Commissioners discussed a proposed PFN agreement that would allow a company to run under‑lake fiber into Benton Harbor, landing at Jean Clark Park and running along municipal rights‑of‑way to serve several city facilities.

City manager (identified in the meeting as Mister Little) summarized the negotiated terms: the company would provide one‑gigabit service free of charge for seven years to the city’s water plant (Ridgeway), public library, city hall, public safety, the transit operation and the Bobo Brazil Center; the company would bear approximately $320,000 of construction cost to run cable to those buildings. "They have agreed to give to us service ... for 7 years of 1 gigabyte high speed Internet service, to each of these buildings free for that 7 years," the city manager said.

Commissioners asked detailed questions about contingencies: what happens if a named municipal site is no longer available, how the city would access the agreement documents, and what the long‑term obligations are after seven years. Staff said the city clerk would hold the executed agreement and that after the initial seven years the city could continue to buy service at a "most favored wholesale rate." The draft term discussed a long‑term ground lease of up to 75 years for waterfront property improvements; commissioners asked for clarity on any monetary value attached to that lease.

Several commissioners asked for the company’s site‑boring or soils study for Jean Clark Park (a local study of the drilling/boring at the park was requested) and for the state‑level environmental reviews the company completed for its larger under‑lake route. A commissioner also requested an explanation of permanent versus temporary easements for municipal right‑of‑way use.

No formal contract execution was recorded in this meeting; commissioners asked staff to provide environmental/soil study documents, the proposed agreement language and more detail about lease terms and fees before taking final action.