Charlemont Municipal Fiber Network
Selectboard Status Report
October 21, 2019
Summary
We have received estimated completion dates from National Grid and Verizon for completing the make-ready work for the network. The utilities estimate all make-ready work will be complete by the end of October, 2020. Based on these dates, we hope to begin rolling out service to part of town in the first quarter of 2021 and have service in all parts of town by the end of 2021. The project is on budget. Our utility make-ready costs are coming in above the state estimate, which makes the town eligible for additional funding from the state Last-Mile Contingency Fund to cover the difference. We will apply for an advance of $400,000 or more from this fund which we anticipate receiving before the end of the year. With careful cash management, we believe we can defer town borrowing until fiscal 2021. We awarded the construction contract for the network hub room in the town hall basement and a second contract for installing conduit and the fiber vault outside of the town hall. The exterior work at the town hall should be completed this fall and the interior work before spring. We are working on preparatory tasks to allow us to put the construction contract for the distribution network out to bid in the spring.
Schedule
We have received estimated completion dates from National Grid and Verizon for completing the utility make-ready work. All work should be completed by the end of October, 2020. Based on these dates, we are hoping to begin offering service in parts of town by the end of March, 2021. Service to other parts of town should roll out during 2021 and we hope to have service to all areas of town by December, 2021. Currently, the utility make-ready work remains the gating item in the schedule.
Utility make-ready work
We have received work descriptions and make-ready invoices for 15 of our 16 applications to National Grid, along with all 16 of our original applications to Verizon (there is one supplemental application for 20 additional Verizon poles on South River Road). We expect to receive the last invoice from National Grid shortly. When we receive it, we will apply for additional funding from the state last-mile contingency fund.
We are monitoring the progress of the Mass DoT traffic calming project in the town center. Based on the current schedules, we believe the utility work for both the traffic calming project and the broadband project will be done concurrently during the summer of 2020. This is an efficient solution and should minimize taxpayer cost. The make-ready work for both projects are essentially being paid for with state funding, so this has limited impact on the town’s fiber network budget.
Budget
As was the case in a number of towns, the actual cost of the utility make-ready work for Charlemont will exceed the state’s estimated make-ready budget. Because of this, the town is eligible to apply for additional state funding from the EOHED Last-Mile Contingency Fund to cover our make-ready “overage”. We will apply this fall for an advance of contingency funds of at least $400,000 (the exact amount we are eligible for will depend on the amount of the last National Grid invoice). The town will also be eligible for additional money from the Last-Mile Contingency Fund beyond this advance when the network is complete.
Because the state has committed contingency funding to cover make-ready overages, the overall project remains essentially on budget. An expense tracking report is available here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dh_kFVuKwnovJTOfEz86h4cxdb1348J0
Financing
Currently, we have expended $597,672.30 out of the EOHED grant funds. Once we receive all of our make-ready invoices from National Grid, we will apply for an advance from the EOHED Last-Mile Contingency Fund. We anticipate receiving this additional funding within about 30 days after we apply and we will use it to help cover the remaining make-ready invoices.
Our expectation is that we will put the contract for construction of the distribution network out to bid in Spring, 2020. When we award that distribution network construction contract, this will trigger an additional $185,000 in grant funding under our existing EOHED grant contract which we anticipate receiving in this fiscal year. With careful cash management, we believe we can complete all ongoing work and avoid town borrowing until fiscal year 2021. We are in close contact with the town treasurer, finance committee and financial advisor (Unibank) to coordinate this.
A spreadsheet showing our current cash flow projections is available here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PUNbpXDyAxMue3TwMNj-H2OVWL9o0W9a
Cash flow to cover any deficits shown in the projections within the current fiscal year will be covered through the town stabilization fund or other float in the town accounts.
