Council approves two Metro Act permits for citywide fiber, requires performance bonds

The Garden City City Council on Oct. 6 approved Metro Act right‑of‑way permit applications from two telecommunications companies to install fiber in public easements and rights‑of‑way and conditioned each permit on the contractor submitting a performance bond or revocable letter of credit before work may begin.

City staff explained the Metro Act permit is a standardized state form that grants access to municipal rights‑of‑way but does not authorize specific construction until the permittee submits detailed plans and obtains an engineering permit and inspections. The city’s telecommunications ordinance requires restoration of disturbed pavement and permits the city to collect bonds to ensure work is restored to the city’s standards.

The council first approved a permit for Ripple Fiber with an amendment introduced by Council member King requiring a performance bond or revocable letter of credit “in a form acceptable to the city attorney in an amount acceptable to the city manager prior to start of any construction activities. No work may commence until the security is on file with the city.” The motion carried 7–0.

A second permit for Easy Fiber was approved with the same security condition and passed 7–0.

City staff and the city manager told council the bond requirement can be imposed administratively and should be sized to cover the reasonable cost of restoring impacted rights‑of‑way, so it does not run afoul of the Metro Act’s limits on municipal requirements. The city manager said he would seek the city attorney’s guidance and consult with the city engineer about an appropriate bond amount when the companies submit their construction plans.

Council members said requiring bonds was prudent for citywide construction to reduce the risk of uncompleted restorations and to give the city a remedy if contractors fail to meet standards.