HomeMy WebLinkAboutBC 2024-04-05Town of Dryden
Broadband Committee Meeting
Friday, April 5, 2024 – Via Zoom
Approved Minutes
Attendees
Graham Dobson – Broadband Committee
Tony Salerno – Broadband Committee
Mark Wilson – Broadband Committee
Dan Lamb – Town Board
Tracy Monell – Gleamon Technology
Ryan Garrison – HUNT EAS
Corey Hopper – HUNT EAS
Andrew Hafner – Netegrity
Jeffrey Smith – Municipal Solutions
Kate Morseman – HUNT EAS
Cassie Byrnes – Confidential Secretary to the Town Supervisor
Ray Burger – Planning Director
Tracy Monell called the meeting to order at 10:35am.
Introductions (Tracy Monell)
• Ryan Garrison read the Dryden Fiber Mission Statement aloud: “Our mission is to provide
reliable, affordable, high-speed, fiber-based internet access for all Dryden residents. We offer
state-of-the-art technology and unmatched customer service.”
• Meeting Schedule: 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month
o Next meetings: April 19th, May 3rd, May 17th, June 7th, June 21st
NYSEG Pole Permitting Process (Ryan Garrison)
• NYSEG Pole Application – Dryden Fiber applies to attach to an existing NYSEG pole
• Key Items
o Power space vs communication space on utility poles (power on top, communication
on bottom – must be separated by a certain distance)
o National Electric Code (NESC) – dictates that 40 inches has to separate any new power
from communications
o Poles must be put into compliance before Dryden Fiber can hang cable on them
o This process includes submitting simultaneous applications with NYSEG as well as the
local exchange carrier (Frontier or Verizon) because they are jointly owned
• 14-step process outlined by NYSEG
o Survey of the poles – pictures and geographic locations
o Submit pole information into the application
o Make-Ready Design completed by NYSEG and subcontractors
o NYSEG lists items that need to happen in a spreadsheet
o Billable vs Non-Billable work needed
o Decide which poles need to stay or and which poles need to be removed and use an
alternate pathway
o Send plan back to NYSEG and Telcos for approval
o Once make-ready packages are approved, Dryden Fiber can bid them out to 3-4
electrical contractors
o Bids are returned and given back to Dryden Fiber in billable and non-billable categories
on each Make-Ready Package
o NYSEG reviews the non-billable items, and either approve them or re-bid them
o Bids are awarded and a pre-construction meeting is scheduled
o Electrical Make-Ready work can be done
o Telcos are able to do their work
o Conditional license issued and NYSEG runs close-out on the project
• Timeline (Ryan Garrison)
o Once you get to construction, NYSEG subcontractors have 120 days to complete
construction
o Applications DRY001-DRY0012 have been submitted
o Syracuse Utilities will begin work next week in the Village of Freeville (from process that
started last fall)
o Once the work in the Village of Freeville is complete, they will begin work in the Village
of Dryden
Construction Updates (Ryan Garrison)
• Broken into two categories: Village Buildout and Phase 2 Expansion
o Currently drilling underground down Main Street in the Village of Dryden
o Aerial work being done on Ferguson Road to get South Backbone completed
o Syracuse Utilities ready to begin aerial work in the Village of Freeville next week, and
then go right to the Village of Dryden to complete the aerial work there
o Phase 2 Expansion broken down road by road
• Tompkins County Recovery Fund – work specific to an application put into Tompkins County
last year that funds were awarded for (Bone Plain Road)
• Ryan Garrison will send the Construction Update PowerPoint (where all work is being done) as
well as a map
• Estimated time for these projects is 6-9 months
Reminders
• Two meetings a month
o 1st Friday – Education, Strategy, and Updates Meeting
o 3rd Friday – Prior Month Review Meeting (Metrics, Key Performance Indicators, Trend
Analysis, Q&A) – Gather all data from previous month and share
o Both Meetings – Project Updates: Construction, Installations, Growth, Blockers
o Broadband Committee and Vendor Communication: PublicBroadband@dryden.ny.us
o Internal Operations Team Communication: operations@drydenfiber.com
o Operations Team Meetings – Once a month for March and April, then determine if we
need more frequent meetings
Cassie Byrnes will continue to send out meeting reminders
Financial Updates
• ConnectALL has been submitted – No award has been granted yet
• USDA ReConnect – Need to decide if Dryden Fiber is going to go for this grant
o 50/50 Grant Combo – Less competitive, 50/50 share of the funds, everyone who
submitted last year was awarded, 3.5% interest
Jeff Smith, Dan Lamb, and Tony Salerno think it’s worth going after
