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Portsmouth city manager calls March 31 Phase 1 target —too aggressive' as council questions funding and priorities
Summary
At an unspecified Portsmouth city meeting, members pressed the city manager on a multi‑phase broadband connection plan after a key grant failed to materialize; the manager proposed narrowing Phase 1 to city facilities (fire stations, Frederick facility, magistrate) to capture cost savings and requested more realistic scheduling.
At a Portsmouth city meeting (governing body not specified in the transcript), members questioned the timeline and funding for a multi‑phase broadband and facilities connection plan, and the city manager said the March 31 target for Phase 1 is likely —too aggressive.'
An unidentified member (Speaker 3) opened the discussion by asking the city manager (Speaker 1) for an update on the draft plan and whether the city could meet the Phase 1 completion date. The manager said staff have produced a phased draft that lists buildings and assigns them to phases but stressed it is a starting point rather than a finished plan.
"First phase is scheduled to be done on March 31," the manager said, adding that the July 30 date for the second phase also appears in the draft. The manager cautioned that the Phase 1 date is likely unrealistic and that he has been pushing back with the CIO on the schedule: "That's what the date that I was given...I think that is probably too aggressive." (Speaker 1)
Funding gaps were central to the exchange. Speaker 3 recalled that Phase 1 depended on grant funding the city had reported not receiving and asked whether the budget would cover the work without that grant. The manager acknowledged the gap and said staff are considering reallocating what counts as Phase 1 to prioritize connecting existing city buildings that will yield the greatest operational savings.
"It's more important to me that we get our city facilities off of lease lines and onto the networks that we are," the manager said, describing that as the top priority. He named priority sites that should move up the list: a facility on Frederick, fire stations, recreation centers, what the transcript records as "Norfolk Navy shipyard security," and Portsmouth's magistrate.
The manager also argued for an incremental deployment approach rather than waiting for the entire network ring to be finished: "I just need a connection between here and the next place...and I can connect that even though the whole ring isn't done." (Speaker 1)
On schools, the manager said public schools appear in Phase 5 of the draft and recommended reengaging school officials because schools may already receive favorable education rates, reducing their immediate cost savings from switching. An unidentified speaker (Speaker 4) said past discussions suggested schools were not interested at that time because of existing discounted arrangements.
The manager clarified technical limitations: the city currently owns dark fiber but does not provide the active equipment and ongoing managed services that end users need to use dark fiber; schools or other partners would need to provide equipment and technical staffing to activate and operate the connections.
No formal motion or vote appears in the transcript. Speaker 2 asked whether the next meeting is still scheduled for March 10; the manager said he would provide a copy of the current draft plan to members before the next meeting and reiterated that the plan is a work in progress.
The meeting concluded without a recorded vote or formal action on the broadband plan.
