The Communications and Information Technology Committee approved three agreements Thursday to set the stage for Superior's high-speed Internet utility.
Mi-Tech was chosen to engineer 170 miles of the network to expand broadband to the entire city.
"Up until now, we have worked almost exclusively with Entrust, but since this was a new situation, we did put out an RFP (request for proposals) for engineers with the goal of engineering the entire city," said Stephanie Becken, broadband manager. "We had a great turnout. We had seven proposals that came in."
Entrust Solutions submitted the highest-cost proposal. The low bidder did not include as much on-site presence as needed, so it wasn't considered, Becken said. Mi-Tech was the second-lowest bidder and rose to the top, she said.
The city had erred in asking for a proposal that covered 100 miles, so Mi-Tech was asked to correct its estimate to cover 170 miles for the fiber optic network.
Adding the extra 70 miles took the price from about $554,000 to a little over $756,000 for the design work to build the network that will reach every home and business in Superior.
The design will help decide which phases to build next, Becken said.
Councilor Tylor Elm asked if it was fair to everyone else who bid on the project that Mi-Tech was allowed to make the adjustment.
"They all did bid on the same thing," Becken said.
The committee also approved an agreement for maintenance and for connecting individual homes and businesses in the pilot project area.
Hanco Utilities, which is building the initial network east of Tower Avenue between Belknap and North 21st streets, came in with the low bid of a little more than $1 million.
Once people sign up for ConnectSuperior, Hanco Utilities will make the final connection to the home or business to connect people to the network, Becken said.
Becken said the cost estimate for the connections portion of the contract is about $1.06 million, but that is based on the estimate of 333 new users opting to connect to the system and the number could change.
With Hanco being located in the city, Becken said Hanco would provide a fast response time in the event of a break in the fiber and would keep equipment for the city network on hand.
The final agreement allows ConnectSuperior to manage the business side of the network's hub.
E-Plus was the sole bidder for the fiber business network and operating support software with a bid of about $159,000.
Becken said the goal is to order the equipment quickly so it can be installed around the same time other equipment is installed in the network hub.
All three agreements will be considered by the Superior City Council on Nov. 19.
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