the open-access networks with which SilverLight works are 30% to 40%, with additional growth of 15% over time as residents "get the message" and see the value of fiber and open-access. There are throughout the United States, according to Community Broadband Networks, a program of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, "a national research and advocacy nonprofit focused on fighting corporate control and building an American economy driven by local priorities."
