HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-07-14 - AGENDA REPORTS - CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS INTERNET TRANSPOR (2)Agenda Item: 15
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CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:1
DATE: July 14, 2020
SUBJECT: CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS INTERNET TRANSPORT
AGREEMENT
DEPARTMENT: Administrative Services
PRESENTER: Benny Ives
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
Approve a three-year agreement, with three optional three-year renewal options, between the
City of Santa Clarita and the California Institute of the Arts to license two City -owned dark
fiber strands and provide lit transport service.
2. Appropriate $15,000 to Dark Fiber revenue account 100-4312.008.
3. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all contracts and associated documents,
subject to City Attorney approval.
BACKGROUND
In June 2019, the City Council approved an agreement with Crown Castle Fiber, LLC, to lease
two dark fiber strands to Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA). This physical connection from the
City of Santa Clarita (City) to the One Wilshire Building (OWB) in DTLA created a gateway to
a plethora of Internet Service Providers (ISP) who, prior to this agreement, were not accessible to
the Santa Clarita marketplace. This decision by City Council was a significant step towards
accomplishing two important goals identified in Santa Clarita 2020: "To provide
recommendations and strategies on how to ensure high-speed internet access to business parks,
and establish a revenue -generating program that utilizes existing fiber infrastructure to leverage
resources and potentially promote greater bandwidth access to the community."
By getting Santa Clarita connected to a major data center and Internet exchange, the City has
significantly reduced barriers to entry for a number of potential Internet Service Providers (ISP)
By establishing the physical connection, the City is enabling ISP's to establish a presence in
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Santa Clarita to provide affordable, high speed Internet to businesses and other anchor
institutions. Efforts to market Santa Clarita and highlight its connection to DTLA is currently
underway via a Request for Proposal (RFP) that was released on July 2nd and is expected to
close on August 14th. The results of this RFP are expected to highlight how many ISPs have the
interest and ability to service businesses in Santa Clarita.
In the meanwhile, until such a relationship(s) develops, the City is not in a position to facilitate
internet services at large. However, organizations with a need for Dedicated Internet Service
(DIA) of 1 Gbps or higher, who possess their own technical experts, and are within striking
distance of the City's Fiber Optic Network (FON), may be a candidate to utilize the City's new
connection and obtain DIA from an ISP located in DTLA.
California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a prime example of such an organization. City staff
approached CalArts to discuss the prospects of partnering on a project that would yield mutual
benefits - a cost savings and choice of ISPs for CalArts and a proof of concept and revenue
generation for the City. Currently, CalArts' Internet connection of 1 Gbps costs approximately
eight times more per month than what comparable service using an ISP located in DTLA
charges. However, in order to take advantage of this, CalArts needs the City's robust FON and its
physical connection to DTLA.
City staff recommends entering into a three-year agreement to license two dark fiber strands and
provide lit transport service to CalArts. This agreement would generate $18,000 per year in
revenue for the City. One-time constructions costs to deploy fiber from McBean Parkway to
CalArts datacenter will cost $27,400 and will be split equally, resulting in a one-time cost of
$13,700 for the City.
If approved, the City anticipates that construction will take place during the summer to enable
the connection to be available to CalArts before the beginning of their fall semester.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of the recommended action will generate revenue of $18,000 annually beginning in
September 2020, when construction of the physical fiber connection is expected to be completed.
Funds in the amount of $13,700 are available in Technology Services' Telecommunications
expenditure account 12201-5161.001 to fund the City's share of one-time construction costs.
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