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County staff propose addendum to reserve 24 county-owned fiber strands; Region 9 seeks low-cost lease
Summary
Staff proposed drafting an addendum to explicitly reserve 24 county-owned fiber strands (six allocated to Empire Electric) that 2210 would manage; Region 9 requested proposals to lease 2–4 strands at regional rates, with staff estimating $72 per mile per strand for 17.36 miles.
County staff told commissioners they plan to add an explicit addendum to existing 2210 fiber-management documents to reserve the next 24 fiber strands built in the regional Cortez–Mancos run as county property. Staff said six strands would be earmarked for Empire Electric and the county would retain the remainder to lease.
Region 9 has asked for a proposal to lease two or four strands on this run. Staff said the county has historically charged $72 per mile per strand; for an estimated 17.36-mile run that equates to approximately $2,500 per month ($30,000 per year) for two strands or $5,000 per month ($60,000 per year) for four strands. Region 9 said it does not currently have funding to pay market rates and will seek proposals from other backbone providers as well.
Commissioners emphasized they could not decide the final terms at the meeting and that the county’s intent in the original build was to own and have 2210 manage the county’s strands. Staff was asked to rework the draft addendum to list all 24 strands and explicitly reserve six for Empire Electric to reduce later legal complexity, and to return with a recommendation on pricing and potential discounts for government-to-government arrangements.
