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Lincoln Heights outlines expansion of free public Wi‑Fi; council seeks funding for phases 2 and 3
Summary
Clifford A. Bailey presented details of a community Wi‑Fi and "smart‑city" platform on Nov. 24, saying phase 1 cost roughly $257,000 and that additional funds are needed to extend service to two remaining neighborhoods; Councilman Duron Daniels pressed for concrete bandwidth metrics and clearer resident feedback channels.
Clifford A. Bailey told the Village of Lincoln Heights Council on Nov. 24 that a community Wi‑Fi project aimed at narrowing the digital divide is live in a limited area and that extending service to the village's upper and lower neighborhoods will require more fundraising. Bailey said the project's partners include PowerNet, Cycloo, GoZone Wi‑Fi and Techsoft Systems and that phase 1 focused on multi‑dwelling units to prioritize children's access.
Bailey said phase 1—osts were "approximately $257,000," and that a $150,000 grant and additional corporate and county contributions helped cover that phase. "Phase 1 is complete," he said, and "funds must be raised for phase 2 and phase 3." He described a sustainability model that uses sponsored advertising to offset ongoing platform maintenance and licensing costs, but said the village will need staff to sell ad space and manage content.
The presentation included infrastructure counts Bailey said were in planning materials: roughly 74 poles in the upper‑neighborhood (phase 2) and 79 poles in the lower‑neighborhood (phase 3), for about 153 additional poles total. Bailey also described coordination with pole owners and utilities — he named Duke Lighting, Duke Energy and Ultra Fiber — as a necessary step for pole attachments and site access.
Councilman Duron Daniels asked for current speed and bandwidth metrics and said residents report the network can be "a little bit slow" when they connect. "Can you, what's the current speed and bandwidth, right now with that $257,000 investment?" he asked. Bailey said he did not have live bandwidth numbers at the meeting but committed to obtain them and to have PowerNet monitor performance at different times of day: "I don't have that number, but I can surely get that number to you."
Bailey acknowledged that the early deployment and a long dormant period of administration and staff turnover had limited the work and communication: "That plan hasn't been executed in terms of where to meet, when to meet, and who to meet with. We've had multiple managers. There's been a long dormant period involved as well." He also criticized incomplete local news coverage about the project as "not complete," saying public reports omitted the mix of funding that went into phase 1.
Bailey described additional platform features the village could use if it expands service: two‑way email and text alerts, event promotion, civic feedback integration and analytics to show what residents use and which pages attract attention. He emphasized governance controls — user removal for policy violations — and repeated the need for a designated staff role to keep content current.
Next steps recorded at the council meeting: Bailey said he would obtain and provide bandwidth measurements, PowerNet would perform monitoring, and the council would need to consider fundraising or budget allocations to fund phases 2 and 3. No formal council action to fund expansion was taken at the meeting; discussion and requests for follow up were the immediate outcomes.
