Chanute city commissioners will continue discussion about fiber optic expansion at a June work session after covering the issue at Monday evening’s regular meeting.
The commission tabled a draft letter to be sent to potential residential customers to gauge interest in the project, and scheduled a work session for 5:30 pm June 10, before the regular commission meeting.
Commissioner Tim Fairchild said fiber would be a good subject for a work session.
The city is considering a discounted rate of $75 per month for early sign-up and $100 per month afterwards, with a two-month deposit and two-year commitment to get a 35 percent take-rate of neighborhood customers.
City staff found Google made a similar offer in its 2012 launch in Kansas City, but its fee was only $10.
“Once we start, we’re going,” Fairchild said, and offered ideas on how to set neighborhood boundaries for hook-ups, and raised questions over the plan.
“I don’t want to incur debt,” he said. “The biggest question is, how do we make it fair?”
One question he had was what secondary effects the city could expect from competitors from the expansion. He said he wanted to make sure the city takes the right steps.
(Read more: The Chanute Tribune – news,news/)