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Oro Valley approves intergovernmental agreement with Pima County for regional middle-mile broadband
Summary
The council unanimously approved a $200,000 town commitment and in-kind contributions to join Pima County's 142-mile regional middle-mile broadband ring, a federally funded build intended to improve government connectivity and enable private fiber-to-home providers.
The Oro Valley Town Council on Sept. 3 approved an intergovernmental agreement with Pima County to participate in the Pima County regional middle-mile broadband infrastructure project, voting 7-0 on Resolution R25-46.
Scott Zofeld, the town's IT director, told council the middle-mile project will construct roughly 142 miles of fiber-optic backbone through the metro area; Oro Valley's segment will traverse Tangerine, La Cañada, Magee, Oracle and Ina roads. The county's project design calls for two separate conduits populated initially with 432 strands of fiber each—one reserved for government and anchor institutions and the other for commercial use, Zofeld said.
Under the intergovernmental agreement, the town committed $200,000 payable in fiscal 2026–27 and will document in-kind services (plan review, permits, inspections) to match grant requirements. Zofeld said Pima County is responsible for a larger match and that the project is federally funded, with a total project value of about $33 million. He said funds have been released to the county and the project is in design.
Council members asked about impacts to roads and multi-use paths. Town Engineer Kiesler explained the project will use a mix of directional boring and open trenching in rights-of-way and that a pavement moratorium requires replacement of pavement where trenches cross 500 feet in either direction; staff said contractors will avoid cutting paths where possible and will document preexisting conditions with photo records. Zofeld said the ring will support NextGen 911 and provide redundant networks for public safety and government operations, and will reduce barriers of entry for fiber-to-the-home providers within 25 miles of the ring.
Council approved the resolution 7-0 and asked staff for periodic updates during the design and construction phases. Staff said the federal funding is committed and the county has begun releasing some funds; the project must expend funds by the end of calendar year 2027.
