The Culver Town Council members approved a Request for Proposal (RFP) Tuesday night for an upcoming broadband project, under the condition that a funding solution can be determined.
Culver Town Manager Ginny Bess Munroe said the RFPs received were scored by the Culver Fiber Broadband Task Force and they recommended Surf Broadband Solutions for the council’s approval.
Munroe said the user package was competitive with a locked in rate for the entire time the agreement is in place. Broadband would be available to residents within the corporate limits of town.
Munroe recommended a joint session between the Culver Town Council and the Culver Redevelopment Commission to come up with a funding solution to pay for the town’s $531,023.17 investment in the project. Surf Broadband Solutions would put in $796,534.75 in the project. The joint session will be held Tuesday, August 2.
If all works out with the contract, the project could be complete by the end of the year.
In another project, a fiber hut project is planned in coordination with Marshall County. The commercial lease with the town was changed with the approval of Marshall County Fiber, LLC which allows future town council members to extend the contract beyond 25 years, if desired. That amendment was approved by the council.
Munroe explained that the purpose of the Fiber Hut is to allow Rochester Telephone Company and REMC to make broadband available to more rural areas around Culver. Space will be available for the town’s broadband project with Surf under an agreement with Marshall County Fiber, assuming the contract moves forward.
