From: Jacob Patterson
To: City Clerk
Cc: Whippy, Isaac
Subject: Public Comment -- 1/26/26 CC Mtg., Item No. 8B, Broadband Boondoggle Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026 11:32:37 AM
City Council & Staff,
I don't think I have ever read a staff report stuffed with so much BS that it stinks before you even start reading it! "[S]taff has identified a clear path forward supported by a solid implementation plan." If only that were true. No sensible person can actually think the same people that got us into this mess have a solid implementation plan, they clearly do not. This seems more like magical thinking. This project has been and continues to be a total disaster and if you follow these ridiculous and delusional staff recommendations rather than exploring a major course correction, you could very well end up bankrupting the City. This project doesn't need tweaks, it needs an entirely new direction. It is good we fired the obviously negligent construction manager firm but why did we pay them anything let alone keep paying them anything? I am glad there was mention of litigation, it NEEDs to happen, including suing GHD and their professional liability insurance can help fill these gaps rather than the debt that we have already incurred paying for it. Unfortunately, GHD isn't the only problem, HP Communications should have also been fired or scaled back as much as possible.
A lot of the issues with this project resulted from how these contracts were structured and the staff responsible for that, primarily Sarah, John, and Isaac, have a lot of explaining to do.
Honestly, we should be asking for resignations over how poorly this project has been handled.
Regardless, I implore you to not approve this change order tonight. In the least, we need A LOT more explanation of what has gone on and the details of where we are now before anyone can be expected to approve something as significant as the proposed change order. It sounds like we don't even know exactly what all this additional money is for, the public and City Council certainly don't based on the sparse content in this staff report that spends more time trying to paint a rosy picture about our prospects than it does providing information about the requested action.
Before you do anything, you need a Council strategy session with legal counsel--not J&M, you need a better litigation firm with public capital project construction expertise to represent us in our efforts to recover damages from just about every company involved in this project.
Unfortunately, we can't recover anything from City staff who got us into this mess but we can mitigate those losses by ceasing to pay their salaries and send them to the unemployment lines.
I am almost at a loss for words at how ridiculous and irresponsible this is. The consequences of these decisions have far-reaching ramifications and could lead us down a very dangerous path that ends in ruinous consequences like massive cuts to the PD because we can't afford to keep paying for all the services we currently rely on. We can still have the broadband benefits from this technology but without all the crazy risk associated with staff plans. Honestly, this reminds me of how we got embroiled in the foolish litigation with the skunk train that derailed our progress toward developing the Mill Site and set back any progress toward economic development rather than advancing it. We might have to do that by selling or leasing it all to a company that knows what they are doing rather than trying to operate this ourselves and bringing the whole city down.
Please don't catch whenever crazy staff has apparently caught. --Jacob