Arlington approves $284,777.79 contract for phase 3 of airport fiber project

Arlington City Council voted to approve phase 3 of the airport fiber installation project and authorized the mayor to sign a contract with Canon Construction LLC for $284,777.79.

Paul, a city staff member, described the item as part of a multi-year effort to build a city-owned fiber ring connecting City Hall, lift stations, monitoring stations, gates and security cameras. “Our goal is to get our dependency on leased fiber over with. So we want to own our own fiber ring around the city to connect all of the city facilities,” Paul said. He said phase 3 focuses on airport facilities and will connect airport gates and cameras to the backbone.

Paul also said the city is planning ahead to allow options such as leasing dark fiber to a large airport business, though the details of any leasing arrangement are not yet worked out. He added that the city has been adding hardware and incrementally increasing IT staffing as budget allows.

Councilmember Deborah Nelson asked whether the IT setup needs had been increased and whether those upgrades were part of the project; Paul said the city budgets incrementally and has been adding necessary hardware and staff over time.

A council motion to approve phase 3 and authorize the mayor to sign the contract with Canon Construction LLC carried with no recorded opposition.

Staff offered to provide a map of completed and remaining segments on request; no construction schedule or completion percentage was specified at the meeting.