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Council approves Connect Wilmar marketing contracts, agrees to pay outstanding engineering invoices
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Summary
The Willmar council approved two marketing/branding contracts to support the Connect Wilmar fiber project and voted to pay outstanding Bolton & Menk engineering invoices while staff verifies contract status and next steps.
Willmar — The City Council on Aug. 15 approved two supplemental agreements to support the Connect Wilmar fiber project’s community engagement and marketing work and authorized payment of outstanding engineering invoices to Bolton & Menk.
The broadband committee recommended two proposals: Hometown Fiber for community engagement and outreach and Replace for branding and marketing. Dave Susser, a broadband committee member, told the council the next steps must include community engagement and branding to build a subscription base; he said, “If we don’t engage the community, this project will not work.”
Council then voted to approve a resolution to retain Hometown Fiber for supplemental marketing and outreach; roll-call votes recorded one recorded no vote by Council member Fagerly and otherwise carried. A second resolution to contract with Replace for branding and imaging also passed (roll call reflected 6 ayes, 2 noes).
Several councilors pressed for clearer pro forma numbers, subscriber break‑even points and price points for residential packages. Staff said the pro forma included conservative take-rate assumptions (about 8% take in year one for phase 1, roughly 250 users) and projected an 8‑year build-out to reach a 40% take rate across the city. Staff emphasized they want to run an outreach campaign this fall to test interest and price sensitivity; if engagement does not show sufficient demand staff will recommend stopping further phases.
On a related item, the council discussed a proposed not-to-exceed $403,000 professional services agreement with Bolton & Menk for the civil engineering portion of phase 1. Staff reported Bolton & Menk had invoiced about $155,068 to date, the city had paid $8,000, and roughly $146,773 remained unpaid. There was confusion about whether the contract had been fully executed; City Attorney Robert Smith advised that a binding city contract requires council approval and the city signature, and that noncontract remedies could be available if a dispute arose. The council voted to pay the outstanding invoiced amount now and to return the full contract for action at a future meeting.
What’s next: Staff will proceed with the outreach and engagement work funded by the marketing contracts, report back with community take‑rate data and proposed price points, and bring the Bolton & Menk contract back for formal council action with verified invoice details.
