02-21-2017 EDC Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEETING OF THE PEQUOT LAKES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION TUESDAY,FEBRUARY 21,2017 PEQUOT LAKES CITY HALL Members Present: Chair Jurchen, Commissioners Holley, Lindholm, Lubke,Rieck, and Sjoblad Members Absent: None Others Present: Bob Berns, Charter Spectrum Business; Bob Perkins, TDS;Nancy Malecha, City Administrator/Clerk; Dawn Bittner,Zoning Specialist; Sheila Haverkamp, BLAEDC; Mike Bjerkness, BLAEDC; Mimi Swanson, Council Member; and Kent Marthaler, KC Companies 1. Call Meeting to Order The meeting was called to order by Chair Jurchen at 8:00 a.m. 2. Approve EDC Minutes COMMISSIONER SJOBLAD MOVED APPROVE THE JANUARY 17,2017 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MINUTES. COMMISSIONER RIECK SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED 6-0. 3. High-Speed Internet Availability Update Chair Jurchen stated the primary objective for the EDC this year should be availability of fiber to our businesses, including the Business Park. Bob Berns with Charter Spectrum Business stated he has been working with many businesses in Pequot Lakes, including the Business Park. He plans to meet with business owners in the Business Park to see how many are interested in their service; it is not feasible to only service a solitary business. Kent Marthaler, KC Companies, stated uploading is a problem. They had planned to be the host server for all of their assisted living facilities,but they have had to go back to investing in equipment in each individual location. Chair Jurchen stated the City needs to look at high-speed internet as part of our infrastructure and may need to look at partnerships to make this happen. Bob Perkins, TDS, passed out a map indicating the TDS local service area is 750 square miles. One of the initiatives through the Minnesota Broadband Grant is to reach 3,200 customers unserved today who don't have broadband. They are adding 91 sites, retrofitting 74 existing sites with 81 miles of buried fiber. Under-served areas would be next.