City staff provided an update Aug. 4, 2025, on Huntington Park’s broadband infrastructure project, which the staff said is funded by a California Public Utilities Commission grant the city received in November 2024.

Jerry (project staff) told the council the objective is to deliver high-speed internet to Huntington Park households and businesses, including both middle-mile and last-mile connections. Staff said they solicited a project-manager request for proposals and received six proposals; interviews are scheduled the week following the meeting. Staff planned to return to council Aug. 18 to award the project-management contract.

Separately, the city released a statement-of-qualifications (SOQ) on June 4 to prequalify firms for a design-build procurement. Staff said four firms were deemed qualified and would receive the RFP; the city expects design-build proposals in two to three weeks and targeted a contract award on Sept. 15, 2025.

On the timeline, Jerry said the project’s completion target is December 2026. Jerry and other staff described the procurement approach as a fast-track design-build to let design and construction proceed in parallel, which they said shortens delivery time versus a separate design-then-bid process.

Council members asked whether the city was on track to meet the CPUC deadline. Jerry and project staff acknowledged the schedule would be tight and identified utilities coordination — pole attachments, potential undergrounding and permitting — as the principal execution risk. The city said the project manager will be critical in coordinating utilities, the CPUC reporting, contractor work and community outreach.

City manager Mary said the council will later need to decide how the city will operate and maintain the network once built — whether the city would own and operate the system or outsource operations — and that that decision will involve a separate process from the design and construction procurement.

Staff said they will leverage experience from neighboring jurisdictions and the council requested ongoing reporting to ensure the project remains on schedule to meet the December 2026 grant deadline.