Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Broadband Project topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County approves broadband low-level design and a contract amendment to preorder materials
Summary
Los Alamos County Council approved Amendment No.1 to the Bonfire Engineering construction contract to allow pre-purchase of fiber materials and approved the project's low-level design; council also adopted a related bond-reimbursement resolution to permit temporary advances from the CIP fund.
Los Alamos County Council on Jan. 6 approved a construction amendment and low-level design for the county’s open‑access broadband project, citing supply‑chain risks and a need to preorder materials to keep the project on schedule.
County staff said the amendment to Agreement AGR24‑46A with Bonfire Engineering and Construction LLC would allow the county to buy materials in advance of construction to avoid price hikes and delivery delays as national BEAD funding and demand from large projects put upward pressure on supply. "This construction amendment would allow the purchase of materials in advance of construction," county presenter Mr. Smith said during the presentation.
Bonfire’s project manager, Ken DeRose, described the approved low‑level design and construction methods the council reviewed, including microtrenching to limit deep rock encounters, aerial installation on poles where subsurface work is impractical, and a phased rollout made up of 47 distribution areas served by three optical‑line terminals (OLTs). DeRose said microtrenching runs "about an inch and a half wide, 16 inches deep" adjacent to the curb and that the system will use 9‑inch junction boxes at the right‑of‑way for subscriber drops.
The council also adopted Resolution No. 26‑02 declaring the county’s intent to reimburse itself from bond proceeds for eligible costs related to the broadband project. Finance staff said the county anticipates issuing up to $40 million in bonds for the project and estimated it may need up to about $4 million in internal advances from the CIP fund to pay expenditures before the bond sale is completed.
Councilors asked technical and programmatic questions about customer installation, right‑of‑way impacts and redundancy. Staff said drops to individual homes require an exterior ONT box and a short interior cable to a router; customers must supply power to the interior equipment. The design team said full construction is phased; staff projected phase 1 construction to begin in April and the first customer service in October, with an overall buildout targeted in calendar 2028.
Councilor Rady moved to approve the amendment and low‑level design; the motion passed 7‑0 on a roll‑call vote.
Next steps: staff will begin ordering materials as allowed by the amendment and proceed with permit packages for phase‑specific work; the design remains flexible and may be adjusted between phases based on field conditions and cost savings.
