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Redlands City Council approves contracts and purchases including dark-fiber lease, network upgrades and wastewater equipment
Summary
At its Sept. 3 meeting the City of Redlands approved a batch of contracts and procurements: a sole-source Crown Castle dark‑fiber lease ($2,250/month), Cisco network equipment ($348,516.57), a Harrington pack-press filter press ($862,008.01) for sludge dewatering, two backhoe loaders, and several other utility purchases and resolutions; most motions passed unanimously.
The City of Redlands on Sept. 3 approved a series of procurement and contract items spanning IT infrastructure, utility equipment, public‑works projects, and event support.
Key approvals included: - A sole‑source five‑year dark‑fiber lease with Crown Castle for $2,250 per month (not to exceed $135,000) to provide dedicated unlit fiber between city facilities. IT Manager Eric Owens said the purchase improves security, control and future bandwidth while staff declined to disclose exact technical specifications for cybersecurity reasons. - Purchase of Cisco network equipment via cooperative contract for $348,516.57 to modernize citywide networking in preparation for future staff moves and growth. - A sole‑source purchase of a pack‑press filter press from Harrington Industrial Plastics for $862,008.01 to improve sludge dewatering at the city's water/wastewater operations; staff said the equipment is expected to reduce operating costs and has a long service life, with a total project ROI evaluated over decades. - Two Caterpillar backhoe loaders via Sourcewell for $367,273.36 and five Caterpillar emergency power generators for $907,478.62 to increase resiliency at reservoir sites. - A public‑works construction contract with GSE Construction not to exceed $940,720 to rehabilitate four primary clarifiers at the wastewater treatment plant; staff said ARPA funds and enterprise funds were part of the funding strategy and that rehabilitating clarifiers now reduces later capital needs. - Approval of a professional services agreement with RK Engineering Group to update the citywide speed‑limit study (not to exceed $53,000), and several event-related street closures and in‑kind support requests, including Stater Brothers Believe Walk.
Most items passed on unanimous roll-call votes. A few speakers raised technical and transparency questions: a former IT worker asked for technical specifications on the Crown Castle dark fiber lease, and public commenters asked about nonprofit fee‑waiver application redactions and procurement exhibits for surplus‑land actions. Staff said some details are withheld for cybersecurity or pending state review, but that supporting exhibits or records would be made available where permitted.
Votes at a glance (selected items): - Salary Resolution No. 8624 (adopted) — establishes updated salary schedule. - Crown Castle dark fiber lease (adopted) — $2,250/month, $135,000 over five years. - Cisco network equipment (adopted) — $348,516.57. - Pack-press filter press (adopted, sole source) — $862,008.01. - Backhoe loaders (adopted) — $367,273.36. - Primary clarifier upgrade contract to GSE (awarded) — not to exceed $940,720. - Caterpillar emergency generators (adopted) — $907,478.62.
Staff said cooperative-purchase processes (Sourcewell and other contracts) produced cost savings compared with traditional bids in several items. Several council members commended staff for negotiating savings while noting the need for clear public exhibits and further community outreach on some items.
