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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/31/20211 City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 31, 2021 Via teleconference according to the Governor’s Executive Order N-29-20, Mayor Tankha called the City Council Special Meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Present: Mayor Tankha, Vice Mayor Tyson, Councilmember Mok, Councilmember Schmidt, Councilmember Swan Absent: None Staff: City Manager Carl Cahill, Assistant City Attorney Claire Lai, Public Works Director Oscar Antillon, Interim Planning & Building Director Steve Padovan, Management Analyst II Cody Einfalt, City Clerk Deborah Padovan CALL TO ORDER (6:00 P.M.) A. Roll Call B. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Tankha called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 1. PUBLIC COMMENT (PUBLIC COMMENT IS LIMITED TO ITEMS WHICH ARE THE SUBJECT OF THE SPECIAL MEETING) Robert Sandor, Los Altos Hills, asked that the Council support any easement that is needed for fiber in front of homes. 2. NEW BUSINESS A. Study Session Regarding Community High-Speed Fiber 1. Presentation by Los Altos Hills Community Fiber (15 minutes) 2. Silicon Valley Joint Venture Presentation (15 minutes) Mayor Tankha recapped and welcomed everyone to study session. Community fiber is on the agenda. A resident led effort to bring high speed internet to our Town. The Council is focusing their attention on this resident-led initiative. 1. Dr. Gautam Agrawal presented the Los Altos Hills Community Fiber (LAHCF) project. He explained the history of LAHCF, the case for fiber and requested approval. LAHCF was formed in 2019 as the community based solution that partners with Next Level Networks. He stressed that it is not a Town-owned and managed municipal fiber project. All funding comes from the residents or other federal and state grants. The ` is not being asked for money for this Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Special Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 31, 2021 – 6:00 p.m. Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, California 2 City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 31, 2021 process. Installation, monthly service and support is entirely the responsibility of Next Level Networks. It is a community-based process. They are looking for LAH to assist in facilitating projects. They are a member-owned co-op; a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization. The value proposition is higher capacity. High definition video could download in 30 seconds or less. It would help with network delay, loss of information, freezing. Vice Mayor Tyson asked about the organization of LAHCF - who is on the board? Are the meetings public? Do you issue minutes or keep records? Dr. Agrawal said the board is made up of four members: president, secretary, treasurer, and an ad hoc member. It is similar to an HOA structure; except they have weekly meetings. Monthly and quarterly meetings from a governance standpoint. Every member has one vote. This is not an open, public meeting. But it is open to members, and yes, they keep minutes for members. Councilmember Schmidt said there is no objection to putting in high speed fiber in Town. How open is this organization to the public? This has been the biggest issue - it needs to be collaborative and open with the Town. What are the financials? What is the business plan? How fast will it grow? What are the criteria for becoming a member? Since we are using Town resources, it needs to be open. She suggested that the group needs to be “overly transparent” with the residents. Dr. Agrawal responded that the Town is not investing in the traditional way. The master agreement spells out very specifically that it allows LAHCF to put fiber in the ground. He said this is not a business, so it doesn’t have a business plan. This is the community operating as a non-profit. The more people want to sign up, the more transparent it gets. It seems closed because we are just starting out. Mayor Tankha offered to serve as a council liaison on LAHCF in order to solve issues of mistrust. The Council needs to feel more comfortable with the process. Dr. Agrawal said he liked that idea. Councilmember Mok expressed concern about liability. He asked Dr. Agrawal to address any liability issues. Dr. Agrawal said there is an indemnification and liability section in the master agreement. Certain things are spelled out very specifically in the agreement. LAHCF has insurance as well and Next Level has even greater insurance. He also addressed issues related to AT&T and Comcast and their service to the Town. LAHCF will take some of bandwidth; it will improve Comcast and AT&T’s service to residents. He said that the Town could help facilitate easements and permits in Town. Facilitating the implementation will help everyone. 