Latest news with #PabloObregon
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Willmar to celebrate Juneteenth during Willmar Fests Block Party
Jun. 11---- The city of Willmar will be celebrating Juneteenth during the Willmar Fests Block Party. Juneteenth is a federal holiday honoring African American freedom and culture. The city of Willmar is joining in the celebration, transforming the Willmar Fests Block Party into a vibrant gathering of community, music and reflection, according to a news release from Willmar Community Growth Director Pablo Obregon. The holiday marks the day in 1865 when Major General Gordon Granger announced the emancipation of those enslaved in Texas, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, according to the news release. "This pivotal moment in American history symbolizes the ongoing pursuit of equality and justice," the news release states. The Willmar Fests Block Party begins at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 19, in downtown Willmar. The city will have a community table set up there for Juneteenth, offering free swag and fun giveaways while supplies last, and the band Dred I Dread will provide live reggae music. For more information, contact Obregon via phone or email at 320-894-2346 or .
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."
