Bellingham delays vote on 10-year municipal fiber plan after public input push

The Bellingham City Council on Feb. 10 voted 7-0 to delay final action on the city’s proposed 10-year Fiber Network Comprehensive Plan until a Feb. 24 meeting, after council members raised concerns about public notice and the plan’s scope.

The plan, prepared by city staff and presented in the council’s Public Works and Natural Resources committee, inventories the municipal fiber network, outlines next steps to improve redundancy and resiliency and includes near-term work in the city’s southwest segment estimated at $421,500 to be paid from the street fund. Staff reported the longer-term cost to upgrade the system to carrier-class resiliency would be roughly $8,000,000.

Council Member Lisa Anderson, who moved to postpone the vote, said public participation was essential. “Public participation is, I think, essential and a goal of all of ours,” Anderson said, arguing that some community members had not had adequate time to review the plan since it appeared in the packet.

Why it matters: The municipal fiber supports city operations and partner agencies including Bellingham Public Schools and Whatcom Regional 911. Council members said the plan clarifies internal infrastructure needs but does not address wider broadband affordability and equity goals previously explored by the Broadband Advisory Work Group.

Discussion highlights and next steps: Staff described the plan as formalizing prior work and recommended near-term fiber testing and augmentation in the southwest segment over the next one to six months. Council Member Michael Loquist (transcript spellings vary) said the report “is an excellent report, but it doesn’t address that need” of affordability and equity, and urged reconvening the advisory group to examine targeted options if the city cannot pursue a full carrier-class build-out.

Council Member Loquist moved to reconvene the Broadband Advisory Work Group to focus on digital equity, affordability and targeted strategies; that motion was seconded but subsequently tabled at the council’s request and will be revisited Feb. 24. Staff said there is no immediate contract or timeline that requires a vote tonight.

Quotes in context: Interim Public Works co-director Joel Flynn and John Gavin, the city’s fiber-optic network engineer, presented technical and cost details during the committee meeting. Council discussion centered on process (timing of packet publication), scope (municipal-use infrastructure versus public carrier service) and alternatives such as targeted Wi-Fi or hotspot programs.

What the council did: The council voted to delay final adoption of the 10-year Fiber Network Comprehensive Plan to the Feb. 24 meeting to allow additional public comment and to gather information about reconvening the Broadband Advisory Work Group.

Ending: The council asked staff to continue preparation for the Feb. 24 meeting and to reach out to former advisory group members to determine whether reconvening is feasible. The delayed vote preserves the committee recommendation but gives council and the public two additional weeks to offer input.