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Council authorizes rejecting bids and retaining city fiber conduit system after low bids
Summary
Council approved Ordinance No. 35 20 25 directing the director of utilities to reject bids for the sale of the city’s HFC/conduit system after bids came in substantially below expectations; city to retain and repurpose portions of the conduit for additional city fiber needs.
The Bryan City Council on June 16 approved Ordinance No. 35 20 25 instructing the director of utilities to reject all bids received for the sale of the city’s HFC (hybrid fiber-coaxial) conduit system and to retain the system.
City utilities staff told the council that bids received were “far less” than anticipated and that the conduit network is worth substantially more than the highest bid. The Board of Public Affairs (BPA) previously considered the matter and recommended rejecting the bids; council approval formalized that direction. City staff said, based on further review, some parts of the existing conduit could be repurposed to extend city fiber to other municipal sites such as parks and departmental locations.
Utilities staff also explained cost and locate issues: the city currently pays a flat-rate locate fee to a locating contractor (USIC) for utility locate tickets covering power, communications and water; retaining the conduit is not expected to produce savings on locate costs. Council members moved to suspend rules and approved the ordinance to reject the bids and keep the conduit system under city control.
The motion authorizes the city to continue maintaining the conduit system and to evaluate internal uses rather than proceeding with the sale under the bids that were received.
