Waverly tables franchise agreement negotiations, seeks neighbor participation to spread legal costs

Waverly — The council on May 12 postponed a decision about retaining outside counsel to negotiate a telecommunications franchise agreement, directing staff to contact neighboring cities and to re-engage a potential provider before the June 9 meeting.

City Attorney Rhonda Pagel summarized an engagement letter from attorney Michael Bradley that would incur monthly billed fees with no upfront retainer; she warned the city could be responsible for attorney fees if negotiations do not produce a signed agreement. Pagel said Bradley indicated he could divide fees among multiple cities if neighboring municipalities agree to participate without creating a formal joint entity.

Council members discussed reaching out to Montrose, Howard Lake and Winsted to share costs, while noting the risk that a neighboring city could use Waverly’s completed agreement as a template without contributing. Council also noted Kinetic, a previously engaged provider, had not responded to recent communications; Administrator Carrie Krienke was asked to re-engage Kinetic and contact the neighboring cities. The item was tabled to the June 9 meeting to allow that outreach.

The motion to table passed by voice vote (m/s/p Duske/Jacobson). No attorney engagement was approved at this meeting.