South Charleston council authorizes assignment agreement to advance sale negotiations for SecurNet

The South Charleston City Council approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an assignment agreement between West Virginia Airnet, doing business as SecurNet LLC, and Ambridge Infrastructure Corporation to allow continued negotiations over a proposed sale of SecurNet’s business operations, Mayor Mullins said at the meeting.

Council members were told the action preserves the city’s existing agreement with SecurNet and gives the city “a seat at the table” in future negotiations, but does not transfer city-owned fiber or equipment, Mullins said. “It’s not the sale of our equipment. It’s not our backbone at city hall. It’s not the fiber that’s in the grass,” Mullins said.

Why it matters: The assignment clears a procedural step that lets the parties continue to negotiate a transfer of SecurNet’s private business operations while maintaining the city’s existing contractual protections, city officials said. Council members pressed and received assurances that customer rates and local service would remain under scrutiny during the process.

Mayor Mullins and staff described preliminary due diligence on the prospective buyer and said the buyer is not local. Mullins characterized the buyer as a company backed by national investors and said staff had located past company investments in several other states. “Right now, everything looks good. I think it’s gonna be a good thing, at the end of the day,” Mullins said. City staff member Michael confirmed that the city’s existing agreement with SecurNet remains in effect as written while assignment language is finalized.

Councilors asked about rates and local service. Mullins said SecurNet’s current customer rates on the network average about $62 to $65, and emphasized the city’s original goal was to build infrastructure and then transfer operations to private providers. Mullins said the economic development authority also must give permission for the transaction to move forward.

The resolution passed after motion and second; the transcript records the motion and a voice vote in favor but does not list a roll-call tally in the meeting record.

Next steps: City staff said they are continuing to “fine tune” assignment language with the mayor and representatives of SecurNet and the buyer before final execution. The resolution directs the mayor to execute the agreement when the city’s negotiated language is complete.

No formal amendments to the agreement were recorded on the council floor in the meeting record.