City of Gonzales
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & STRATEGIC
PARTNERSHIPS
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: June 6, 2022
FROM: Carmen Gil, Community Engagement & Strat. Partnership Dir.
THROUGH: René L. Mendez, City Manager
SUBJECT: Agreement with T-Mobile
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve and allow the City Manager to sign an extension to the Agreement for the Private/Public Partnership with T-Mobile for 1,745 HotSpots as part of our “Universal Broadband for All” initiative for another 2 years for a total amount not to exceed $635,319.60.
BACKGROUND
The City adopted a Broadband Infrastructure Strategy on May 15 of 2017. At its core, its purpose is to provide basic and reliable internet service to every household in Gonzales. The strategy clearly put forth broadband and achieving “Universal Broadband for All” as one of the cornerstones of the City’s strategy to continue to improve and serve the community. It recognizes that to be competitive and provide the necessary tools for our community to thrive in the 21st century, internet connectivity is an essential tool.
In late 2019 the City received 2,000 HotSpots and begun distributing them in February of 2020. At the time we could not phantom the value of this program; City leadership had the foresight to know that it was important and would help address the digital divide, but it couldn’t have known, at the time, that the HotSpots would literally be lifesavers for many residents, not to mention lifelines to connectivity and to continued education for our local students and adult learners.
The City was not only able to equip every student and family that needed a wifi device with a HotSpot, it was also able to support partners like Chualar Unified School District, the Monterey County Library System and the Virus Integrated Distribution of Aid (VIDA) County program by lending some of the extra devices to them for a low rate which was critical at that time given that it was almost impossible to AGENDA
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11 attain broadband devices since providers were out everywhere given the high demand across the nation.
These strategic partnerships were a win – win for both sides as they allowed our partners to provide their constituents with much-needed broadband connection and allowed us to offset some of the program costs.
In total these partnerships have offset total program costs by $44,820 in the last fiscal year and $40,410 is pending for this year.
Moreover, extending the contract with T-Mobile for another two years is critical to continue providing our community with Wi-Fi access for 1) In order to allow the recently formed South Salians Valley Broadband JPA to complete its work; and 2). the HotSpot program has been such as huge success with the community that to take it away without having another option in place would be detrimental.
As we wait for the infrastructure to be developed for city-wide broadband it is important that we have something in place to continue offering wifi for our families and residents at a low cost and the current best solution is through our T-Mobile Hotspots that have proven to be reliable and a great asset for our community.
REVIEW AND ANALYSIS
The HotSpot program has been a great success. It put us at the forefront of innovation and connectivity. It has allowed us to address the digital divide in a way that hadn’t been done before and that the pandemic pushed others to respond to accordingly, whereas the City was already ahead of the game by owning the 2,000 HotSpots and having a contract in place with T-Mobile that allowed us to bypass the stressor of not having our students have access to wifi while they had to engage in distance learning. Without this critical service our students would have been even further behind on their learning and the impacts of isolation would have been even worse given that through the devices individuals still had an opportunity to connect virtually.
Duties and Commitments
If the Council decides to extend the Agreement with T-Mobile for another two years to continue providing internet connectivity to residents a charge of $15.17 per device per month will be incurred with a subsidy of $157,050, making the City responsible for the total of the contract not to exceed $635,319.60.
Explain Recommendation and How it Supports the Vision
Gonzales will continue to be a safe, clean, family-friendly community, diverse in its heritage, and committed to working collaboratively to preserve and retain its small town charm.
Explain: This program will not only continue to support the community in achieving high speed internet connectivity. It will also continue to put our community at the forefront of innovation and support our youth and adult learners in the competitive 21st century.
Explain how the Recommendation Directly Implements the Mission The City Council and Staff of the City of Gonzales will realize our Vision by providing the leadership, commitment, and resources necessary to provide excellent services that enhance the quality of life of our diverse community.
Explain: This program aligns with our mission to provide top-notch quality of life services and supports for our community. It will ensure that no matter what happens with the pandemic, we will be ready to continue addressing the issue of broadband for the next two years.
City services will be delivered in a cost-effective, respectful, and friendly manner to insure the safety and well being of the residents and the promotion of business, recreational, housing and employment opportunities in an environmentally sustainable manner.
Explain: Please see explanation above for the Mission.
Strong fiscal policies allow us to provide appropriate infrastructure for:
• Public Safety Yes No X N/A
• Housing Yes No X N/A
• Recreation Yes No X N/A
• Environment Yes No X N/A
• Education X Yes No N/A
Explain: See above.
ALTERNATIVES
1) The Council can decide to move forward with the Agreement for another two years while we are also working on setting up the infrastructure for broadband connectivity via the recently formed South Salinas Valley Broadband JPA. That way there is no lapse in service, and we can continue to offer connection to all of our local families and students. Especially as we move into the fall and winter seasons, and we don’t know how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect our schools and student learning. 2) The Council can decide not to move forward with the 2-year contract which will result in the contract ending on June 30th of 2022 and connectivity being turned off. This will affect the 1,745 lines that are currently active and being used by throughout the community.
BUDGET IMPACT
The impact to the budget over the next two years will be $635,319.60 or $317,659.80 per year. The FY 2022-2023 reflects utilizing American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to cover the costs. It is expected as other revenue sources materialize, and/or other expenditures decrease (i.e, insurance costs), there will be sufficient resources to cover the second year.
CONCLUSION
It is recommended that the City Council approve and allow the City Manager to sign on to another 2-year agreement with T-Mobile for the HotSpot “Universal Broadband for All” program, which will continue to cover the cost of 1,745 HotSpots. For a total not to exceed $635,319.60.
Attachments:
1. Agreement with T-Mobile