By Phyllis Rose
Residents and businesses in the Village of Schoolcraft may soon have the option to connect with a high-speed fiber optic internet service through Mercury Fiber, a company burying fiber through the village.
The Village Council May 19 voted to give conditional approval for the project, pending review from Prein&Newhof, a civil engineering firm used by the Village for various projects.
Prior to the vote, Colin Loker, regional general manager for Mercury Broadband, explained to the Council that the company has worked in the area for about three years providing high speed internet to underserved communities.
Questioned about how residents have been notified of this new service, Loker explained that mailers have been sent out and door-to-door contact has been made with businesses. Also, door hangers have been placed on homes.
“We have plenty of marketing materials,” he said.
Trustee Joe Beck asked how long it would take to get connected to the system once the customer signs up.
“If you call today, you’ll have service the next day,” said Loker.
Responding to a question about the disruption the installation might cause, Loker said, “There are going to be messes but we’ll take care of it.”
Matt Curtis, director of field operations for Directline, a subcontractor for Mercury Broadband, explained that it will be using directional drilling to install the cables underground. This method is trenchless and does not disrupt the surface.
“We will coordinate with the Village on their road projects and we will bring in a third party locator for the water and utility lines,” he said.
Trustee Kirk Bergland expressed concern about the issue of squirrels chewing up the lines.
Curtis said that shouldn’t be an issue because the lines are 100 percent buried.
“An underground system is the way to go,” added Loker.
A memo to the Council from Village Manager Cheri Lutz recommended the conditional approval “contingent upon final approval by Prein&Newhof, and that no work will begin until that approval has been received.”
There is no financial impact on the Village, Lutz noted in the memo.
In other business, the Council approved a bid of $152,897 from Balkema Excavating for lead and copper service line replacements. This will affect 33 homes in the Village.
Prein&Newhof had analyzed three bids for the project and recommended that it be awarded to Balkema which was the lowest of the bids.
Village Manager Lutz explained that $100,000 of the $152,897 cost will come from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in the form of a grant from the County. The balance of the money will come from the Village’s water fund.
ARPA funds were allocated months ago to a number of governmental entities and other non profits located in Kalamazoo County. Schoolcraft did not receive an allocation of funds and complained several times to county officials.
“I was notified by the County Administrator and Commissioner Mazer that some monies were still available. I submitted a request again and the County awarded the Village $100,000. Both administrator Catlin and Commissioner Mazer were very supportive of this request.”
The Road Commission of Kalamazoo County received approval from the Council for hot mix asphalt (HMA) surface paving on Lyons Street for the half mile from US-131 to 14th Street with a cost to the Village of $79,434.
Council members noted that this is not a long-term solution but that something needs to be done because that is a heavily trafficked area.
