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• Loveland City Council Approves Broadband Utility

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  LOVELAND, Nov. 6, 2018 – The Loveland City Council on Tuesday adopted a resolution establishing a City-owned retail broadband utility with regional collaboration, and then acted to direct city staff to secure financing instruments to build and operate a broadband network. The 7-1 vote had Council members Richard Ball, Leah Johnson, Dave Clark, John Fogle, Steve Olson, Don Overcash and Kathi Wright supporting the measure, with Mayor Jacki Marsh opposed. Councilor Jeremy Jersvig abstained.

  The resolution provides that the City will build, own and operate its own broadband network and will seek collaboration with regional partners such as Fort Collins and Longmont to share resources to save time and money. Ordinances pertaining to bond issuance, operating structure and governance will be prepared for review at future meetings. The bonding process will take 60 days following approval of the bond issuance ordinance and network construction is estimated to take three years to complete.

  Councilors on Oct. 23 received updates on a series of measures they had approved Feb. 6 including the broadband business plan, financing package and results from an eight-month community education and outreach effort. They also received a unanimous recommendation from the Loveland Communications Advisory Board (LCAB), an advisory board on all issues and matters related to communications services, to move forward with the broadband project.

  During the Oct. 23 meeting City Council voted 5-4 to refer the issue to voters in a special election. They also requested that City staff reevaluate key issues relating to the municipal broadband initiative in advance of the Nov. 6 meeting, including:

  • Issues related to competition between a government utility and the private sector.

  • Eventual use of surplus revenues.

  • Interaction of the Loveland broadband utility with neighboring municipal broadband utilities.

  • Steps to mitigate risk.

  • Best practices in delegation of authority.

  Following a City staff presentation of these reevaluated issues Tuesday night, City Council members reconsidered their earlier action to refer the issue to voters, vacating it with a 7-2 vote. Council members then approved the resolution to move ahead with the retail broadband initiative.

  The City has invested $2.75 million during the past four years to study the feasibility of its broadband initiative, identify potential business models to provide municipal broadband and to secure a build-ready design for the network.

  Additional details and document archives are available at cityofloveland.org/Broadband, by email at broadband@cityofloveland.org or by telephone, 970-962-2010.

• City of Loveland Selects Broadband Underwriter

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  The City of Loveland has selected J.P. Morgan as the senior managing underwriter for the broadband project. The contract was awarded on Aug. 23 after reviewing 15 RFP responses received by the May 11 deadline.

  J.P. Morgan will begin working with the City this week, advising broadband staff on bonding packages and risk mitigation associated with the project. These recommendations will be presented to City Council on Oct. 23 along with a final broadband network design and updated business plan. J.P. Morgan will begin the process of issuing bonds if council approves community broadband.

  
  

  Bonds would be used to cover initial project costs including network buildout, operations, branding and marketing and would be repaid exclusively through service fees from City of Loveland broadband customers.

  
  

  “J.P. Morgan was the clear choice for us on this project. Their level of experience with public power and broadband specific projects and commitment to our goals and timeline allows us to move forward in the right direction and present the best possible bonding options,” said Brieana Reed-Harmel, broadband project manager and senior electrical engineer with Loveland Water and Power.

  
  

  Over the past seven months, the City’s broadband team has been diligently working to move forward on a series of measures approved by Loveland City Council members Feb. 6. Securing an underwriter is the final measure before the project goes back before council. The staff has been working with Nokia on the broadband network design since June, the Loveland Communication Advisory Board was approved by council July 3, and a community education campaign has been underway since May.

  
  

  As activity ramps up ahead of the Oct. 23 City Council meeting, Loveland residents and businesses are encouraged to stay connected with the broadband team by asking questions and voicing opinions. Several community talks are underway beginning at 6 p.m., Aug. 30 at the Loveland Chamber of Commerce, and details about an Oct. 4 Town Hall will be announced soon.

  
  

  Additional details and engagement tools for the community are available at CityofLoveland.org/Broadband, by email at broadband@cityofloveland.org or by telephone, 970-962-2010.

  
  

• Loveland Communications Advisory Board named

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  City Council appointed nine members to the new Loveland Communications Advisory Board (LCAB) on July 3, 2018. The LCAB serves as an advisory body to City Council on matters related to City communications services including high-speed broadband services.

  The City of Loveland received 30 applications during the recruitment cycle from April 5 to May 7. Each applicant completed a written interview and the final 15 candidates completed in-person interviews with City staff and council liaisons. The following candidates were selected:

  • Brian Martisius, Vi Wickam and Tom McInerney - one-year term
  • Adam Auriemmo, JD Walker and Paul Langfield – two-year terms
  • Korey Streich, David Hetrick and Richard Bilancia - three-year terms
  • John Fogle, Don Overcash, Dave Clark (alternate) - Council Liaisons
  • Loveland Water and Power Director Joe Bernosky - Staff Liaison

  The LCAB will meet at 4 p.m. on the second Wednesday of every month, with the first meeting on July 11. Meetings are located at the Service Center Willow Room at Loveland Water and Power, 200 N. Wilson Ave. For meeting agendas and minutes, visit www.cityofloveland.org/LCAB.

  
  

• Loveland Broadband Team Awards Network Design Contract to Nokia

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  Tuesday, June 5, was a big night for the broadband project. City Council authorized a contract award for network design and engineering services to Nokia.

  What does this mean for the project? This means that over the next several months, Nokia, with guidance from city staff, will be developing a network design to run fiber past every home and business in the City of Loveland. The end product will provide a more accurate cost for construction and a design that is ready for construction to start. This will be a modified design/build contract with a clear stop between the design phase and the build phase. Information will be brought back to City Council when costs are known and City Council will decide if and how the city will proceed with broadband.

  What else is the broadband team working on? The resolution passed by City Council on February 6^th, 2018, authorized staff to start working on a number of items:

  • We are ramping up the education and outreach to staff and to the community. Several internal and external presentations have already been given and more are planned in the near future.
  • The finance team is working on refining the financial model. We are also evaluating an underwriter to provide costs and options for a potential bond.
  • Applications for the Loveland Communications Committee (LCAB) are being evaluated and interviews will follow in the next couple of weeks.

  Want to know more? Send us an email or engage and ask questions at www.cityofloveland.org/broadband