Distribution Network
We are working on a number of tasks in preparation for putting our distribution network construction out to bid:
Heath Stage Terrace
The homes on Heath Stage Terrace are served by underground (direct buried) utilities. We received initial cost estimates from WG+E for both aerial and underground solutions, but the underground solution was more expensive. We chose to put a potential underground solution out to bid to see if we could get a better price on the underground solution by using a local contractor to do the installation (rather than WG+E). Unfortunately, the bids received were not any cheaper than using WG+E for an underground installation. The broadband committee is recommending that a decision be made this fall on whether to go with an underground or aerial solution and then determine whether to solicit new bids in the spring or contract directly with WG+E.
Hawk Hill Road / Deer Run Lane
A half-mile section of Hawk Hill Road currently has underground utilities. We received quotes from WG+E for three solutions, the cheapest of which was fully underground at $44,000. We put this work out for quotes through FRCOG along with Heath Stage Terrace to see if we could potentially save money by using a local contractor for the installation work, but we did not receive any lower bids. We are planning to do this work in the spring and will determine then whether to solicit new bids or do the work through WG+E.
Town Hall Interior
We awarded the interior construction work on the network equipment room in the town hall basement to OBear Construction. We expect them to do the work this fall.
Town Hall Exterior
We awarded the exterior work to install conduit and the fiber vault to Danek Excavating. We have arranged for materials delivery from WG+E for October 23. The Charlemont highway department has agreed to unload the fiber vault, which will save us $500. We expect this work to be completed this fall.
Neighboring town agreement with Rowe
No change in status.
We have reached verbal consensus with Rowe 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 a 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
No change in status.
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.
Railroad crossings
Based on a review by WG+E an in consultation with EOHED, we are in the process of revising our distribution network design to try to eliminate all railroad crossings not at public ways and limit the number of public-way railroad crossings to two (one at Route 8A at Long Bridge and the other at the west end of Tower Road). There are four parts to the design changes. Each part is separate and they are going on in parallel:
- Long Bridge. The preferred solution requires National Grid to relocate one pole to allow us to make an unobstructed railroad crossing at Route 8A. Through WG+E, we are working with National Grid to see if this will make this change as part of our make-ready work. If not, then the second option is to install a single town-owned pole near the railroad tracks to provide a route for the crossing.
- South River Road. The preferred solution is to reroute the distribution network to reach South River Road using 20 Verizon-only utility poles on South River Road east of Berkshire East. Through WG+E, we completed the pole survey and have submitted a supplemental make-ready application to Verizon.
- Tower Road. The preferred solution is to extend the utility line on the west end of Tower Road to cross the railroad tracks and meet up with the existing utility line at the east end of Tower Road by installing 8 new town-owned utility poles. We have received a design from WG+E and an initial cost estimate for this change. The select board held a pole hearing and the installation of the new poles was approved. WG+E is preparing the necessary drawings to apply for the railroad crossing and we will work with Eagle1 Resources (a consulting firm) to help us apply for this railroad crossing as well as the one planned at Long Bridge.
- West Hawley Road. There is one house on West Hawley Road where the utilities reach the house via a non-public-way railroad crossing. We are currently evaluating alternative solutions for this house, including a potential wireless extension of the distribution network.
Reconnect Grant
With the approval and support of the select board, we applied for a USDA Reconnect grant. We applied under a combined grant/loan program for a matched grant and loan of up to $1,000,000 each. This grant is a long shot, but it was free to apply (outside of a couple hundred dollars in legal expenses). The USDA is behind in reviewing these grants, but we have been in contact with our local USDA representatives to monitor progress.
There are no updates on the status of our application.
Charlemont Connect website
We continue to communicate project status from our web site www.charlemontconnect.org, dedicated to the fiber network project. We are posting to this website regularly to communicate status and engage with residents. The website also pushes updates to the Charlemont Fiber Facebook page. In addition, there is a mailing list signup to allow for email notifications.
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.
Make-Ready Work. This is work to prepare a “path” for the distribution network to run throughout the town. Most of this work is done by the utilities (National Grid and Verizon) to make space on existing utility poles. In some cases, the town may perform make-ready work by installing new underground conduit (e.g. near the town hall or on Hawk Hill Road) or new utility poles (e.g. on the west end of Tower Road) to create a cost-effective path for the distribution 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.