Holland looks to high

Dec 01, 2023

HOLLAND — With the passage of the broadband bond proposal Tuesday, Holland Board of Public Works received the green light to get to work on a city-wide fiber-optic internet network.

"It's a very exciting project for the city, and I'm very pleased that the Holland city voters chose to allow us to move forward with that," said Holland Mayor Nathan Bocks at a recent city council meeting. "I'm sure that the Holland Board of Public Works is going to live up to their motto of 'Local. Reliable. Efficient. Essential,' not only with water, wastewater, electricity and broadband in part of the city but now broadband in the entire city.

"Congratulations to the people of the city of Holland."

The bond proposal voters approved by 213 votes, 3,948-3,735, authorized HBPW to issue up to $30 million in bonds — a figure the city has said was "conservative," meaning the actual bond could be several million dollars less — to finance the public network that will go past every address in Holland.

The bond and millage will not pay for the cost for individual households to connect to the network. If they want to access the 10-gigabit-capable speeds of Holland City Fiber, as the project has been dubbed, the connection fee will be approximately $820. HBPW expects to be able to offer an installment plan to spread that cost over a number of years.

The network will be open-access, meaning the city of Holland will own the cables in the ground and overhead, while private internet service providers will be able to use the fiber-optic network to deliver service to homes and businesses that choose to connect. The pitch to residents was that the open-access model will lower prices by creating competition and making it easy for new and nimble companies to enter the Holland market.

Taxpayers will pay off the debt created by the bond with a property tax millage. The actual millage amount will depend on the specifications of the bond financing, which the city has yet to determine. The estimate provided to voters was 1.5 mills in the first year of the tax, with reductions as the debt is reduced over the years, for an average of 1.12 mills. If the total bond dollar figure is lower, the millage rate will be lower, too.

Outside the Holland Heights Christian Reformed Church polling place on Election Day, a little more than half of voters The Sentinel spoke to said they had voted for the fiber proposal.

Voters who supported it said the network would be a benefit for the whole community. Others said they voted yes because it seemed like it would be better service than what they have today or because they liked the idea of a locally-run broadband network.

"I think it's a good investment in the city overall," said Allison Deters.

People who voted no were largely opposed to another tax on their homes. Many said Comcast has a monopoly on service in their area and expressed disappointment with their internet service options but said they didn't want government to step in to try to fix it.

"I don't want the increased taxes," said one "no" voter, Nolan Philo. "We don't need another utility."

At the same time, Philo said he was willing to reserve judgment on the fiber project: "If it works, that's great. I don't know if I'll use it or not. I'm not an early adopter."

The approval of the broadband project was cheered by Jennifer Owens, president of Lakeshore Advantage, who said in a statement to The Sentinel that the project would increase Holland's attractiveness as a place to live and work.

"The reality is that talented people can now work anywhere," Owens said. "Investment in broadband increases our ability to compete for and retain top talent.

"The city of Holland has been hard at work creating broadband accessibility for its residents to stay competitive and strong. Congratulations to the city of Holland on the success of their broadband millage. This critical investment will improve our region's ability to compete for business and talent, continuing to ensure current and future generations want to live and work in our vibrant economy."

2022 Michigan primary election results: Ottawa County | The Holland Sentinel

Utility Services Director Ted Siler said the first step for HBPW is putting out a request for proposals as soon as possible to select an owner's engineer to oversee the whole project. That person or firm will help HBPW solicit bids for engineering, design and construction of the fiber network, with an aim to have those contractors selected by spring 2023 and the first shovels in the ground by fall 2023.

With major state and federal programs offering grants for broadband internet expansion around the U.S. and many other communities interested in similar projects, Bocks said he believes Holland is "ahead of the curve" in kickstarting a fiber project now.

However, the projected increase in the demand for fiber-optic materials and electronics is a concern of HBPW officials, and Siler said they would consider buying some of the materials sooner rather than later to make sure they they are on hand when construction starts.

Construction of the fiber network will involve both overhead and underground installation of cables and network electronics. The design phase will help determine which areas will have overhead versus underground installation, but even underground installation of fiber, which occurs in the right-of-way between the street and sidewalk, is "way less intrusive" than road work, Siler said.

"You can expect us to spend maybe a day or two in front of your house," Siler said.

The utility has not determined precisely how the project will be divided into phases, but the first areas where the network could be "live" with fiber internet service in summer 2024 even as the build continues for two to three years until completion.

A contractor under the owner's engineer may manage and operate the internet network at first before handing over the reins to HBPW, Siler said, noting no decisions at that level of detail had been made yet. HBPW already offers its shared-gig internet service in downtown Holland but its broadband department is very small.

"If we're signing up thousands more broadband customers, that's a big lift from a customer service and technical perspective. That being said, we have some expertise doing this already."

HBPW intends to update the project website, hollandcityfiber.com, with news about the project's progression and next steps.

— Contact reporter Carolyn Muyskens at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at @cjmuyskens.