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Council approves Bolton & Menk contract for Connect Wilmar civil engineering after questions on timing and prior work
Summary
The council approved a $403,000 professional services agreement with Bolton & Menk for civil engineering work on the Connect Wilmar fiber project; staff reported $155,068 has been billed and approximately $244,350 of contract work value completed, and the contract passed 5–1 after debate about whether the private sector should lead such projects.
Willmar City Council voted 5–1 to approve a professional services agreement with Bolton & Menk to provide civil engineering services for the Connect Wilmar fiber initiative.
Operations director Kyle Box outlined the contract history and recent staff review: a prior action in October 2023 accepted a network architectural proposal from Hometown Fiber for $687,524 and staff said the Bolton & Menk engineering contract had not been fully executed during a project manager transition. Box said invoices totaling $155,068 had been paid and that the contract work value completed to date was approximately $244,350; the full contract amount before council was $403,000.
One council member criticized continued city involvement in broadband and urged reliance on the private sector; staff and project proponents defended continuity work and said mapping and in‑house coordination had required engineering resources. Council approved the motion with a recorded 5–1 vote.
