Council directs staff to work with Charter, Hometown Fiber on industrial park fiber plan; seeks timeline and legal analysis by March 3

The Willmar City Council directed city staff and the city attorney, by unanimous vote, to work with Charter Communications (Spectrum) and Hometown Fiber to secure a Charter commitment to build fiber optic service to the Wilmar Industrial Park, to establish a timeline for expanded residential service by March 3, 2025, and to analyze legal ramifications if the city pauses its municipal Connect Wilmar project.

Operations Director Kyle Box summarized recent discussions with Charter and others: he said Charter "expressed their commitment to build fiber optic lines within the Wilmar Industrial Park" and that Charter would provide fiber in the park at no cost to the city if the council stops the Connect Wilmar municipal plan. Box told the council Charter has completed design and expects construction to begin once permits are approved; Charter estimated some parts of the network could be completed within two months of permit approval and the company estimated wider upgrades (a high‑split network) to be available in early 2026 with a full-city upgrade possible in summer or early fall 2026.

The council deliberated the tradeoffs between a full municipal fiber build and a private provider solution. Staff and the broadband committee stressed fiber's superior long‑term scalability: "When you look at scalability in the future of a fiber network specifically... adaptation happens quite seamlessly," Box said. Council members raised concerns about cost, risk to taxpayers, take rates and precedent from other municipal projects. Box summarized local survey results used to model demand: 9.49% of respondents said they were satisfied with current service; 42% said they would switch to fiber if available; 25% said the type of service they wanted is unavailable; and 25% said they could not afford desired service.

Charter provided headline pricing examples during council discussion: a gigabit plan starting near $70 per month (promotional pricing that may increase to $100 after one year), lower tiers near $50 per month, a low‑income price near $30 and an internet‑assist option starting at $15. Box said staff would try to have more detailed pricing and signed service agreements available to council by March 3.

Several council members pressed staff for financial details, risk analyses, take‑rate assumptions and comparisons with other municipal projects (for example, RS Fiber and Buffalo were discussed). Council members also asked staff to get additional information from ISPs, confirm the number of industrial‑park parcels affected and clarify service level agreements and contractual protections.

After discussion the council passed a motion directing staff and legal counsel to work with Charter and Hometown Fiber "on a commitment to offer Charter to offer fiber optic services to the industrial park, establish a timeline for increased residential services by 03/03/2025 and determine legal ramifications of what happens if we do that." The motion passed 8-0.

Public comment during the meeting included a resident who urged the council to consider fire equipment needs before approving large spending on broadband: "Please think before you vote yes on this cable," said Joe Redler, a resident who raised concerns about the city's older fire equipment and potential future costs.

Next steps: staff will pursue Charter commitments, continue talks with Hometown Fiber and other ISPs, attempt to provide signed service‑level agreement language and pricing to council by March 3, and return with options and legal analysis for council action.