At a Board of Trustees meeting (date not specified), staff member Derek told trustees the design for the community fiber project — including the fiber hut, outside plant and network engineering — should be completed by November, and the project team expects to begin receiving bids in the first quarter of next year. "We should be complete with the design of the fiber hut, the outside plant, the network engineering, all that should be completed, hopefully, in November," Derek said.

The update matters because long lead times for fiber materials could delay construction if procurement is not timed carefully. Derek said the project team hopes to receive some materials in the second quarter and urged early ordering where possible. "The timeline, the lead times on this stuff is it can be long. So we need to make sure we can get there and get the lead get some of the stuff ordered as we can," he said.

Derek also said outside contractors have asked to be added to a future agenda; he told trustees he thought the group could be scheduled in September. No formal action, motion or vote was recorded on the fiber update during the portion of the meeting in the record.

Trustee discussion in the record was limited to clarification of timing and procurement risks; the transcript shows staff will return with completed design documents and materials procurement plans before seeking bid approvals. The project remains at the design-to-procurement transition; next steps described by staff are completion of design documents, issuance of bid packages, and material ordering subject to vendor lead times.

The trustees did not take a vote on the project during the recorded discussion. The board may consider formal procurement or contract awards after the design and bid documents are complete.