3 City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 31, 2021 Councilmember Swan thanked Dr. Agrawal for the presentation. Mayor Tankha asked Dr. Agrawal to address concerns that residents expressed about radio towers. Dr. Agrawal said laying fiber is not cheap. They came up with an interim solution that will help with a point-to-point wireless connection. The key is that the faster we can put fiber in the ground, the faster we can lose the point-to-point wireless connection: i.e., radio towers. The radio tower solution is cost effect during the implementation. City Manager Cahill said that any radio towers will go through a permitting process. What is the nature of the contract with LAHCF with the unknown fiber provided to Gardner Bullis School? David Barron, Chief Executive Officer, Next Level Networks, responded that the circuit with a company that provides dark fiber circuits. They actually made the agreement to provide that circuit that terminates at Gardner Bullis School. There is no contractual connection with Gardner Bullis. It serves both Gardner Bullis and community fiber. Mayor Tankha asked about how our data would be secured. Mr. Barron replied that we operate like any other telecom vendor and network security is part of that. It is not the responsibility of the cooperative; Next Level would be responsible. The Mayor asked about the biggest challenges with fiber. The biggest issues are with construction for installation. Once the network is up and running, they monitor the fiber. Public Comment Johannes Schmidt, Los Altos Hills, sounds like the liaison is a great idea. He is not a member of LAHCF but he sends emails to LAHCF and Next Level and they always respond with 24 hours. His personal experience is that they have been pretty open compared to AT&T and Comcast. John O’Connell, Los Altos Hills, said the costs here are driven by the cost of getting the fiber to the home. He thought it would be good to take examples in LAH to work them as templates to see what the cost would be, so the residents would have something that is representative of our topography and demographics. Phil Russell, Los Altos Hills, asked about the capital, up front cost, the biggest cost was like the last one to hook up to the home. The Town could help with right-of-way. How much would the Town’s help reduce that cost? Dr. Agrawal responded that the cost from the road to your home is not the issue, 4 City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 31, 2021 it is the building in the public utility easements. If LAHCF could use the existing easements, it would reduce the costs. Bridget Morgan, Los Altos Hills, asked the City Manager about permits for the radio antennas installation. She asked if permits were issued for the radio towers on Rhus Ridge and La Cresta, and a public hearing held? The granting of easements on private property is very specific. City Manager Carl Cahill replied that the antennas installed to date have not been permitted. They have been similar to a Dish Network set up. The radio towers on the La Cresta property have been there for years and are used for HAM radio purposes. Assistant City Attorney Claire Lai said the agreement covers the public right- of-way, but anything on private property will have to meet building and zoning requirements. Todd Han, Los Altos Hills, said that we shouldn’t make it harder for residents, but be helping them. David Marple, Los Altos Hills, said he lives directly above the radio antennas on La Cresta Drive. If you want to view the antennas from his house, there is more than one. He believes it is 70 feet tall and the dishes may be 40 tall. He would like to see if the inspector could come to his house as well. Jim Waschura, Los Altos Hills, said he has lived in the same place above the antennas for 23 years. Last year a light was on the antenna and that was the last straw. The light was removed and he thanked his neighbors for that. Our wireless telecommunications regulations should apply to this antenna from now on. It should have gone through a public hearing. This antenna is now being used for commercial reasons. His concern is that without proper oversight, there may be no end to the number of antennas installed. This is not just a building permit; there should be a site review with neighbor input and proper oversight. Sean Suchter, Los Altos Hills, said he lives on Sunset Drive and this is a pure fiber project and explained his experience with the costs involved. He said the process was open and he was able to get a specific cost for adding fiber. Joseph Kleitman, Los Altos Hills, said there is a special assessment district procedure through the government code. They are disrupting an existing system because there is demand for it. There is a process for these kinds of things and it is being overlooked. Regarding the antennas, we need secondary communication efforts. City Manager Cahill said there is no special assessment district planned. The