Cost of gigabit Internet speed in Highland just got cut 75 percent

Highland Communications Services has lowered the cost of its highest internet speed plan about one-quarter of its original price.

On May 21 , the Highland City Council reduced what is now called the "Gig-a-Share" plan, which gives the city's Internet, television and telephone consumers a broadband speed of 1 gigabit per second (Gb/s).

"It is the only gigabit speed available in Highland. It’s only $20 more a month than Charter’s highest which is five times slower (200 Mb/s )," said the city's Director of Technology and Innovation Angela Imming.

The plan prices moved from $399.95 to $94.95. Imming said the old rate was in effect for almost 12 years, and the decision was based on a recent assessment that compared the city's broadband speeds prices to local and regional providers. The assessment indicated the plan does not align with market value.

"That's the thing about technology is that, at the beginning, it costs more, and then as people develop, and as tech defines its place in the market, it drives the prices down," Imming said.

However, Imming also said the decision was driven in part by the final results of a recent survey, which was launched by the city in March.

Imming said the survey was developed to help the city grasp an understanding of where HCS will go in the future as technology innovations continue to move forward.

To develop the survey, the city paired with the Strategic Network Group (SNG), a economy research firm which helps develop strategies for broadband use in communities.

Out of the responses received, Imming said a major takeaway was that users want higher internet speeds for a cheaper price.

Recently, Harvard University published a study which showed HCS provides the fifth most savings for basic broadband services over its local competitor. However, some of HCS's higher speed such as 100 Mb/s, 200 Mb/s, and until last week 1 Gb/s, still remained higher than some local and regional services, though many do not provide the options at all.

In the future, Imming said that users will probably see a price decrease in the 100 Mb/s and 200 Mb/s speeds.

In addition, the council also approved a change to the existing "Streamer's Dream" plan. The package is catered toward streaming households as it provides 60 Mbps download and upload speeds and standard definition television with local channels.

The plan now allows data additions of 20 Mbps increments for about $10 per add on. Imming said the change was made to help accommodate the growing demand quality streaming services on wireless devices. Currently, 97 HCS customers subscribe to the package.

Imming estimated that if 40 percent of subscribers pick up an add-on, the city will experience a return of about $4650 annually.

"It is imperative to accommodate the growing demand of in-home wireless devices connected to the internet while providing quality streaming services and local television programming," Imming said in a memo.

Poppy Days

Linda Iberg, president of the Legion Auxiliary Unit 439, presented Mayor Joe Michaelis and the council with the first Highland poppies of the year.

Iberg visits the City Hall every year to present the poppies before National Poppy Day, which is May 25, and Memorial Day. The red poppy is a nationally recognized symbol of sacrifice worn by Americans since World War I to honor those who served and died for our country in all wars. May 25 was officially recognized as National Poppy Day for the first time in 2017.

The American Legion and other organizations collect donations in exchange for the red emblems, which they ask people to wear in honor of all veterans.

Annexation approved

The city approved an annexation agreement with landowner Carl Mersinger and Jason Mettler of Mettler Development, a development company in Highland.

The 20-acre plat of land that was annexed into city limits spans along the northern side of Sportsmans Road, near Arbor Crest Drive, and ends at Vulliet Road.

City Manager Mark Latham said that the parties plan to use the land to develop Highland's first new subdivision in 10 years. He said that they expect to develop roughly 40 to 45 homes on the plat.

"We will see a preliminary plat going through Planning and Zoning soon," Latham said.

The city held a brief public hearing before annexation, during which no one spoke.

Union contract approved

The council approve a new three-year contract with the International Union of Operating Engineers. Latham said that city staff has been negotiating with members of the union for the past four months.

The agreement provides for one 2.5 percent wage increase for union workers, which became effective on May 1, as well as two 3 percent increase for the next two years.

The contract includes a new stipulation for on call procedures. Union members will be paid their regular rate of pay, instead of an averaged rate, while on call.

The new contract also has a correction to what Latham called a "scrivener's error." Union full-time workers with 15 years or more full-time service will receive 240 hours of paid sick instead of 24 hours.

Bids rejected

The council rejected bids for the demolition of two city-owned properties at 1311 Oak St. and 914-916 Deal St. in Highland.

Latham said that when the city went out for bids on the project, they had not gathered information from an environmental report. On further examination, he said it was found that the Oak Street property would need additional precautions, and expenses to be torn down, therefore making the project more than what was originally expected.

"It wouldn't be fair to the bidders to include that," Latham said.

Sewer extension project

The council approved bid letting of a new sewer extension project to properties near Troxler Avenue.

In a memo, Director of Public Work Joe Gillespie said the extension is necessary to provide sanitary sewer service to the new Jimmy John's that will be located at 2774 Illinois 143, between the buildings that house Blake Schrumpf State Farm and Sunrise Care Givers to the north and Silver Lake Group to the south.

