Plains council discusses fees for fiber optics installation

Members of the Plains council met together Monday evening with the public filling all available seats. Several of the town’s department heads were present with only council member Chad Cantrell being absent.

Fire Chief Anthony Young said that it has been a quiet winter for calls, but still felt that he would like to see more residents joining the volunteer fire department. He also said that all the equipment was in good condition.

Public Works department reported that they are working on filling the many potholes around town and have plans to repave a section of Farmer Street.

Part of the cost for paving the town’s roads is paid for by a gasoline tax called (BARSAA) which is distributed to local municipalities. That tax collected at the pump contributes around 25% of Plains road repair budget.

Repairs over the last few weeks to the water mains within the city have reduced water main losses from 51% to the current loss of 25%, which is in line with other districts.

The old jail renovation is progressing and should be finished soon. Much of the mortar has been replaced as well as some of the rocks in the walls. Mayor Dan Rowan said that he hopes to have an interpretive sign installed, displaying its history soon after the jail is restored.

An issue was brought before the council about the amount of debris and garbage located at some residences in town. Several solutions were proposed, and the council agreed to bring the subject up in a future meeting.

Most of the council’s time was spent on discussing the installation of fiber optics cable in the Plains area. Blackfoot Communication is still expressing their concern with the impact fees proposed by the city council. Those impact fees could add $40,000 to $50,000 to Blackfoot’s installation costs. Those impact fees, when collected, would reimburse the town for the additional time and costs associated with utility line locations performed by the Public Works department.

Once the fiber optics lines are installed, local customers could see internet speeds of up to 50 Mtps upload and 50 Mtps download.

Council member, Joel Banham, raised a concern with Blackfoot Communications, via speaker phone, about who would cover the high costs of repairing the fiber lines if damaged by the town Public Works department. Those negotiations are still ongoing.

The proposed impact fee schedule was passed unanimously by the town council.