Broadband Commission continues discussion at planning meeting

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

Fast, affordable and reliable.

That’s a trifecta when it comes to internet service.

Those are some of the benefits that Charles City residents could experience if a broadband proposal would be greenlighted by City Council members after another planning session took place on Tuesday.

The future ramifications for growth could be tremendous, according to the majority of attendees — which included all five council members and Mayor Dean Andrews.

“We’re really talking about building a new road. This is a infrastructure highway into the future,” said Broadband Commission Chairman Mark Wicks.

At stake is an $11.5 million dollar proposal for a “fiber to the home” solution for providing internet services to the citizens and businesses of Charles City. The cost of that $11.5 million would eventually be covered by the services sold to customers, if everything works out as planned.

There is a need for new and improved service, according to a market study conducted by Curtis Dean of Smart Source consulting. He found that almost 83 percent of Charles City residents surveyed would switch to the community network.

The Broadband Commission is now entering and deliberating whether to move forward into Phase 3 of the proposed project, which focuses on design engineering, marketing and financing. The cost of this phase is estimated at  $306,979.

Phase I dealt with the market study and Phase 2 centered on the feasibility of the discussed broadband project, which was completed last November.

One of the most critical measures of the broadband project’s success would be how many people would sign up for the service.

Based on the numbers projected by consultant Eric Lampland of Lookland Communications, that would mean 44 percent of residents and 35 percent of businesses would need to add the service for the project to break even.

That comes out to an overall break-even point or “take rate” of 37 percent, which he said most communities that use this type of broadband internet service have far exceeded.

One possible option is for Charles City to join services with New Hampton, which would reduce cost. Other cities such as Cedar Falls, Mason City, along with New Hampton, could be other options as well and could create a “full ring of reliability,” according to Lampland. Dean is currently working on gauging interest from other parties in joining in a partnership with Charles City.

One potential snag is the fact Charles City does not own its own municipal electric utility. Brought up at the meeting would be who would run the city utility or whether it would be contracted out. Dean said that the town of Reinbeck is the only other town that he has worked with in Iowa that does not own its own utility.

One of the questions posed at the meeting was “what’s best for the community?” Another key statement was that “broadband is like a road” and to not have that service “is like not having a highway.”

Wicks elaborated on what a super-fast broadband connection could mean for the community of Charles City.

“If you want to recruit new business and industry going into the future, this is going to be something they’re really going to take a look at and see what Charles City has to offer,” said Wicks.

Council member Jerry Joerger was optimistic about the potential positive impact it could have on the community, but also realizes that there is still uncertainty with the endeavor.

“It’s not without risk. I know there’s some icy  waters out there that we need to navigate but it’s got some good potential,” said Joerger. “I think it’s something we should pursue.”

If the commission would proceed to Phase 3 of the project, Phase 4 would be the build stage, with the last stage or phase being operations.

Also at the meeting, City Administrator Steve Diers announced the hire of Sarah Merrifield as the new director of the Foster Grandparents Program in town. She currently works at the Iowa State Extension Office in New Hampton. She lives in Charles City and will begin her new job on June 18. She replaces longtime director Mary Litterer, who recently announced her retirement from the position.

Other items on the city’s agenda that were discussed would be the purchase of a new mobile water meter reading system for the Water Department. That cost is estimated to be a little over $19,000.

A request to have the city’s storm sewer system mapped out was made. That cost was quoted as $60,000 for the survey information and mapping. Midland GIS Solutions has already mapped the city’s water main and sanitary sewer system.

Sisson and Associates brought to the council’s attention cyber security and liability should there be a hack into the city’s computer systems.

Also, more discussion centered on what type of bridge the city wants to build to replace the Charley Western Trail.