Last updated on June 12, 2019
Charlemont Municipal Fiber Network, Selectboard Status Report, May 26, 2019
Summary
Project schedule still has considerable uncertainty, but hoping to be operational by the end of 2020.
Project is on budget, $184,386.10 has been expended to date out of the state grant funds, essentially unchanged since April. We continue to focus mainly on four areas of the project: utility make-ready work, finalizing critical aspects of the plan for the distribution network, construction of the network hub room in the town hall basement and make-ready on the exterior of the town hall. We have created a website for “Charlemont Connect” to begin to engage with residents to provide information and drive sign-ups.
Schedule
The overall schedule still has a lot of uncertainty, but we are hoping to have the network operational by the end of 2020.
After utility reconciliation is complete (hopefully in June), we should know more. This should give us a scheduled date for the utilities to complete the make-ready work so that construction of the distribution network can begin. We are currently estimating that the utilities will complete their work by March 2020.
Some of the utility applications have started to come back and WG+E is reviewing them and making site visits, working towards utility reconciliation.
Budget
So far, the project is on budget. An expense tracking report is available here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dh_kFVuKwnovJTOfEz86h4cxdb1348J0
The design and engineering have been completed slightly under budget. We have currently spent 19% of our make-ready budget on utility pole applications and related costs, but the bulk of the make-ready expenditures will occur this Summer. We can apply to the state for additional funding if our make-ready expenses exceed $620,000.
Working with Amy Wales, we are monitoring the project cash flow carefully to attempt to delay borrowing as long as possible. Ideally, we will complete make-ready without needing to start permanent borrowing, and borrowing will only be needed when construction of the distribution network begins in Spring, 2020. We have requested that the 2020 budget include some short-term interest in case we need to do some short-term borrowing to cover cash flow needs in June.
Utility make-ready work
Pole applications have been submitted to both Verizon and National Grid with WG+E acting as our pole agent. Some of our applications are started to come back. WG+E is reviewing and making site visits as necessary. We hope the reconciliation will be done in June.
We continue to work with National Grid on a final aerial license agreement incorporating terms requested by our town counsel.
Distribution Network
We are working on a number of tasks in preparing for putting our distribution network construction out to bid:
Hawk Hill Road / Deer Run Lane
WG+E completed designs and cost estimates for three solutions: one aerial, one underground and one mixed (part aerial, part underground). Surprisingly, the fully underground solution turned out to be the cheapest, so this is what we recommend going forward. We have consulted with the highway superintendent who didn’t see any problems with the underground solution. An information session was held with town residents on May 23, no one from Hawk Hill Road or Deer Run Lane objected to the underground solution.
Heath Stage Terrace
The homes on Heath Stage Terrace are served by underground (direct buried) utilities. WG+E prepared two detailed design proposals and cost estimates for the distribution network on this road. The estimated cost for an aerial solution (installing 10 new utility poles) is $32,900. The estimated cost for an underground solution is $48,000. An information session was held with town residents on May 23. The residents of Heath Stage Terrace are opposed to new utility poles. Many of the residents on the road attended the information session. They presented a petition signed by 21 residents residing at 15 of the 16 homes on Heath Stage Terrace.
Town Hall Interior
We have put the construction for the network hub room in the basement of the town hall out to bid through Andrea Woods at FRCOG. We will have a mandatory pre-bid meeting on June 11 at 10 am and bids are due by June 22.
The final design (plans and description):
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qEyo6-7JmZpd9XWx0BAEbPW-kbDtWKEq
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LeKr7qnW9Iim_84s_7Ag7f0I0sGA8oud
Full bid package:
http://charlemont-ma.us/sites/default/files/Attachments/rfq-20190621-charlemont-electronics-room.pdf
Town Hall Exterior
Working with WG+E, we are finalizing the design for the paths for the main distribution cables to reach the town network hub in the town hall basement. The design will cross Route 2 in the air and then use conduit to reach a buried “vault” for spare cable storage on the West side of the town hall (near the new generator). We have a verbal agreement from both abutters for this plan and we have easement documents and plans ready to be signed. We are in the process of local permitting with the Historic Commission, Conservation Commission, Planning Board, and ZBA. We expect the permitting to be completed in June. We are currently planning to do procurement ourselves rather than use FRCOG.
The broadband committee is also working with the fire chief on planning for the new town hall generator. We are doing the local permitting jointly (with a single site plan) to save money and effort and we will try to bid out the work together to save money. We are counting on the new generator to provide power backup to the network equipment room.
Final exterior site plan:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1Kqwo6MUlRiJHTLECVRTR2t9CZeqDvZYq
Neighboring town agreement with Rowe
We are working with Rowe on an agreement to provide access to cabling in Rowe to reach the upper end of Maxwell Road from Legate Hill Road via Tatro Road in Rowe. In exchange, Rowe is requesting access to cabling in Charlemont from the border on Zoar Road to the Charlemont town hall to be used by Rowe for redundant backhaul.
We have reached verbal agreement on a draft agreement, which we will bring before the select board. We are awaiting finalization of an agreement with Heath before proceeding.
Neighboring town agreement with Heath
We are working with Heath on an agreement to provide access to cabling in Heath to reach Warner Hill via a long route from South Heath Road in Charlemont through the Heath network to Warner Hill. This is the path followed by the existing electric utilities.
We are working with Heath on an agreement to provide access to cabling in Heath to reach Bassett Road from South Heath Road via South Road in Heath.
A draft agreement is in preparation, we hope to make progress with Heath on this in June.
Railroad crossings
We discovered that agreements with the railroad and annual lease fees are required for all railroad crossings not at public ways. We are working with WG+E to evaluate whether we should revise our distribution network design to avoid non-public-way railroad crossings and to find the most cost-effective solutions. Our initial design had four such crossings. We are also working with EOHED on this situation.
Charlemont Connect website
We want to publicize progress on the network build and begin to engage with residents directly as a way to drive sign-ups when the time comes. To this end, we have created an outward-facing web site www.charlemontconnect.org dedicated to the fiber network project. A first release is up and running, currently focused mainly on the status and progress of the network build. Doing this as a standalone site is allowing us to move quickly and to experiment with different forms and formats for resident engagement. We envision this web site eventually transitioning or being replaced by one provided by our ISP.
Glossary
Aerial License Agreement. The master contracts between the town and the utilities (separate contracts for National Grid and Verizon) covering the terms for leasing space on the utility poles.
Customer Connections / Drops. Cabling from the nearest distribution network tap (MST) to a network interface box on the outside of the house or building, then inside to another small unit (ONT) which is connected to a wireless (or optionally non-wireless) router that provides internet service. A “cold drop” includes just the cabling to the outside of the house without any inside wiring.
Distribution Network. The main fiber optic lines running from the network equipment room in the basement of the town hall and along most of the roads in town. The distribution network terminates at “taps” (called MSTs) located on utility poles near each serviceable house or structure.
ISP / Internet Service Provider. A company that provides internet service on a network and performs functions like billing and customer support. The town will contract with a third-party internet service provider to provide service to residents using the town network.
MLP / Municipal Lighting Plant. A legal entity created by the town to allow the town to supply internet service to residents. It is called a lighting plant because the applicable state laws were originally written to allow towns to create local electric utilities. The MLP functions much like a town department.
Utility Pole Lease. The town will lease 12 inches of space on most of the utility poles in town to allow us to run the fiber network throughout the town. We will pay an annual lease fee per pole.