Agenda Packets - 2015/06/08 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Item No: 7C Meeting Date: May 26, 2015 Type of Business: Council Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: James Ericson, City Administrator Item Title/Subject: Resolution 8415, a Resolution Approving an Exemption for CenturyLink to Install and Deploy Aerial Fiber Optic Facilities in Mounds View Backgroun: On May 4, 2015, CenturyLink representatives appeared before the City Council to review a request to be exempted from Mounds View City Code Section 911.05, which requires that all new or repaired utility facilities be located underground. The section of Code does provide the City Council with the discretion to approve an exemption in situations where undergrounding is not technically or economically feasible. CenturyLink asserts that undergrounding is not economically feasible at this time. The Council discussed the issue again at its meeting on May 11, 2015, moving to table the request after hearing testimony from a resident who shared concerns about workmanship and improper installation of the equipment. Direction was provided to meet with CenturyLink and Xcel inspectors to verify that the work was being done consistent with all pertinent requirements before that matter would be reconsidered by the City Council. The Council next discussed the request at their meeting on Tuesday, May 26, 2015. At that time, staff had confirmed that all inspections for previous work had been done and approved by Xcel inspectors and CenturyLink staff. Corrections were made in some areas to minimize the impact of additional guy wires. CenturyLink asked for a clarification on the terms of the exemption, specifically, the aspect that would allow the new fiber optic lines to be hung from poles ONLY in the event the facilities are already sited above ground. Where the facilities are already underground, no exemption would be granted. The company did not support this provision, indicating that there were areas (such as rear-yard easement areas) where it would be impractical and prohibitively expensive to underground the new facilities. The City Council directed staff to once again work with CenturyLink to arrive at a compromise, and postponed action until the June 8th meeting. Discussion: On May 29, 2015, staff met with Aaron Krebs from CenturlyLink in an effort to bring about a mutually agreeable compromise to the exemption terms. Mr. Krebs provided detailed maps and plans illustrating where existing easements were and where the present facilities were located either above or below ground. Aside from the illustrations, Mr. Krebs did not come prepared to compromise on the terms however, suggesting that if required to underground in any area, the company would simply subtract those areas from the project, reducing the number of households that could access the faster connection speeds.