Gillespie said the new sewer main will extend from in front of Highland Family Dentistry, and will run to the south under Troxler Avenue then parallel to Illinois 143.

Gillespie said the project was a stipulation from a 2007 real estate agreement between Sunset Commercial Properties and the Highland School District. The agreement obligated the city to extend the sewer to the property where Jimmy John's will be constructed, according to Gillespie.

Gillespie said the project will be funded by monies received from the Highland School District, as part of the 2007 agreement and by reserves from the city's sewer fund.

Financing process started

The council approved two resolutions which allow the city to accept engagements with Gilmore Bell, a bond attorney, and Joy Howard, a bond analyst.

"This is the initial step needed to begin this financing process," Director of Finance Kelly Korte said in a memo.

The two parties will help the city find an attractive bond options for financing the city's new public safety facility, according to Latham.

The council also approved rezoning the piece of land on which the new public safety building will be located from a R-1-C Single Family designation to a C-2 Central Business District.

Inspection process changed

The council repealed and superseded an ordinance which requires landlords to have their properties inspected at tenancy changes and at the time of sale.

The ordinance used to require landlords to pay an additional $25 inspection, if the property failed its first inspection. Latham said now, if the landlord fails their first inspection, the re-inspection will not require a fee. However, if the landlord fails a second time, they must pay $25 for the third inspection.

Latham also said that the new ordinance clarifies that if a landlord sells their property, the buyer is the party responsible to facilitate the inspection.

Other small changes include clarification on the definition of landlord and owner.

These changes were recommended by local landlords at a public meeting on May 9. The city is now working to notify its estimated 500 registered landlords about the changes, according to Latham. He said that landlords should receive a letter in the mail, which also includes an updated list of inspection points.

The health and safety inspections will be required after June 1.

Solar power policy changed

The council amended the city's existing policies for net metering and interconnection as it relates to solar power in the city.

Director of Light & Power Dan Cook brought addressed the council about six weeks ago, where he recommended pursuing a change to the ordinance. Cook said the city has had it's current ordinance in place for almost four years.

However, Cook relayed that distributed generation technology, specifically solar power, and the legislation that applies to this type of power has changed rapidly over the past four years. When he first brought up the problem, Cook also stated concern over whether or not solar power could prove a liability to the city's electric operations, and could ultimately cause the city to lose revenue.

The new policy:

• Limits residential installation size to 90 percent of the household's annual power consumption;
• Added a provision for commercial and industrial installation up to 20kW or 50 percent of their utilization, whichever is lesser, though larger systems will be considered on a case by case basis;
• A new monthly Distribution System Utilization Fee of $25 on systems below 20 kW;
• Provisions to ensure customer provides insurance coverage and indemnification for the city;
• Requires customers to provide structural engineering review prior to instillation of an approved system.

Reappointments approved

The council reappointed three people upon Mayor Joe Michaelis' recommendation:

• George Marron III was reappointed to the Telecommunications Advisory Board. Marron has served on the board since 2009 and will resume another three-year term.
  
  

• Richard G. Ringwald was reappointed to the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners. Ringwald was originally appointed to the board in 2013 and will also serve another three-year term.

• Tim McGinley was reappointed to the Liquor Control Commission, of which Michaelis said McGinley has been a long-time member. McGinley will serve another three-years on the commission.

Redevelopment agreement approved

The council approved a redevelopment agreement with Kloss Furniture.

The business's CEO Steve Kloss and President Josh Kloss announced their intention to buy the vacant Schuette's Market building located at 1100 Broadway in Highland.

Steve Kloss said they plan to buy the building for $950,000, though no official closing date has been set. In addition, the Klosses relayed that they plan to invest about $1 million into the property.

Overall, Latham said that the redevelopment agreement allows for a business district incentive reimbursement of up to 20 percent of the total project cost. In total, the business could earn a total of $380,000 over a ten year period.

However, at the moment Latham said the business is eligible for about $247,375. This figure is reimbursement of 75 percent of the 1 percent of city incremental sales tax if the business's sales increase. Currently, the Klosses estimate that the move will increase their annual sales from $3.75 million to $7 million.

The Klosses said that they plan to still operate out of their current Highland location, The Tin Shed, located 135 Poplar St. But, Steve Kloss said the location will only be used as a warehouse, and all sales will be made at the new location.

Latham said that the city is still negotiating other incentives for the business owners, such as job incentives and building permit fee waivers. However, he said the details of these incentives have not been finalized.

This story was originally published May 29, 2018 at 2:11 PM with the headline "Cost of gigabit Internet speed in Highland just got cut 75 percent."