The Rosemount City Council has awarded an $83,000 contract for installation of fiber-optic cable at the Rosemount Business Park to replace its outdated copper cable system.
Work on the project should begin later this spring, city officials said.
MP NexLevel of Maple Lake was awarded the contract at the May 6 council meeting. Its base bid of $83,475.76 was the lowest of the three submitted, but was 4 percent higher than an original estimate of $80,000, due to the "opportunity to serve the individual buildings and desire to have an open public system," according to city documents.
Conduit will be laid along the 50-acre business park off County Road 42 and Hwy. 3. Officials said that business owners must give the city a right of entry "that would permit a contractor to install the individual services from the public fiber in the right of way to their building."
Contracts for service connections would then be struck with property owners who wish to participate.
The city is hoping to lure new businesses and jobs to the area with its promises of an ultra-high-speed fiber optic network, said community development director Kim Lindquist.
Lindquist said the city is expected to use tax increment financing funds to pay for the project, which could cost more than $152,000.
The project, which would allow for future expansion, also would necessitate putting up a small building along Boulder Avenue to house "the individual company racking," officials said. □
