Herriman officials say All West partnership could expand fiber citywide and avoid $60 million bond
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Summary
City hosts said negotiations with internet provider All West would let the company use city conduit and public utility easements to build fiber across Herriman; officials said the arrangement could eliminate the need for a roughly $60,000,000 municipal bond while letting the city use the network to manage infrastructure.
Herriman city leaders said this week they are negotiating with All West to expand high‑speed fiber across the city by allowing the company to use existing conduit and Public Utility Easements (PUEs), a move officials said could avoid putting a roughly $60,000,000 bond before voters.
"When we went to run the final numbers to bond for that, the initial bond ... interest rates ... made it just wasn't feasible at that point," Speaker 1 said, describing the city's earlier plan to build a municipal fiber network. "We're hoping now with a partner like this, with kind of some shared costs, we can still do that without having to bond for that, that $60,000,000 bond that eventually would have been."
John Lofollet, communications manager, and Speaker 1 said the city issued an intent to negotiate with providers and has been working primarily with All West, which the city says has been building out service in parts of Herriman. Under the proposal described on the Herrimanology podcast, All West would be permitted to place fiber in PUEs and city conduit in exchange for connecting critical municipal infrastructure to the provider's network.
The city said that access could let officials operate traffic signals, stormwater gates and water infrastructure on a single, modernized network — an approach officials called part of a broader "smart city" push. "We would be able to use their network to control city facilities like stoplights, stormwater gates, water infrastructure," Speaker 3 explained.
Officials emphasized the tradeoffs: PUE work can require temporary digging in front yards and park strips. "They have to restore it, but they can go into your private property and install their conduit or their fiber lines and then restore back to how it was," Speaker 3 said, adding the city will notify residents when construction advances. The hosts acknowledged some residents object to work on private property but said the city, like many others, relies on PUEs to locate utilities.
No formal agreement or council approval was announced during the episode; hosts described the arrangement as a negotiation in progress and said All West had indicated an intention to build out the city. The podcast did not include a timeline for work, contract terms, or a commitment that every household would receive service. "They said, yes, that is the plan right now," Speaker 1 said of the provider's stated buildout intent.
Next steps outlined on the podcast include continued talks with providers, additional public updates when the plan advances, and further council consideration before any contracts or easements are finalized.
