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HomeMy WebLinkAboutVIII-07 Accept Permanent Utility Easement agreements - Hiawatha Broadband Communications - Pleasant, Dakota Hills, South Pines, Tuttle, Riverwood, Greten, and Cannon Parks City Council Memorandum To: Mayor Fasbender & City Council Members From: Cody Mathisen – Principal Engineer Date: April 24, 2023 Item: Accept Permanent Utility Easement Agreements – Hiawatha Broadband Communications – Pleasant, Dakota Hills, South Pines, Tuttle, Riverwood, Greten, and Cannon Parks Council Action Requested: Enclosed for Council consideration are 7 Permanent Utility Easement Agreements, officially granting Hiawatha Broadband Communications access rights to install and maintain in perpetuity small areas of Pleasant, Dakota Hills, South Pines, Tuttle, Riverwood, Greten, and Cannon Parks for their facilities. Background Information: Hiawatha Broadband Communications (“HBC”) has been installing a new fiber optic network throughout the City to provide an alternative internet service option to residents since the summer of 2021. As part of their ongoing project, HBC would like to use a small portion of 7 separate city parks to install utility cabinets that will serve as the local hubs of their network. The small portions of land that are being granted for these easements are all on the border of road right-of-way, and will not impact any space within these parks that is currently used for recreation. While the easements range in size, on average 20 feet by 25 feet, the cabinets that will actually be installed in these spaces only have a footprint of approximately 3 feet by 5 feet, and will stand approximately 4 feet off the ground. On September 7th 2021, Council approved a resolution to grant a similar easement to HBC within Pioneer Park for the construction of their primary central cabinet. The cabinets that will be installed at the seven sites being considered with this resolution are considerably smaller than this central cabinet. City Engineering and Parks Department Staff, as well as legal staff under the direction of City Attorney Kori Land, have reviewed the easements and provided comments for HBC to address. All comments have been addressed in the documents provided. Financial Impact: Due to the public benefit, the City is providing these easements at no cost to HBC. HBC has paid fees for its network installation as part of both the City’s standard Right-of-Way permit process and a separate escrow account to cover Staff time spent reviewing plans and inspecting the installation. Attachments:  (7) Permanent Utility Easement Agreements – Each Easement Contains 2 Exhibits: o Exhibit A – Legal Description of Permanent Easement Area o Exhibit B – Depiction of Permanent Easement Area VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 VIII-07 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7 V I I I - 0 7