network is funding solely through private property owners to LAHCF to install 5 City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 31, 2021 the fiber. There are similar examples in neighboring jurisidications without special assessment districts. Andy Danver, Los Altos Hills, said his daughter owns property in Longmont, Colorado and they have fiber optics to the building at $50 per month totally funded by the City of Longmont. He thinks this could be a good project for the Town. The Town should have a master plan. Rajiv Bhateja, Los Altos Hills, thanked the Council for hosting this informational meeting. He is very supportive of LAHCF and commended the Town volunteers who contributed to make this happen. He asked that the Council provide what is necessary to get this up and running. 2. Silicon Valley Joint Venture (SVJV) presented on their experience with community fiber. David Witkowski, SVJV, spoke about the community broadband initiative. They have been serving the community since 1993. Communications are a basic requirement for life in the 21st Century. Vice Mayor Tyson questioned if the Town could contract with JVSV for assistance in dealing with LAHCF. Dr. Mohammad (Mo) Shakouri, JVSV, said the model is that JV will work with the Town. We have done strategic plans or alternatives and they helped with the opportunities. They are a neutral, middle party. Dr. Agrawal said they would love to work with JVSV - anything to get this to the community in the most expedient method. Councilmember Mok commented on how we got to JVSV. He said the City Manager of Woodside recommended SVJV. The master agreement has been reviewed by SVJV. He suggested using them for our future planning. Councilmember Swan said LAHCF was resident driven and now it sounds like this is transitioning to an overall plan for the Town. Mayor Tankha said that we aren’t transitioning, but another avenue for the Town to use. The Town will pay for anything related to JVSV. Public Comment Vaughn Pratt, Los Altos Hills, asked if it was possible this is something that could be worked out on a bigger scale; for example, could the model be used for solar photovoltaic? 6 City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 31, 2021 Jim Waschura, Los Altos Hills, asked about a microwave connection instead of fiber optic cable. Dr. Shakouri responded that fiber is the best way to achieve broadband. The US national plan is to get fiber as close as we can. In all cases, fiber gets close to the community and wireless can be used for access. Christopher Grethen, Los Altos Hills, asked LAHCF about providers, backup providers, and redundancy. Dr. Agrawal replied that Next Level provides the Internet. Not all the redundancy is in place but should be accomplished quickly. Ameesh Divatia, Los Altos Hills, said he is supportive of the community initiative. Fiber is the best option. Avoid microwave links if possible. The fiber plan needs to be robust as that can become the single point of failure. He hopes the initiative leads to better service in this Town. Long term, we should have a backbone that the providers create in conjunction with community efforts. Ajay S, Los Altos Hills, asked if there are any maps from LAHCF outlining where they are going? He lives in the Loyola area and asked if that area is being considered. Dr. Agrawal replied that maps are available. David Marple, Los Altos Hills, clarified that putting up radio equipment should be treated as a commercial endeavor. Any of this “island creation” should be taken seriously. It should go under proper review and not skirt any rules. Sasha Zbrozek, Los Altos Hills, pointed out that Title 10, Chapter 2, Article 3 makes no distinction between amateur or commercial use of antennas. Council discussion ensued. B. Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Enter into a Master Access Agreement with Los Altos Hills Community Fiber for the Installation of Fiber Optic Network Facilities within the Public Right-Of-Way (Staff: C. Cahill) Councilmember Mok said the master agreement took a lot of time, effort, and resources. MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Councilmember Schmidt moved to approve Resolution 60-21 Authorizing the City Manager to Enter into a Master Access Agreement with Los Altos Hills Community Fiber for the Installation of Fiber Optic Network Facilities within the Public Right-Of-Way, as amended to include a councilmember as a liaison to the LAHCF Board. The motion was seconded by 7 City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 31, 2021 Councilmember Swan. MOTION PASSED 5-0: AYES: Tankha, Tyson, Mok, Schmidt, Swan NOES: None ABSTAIN: None RECUSE: None ABSENT: None 3. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Deborah L. Padovan Deborah Padovan City Clerk The minutes of the August 31, 2021, special City Council meeting were approved as presented at the October 21, 2021, regular City Council meeting.