• Dan Lamb discussed a letter that was sent to the Speaker of the House regarding the bill that
was passed that will limit funds to projects that target unserved and underserved locations
only, and what the Town is doing to have a legislative fix
• County RFP – Dan will bring this up with the county legislators
• Graham Dobson asked for an overview of what the cost of the entire project is, where funding
is coming from, and where we are looking in the future
o Ryan Garrison will work on this
• Working on a Congressional Spending Request now
Sales (Tracy Monell)
• Tracy Monell has reached out to all 28 businesses in the green zone list, as well as another 4,
and a new construction apartment complex, with most showing interest in Dryden Fiber
• Ryan Garrison – May be able to de-bolt our cable to other providers cable, and be able to get
to some of these businesses on the south side of Route 13 quicker
Legal (Tracy Monell)
• First landlord has signed the Dryden Fiber Landlord Agreement – Customer is being connected
• 5 more landlords that we are waiting for information on to be able to move forward
• First customer from the trailer park on Kirk Road to ask for service – Nothing back from that
property owner yet
• Tracy Monell will ask Ray Burger for help finding contact information for property owners
• There may be a few more businesses that we are able to serve on Route 13
• Landlord Agreement Diagram – more discussion needed to get this added into the Agreement
Discussion – Getting Dryden Fiber to Properties with Long Driveways
• Currently there is no charge for the first 500 feet, and then $2 per foot after that
• Some companies leave cable on top of the ground until the cable can be buried
• Tracy Monell will find out the exact cost of installation per foot, so that the Broadband
Committee can decide what must be charged of customers
Concluding Discussions
• Graham Dobson would prefer to do an update on sales more than once per month
• Cassie Byrnes said that the Town received a volunteer board application for the Broadband
Committee, and it will be put on the April 11th Town Board Meeting agenda, for appointment
to be voted on
• The Broadband Committee members have been tasked with submitting their bios to Cassie
Byrnes, for addition to the Town website
o Background, experience with broadband, reason for wanting to be on the committee
• The Broadband Committee Mission Statement aligns with the Dryden Fiber Mission Statement
• Next Broadband Committee Meeting – April 19, 2024
The meeting adjourned at 11:55am.
Respectfully submitted,
Cassie Byrnes
Confidential Secretary to the Town Supervisor
Construction Update
Town of Dryden 4/5
NYSEG Pole Applications
•Power Space vs Communication Space on Utility Poles
•NESC Compliance - National Electric Code
•Joint Pole Owners
•ILEC – Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier
NYSEG Pole Permitting
1. Survey poles
2. Submit applications
3. Make-ready Design is completed by NYSEG/Telco subcontractors.
4. Reconciliation is completed by applicant.
5. Reconciliations are submitted to NYSEG/Telco for approval.
6. Once approved, MR packages are bid out to three or more contractors.
7. Bids are returned, separated into two categories, Billable and Non-Billable.
8. Non-billable items are reviewed by NYSEG and either approved or rebid. NYSEG
will rebid twice and then send out a field engineer to resolve the issue.
9. Once non-billable is resolved, bids are awarded and a preconstruction meeting is
scheduled.
10. Upon completion of the Electrical Make-Ready, Telcos & Third Parties can be
moved, then the applicant cable can be placed.
11. All invoices are sent to Dryden for payment and LaBella (NYSEG) assists with the
reimbursement process.
Construction Updates
NotesApplication#ECDStatusRoute Name
Village Buildout
Main Street Dryden (V)Underground30 DaysIn ProgressNorth Backbone
Ferguson RdDRY00230 DaysStarts 5/6South Backbone
Railroad Street Freeville (V)DRY00160 DaysStarts 4/8Village of Freeville (Empire Overlash Inc.)
Restricted to aerial.DRY002,00390 DaysStarts 5/6Village of Dryden Aerial
Sub-divisions. Underground90 DaysStarts 5/6Village of Dryden Underground
Phase 2 Expansion
DRY004120 DaysPending Approval of NB QuotesLower Creek Rd
Funded by Tompkins Co.DRY005, 006120 DaysPending Approval of NB QuotesTompkins County Recovery Fund
DRY007150 DaysPending NYSEG Approval of MRWest Dryden Rd
DRY007150 DaysPending NYSEG Approval of MRRt. 38 North
DRY008150 DaysPending NYSEG Approval of MRPeruvilleRd
DRY009180 DaysTelco DesignFall Creek Rd/ Ed Hill Rd/
DRY009180 DaysTelco DesignWest Mallory Rd/ Morris Rd
DRY010180 DaysTelco DesignNorth Rd/ Dutcher Rd
DRY011180 DaysTelco DesignGulf Hill Rd./ Sweetland Rd
DRY012180 DaysTelco DesignRt. 366 (Freeville to Rt. 13)