As a result of that study, a proposal has emerged to expand some 16.3 miles of existing fiber into a 45.2 mile fiber ring (the “Fiber Ring Project”). The Fiber Ring would provide broadband connectivity to the cities of Oakwood, Centerville, Kettering, Miamisburg, Moraine, Springboro, and West Carrollton, as well as MVCC. Users of this infrastructure would include all of these communities, as well as customer users to include local school districts and other non-profit and tax exempt organizations.

This is an exciting infrastructural development because there are many long-term uses and benefits of the Fiber Ring. Some of the expected uses include:

• Sharing of technology services, capabilities and skill sets among MVCC communities;
• Joint cooperative projects such as crime mapping and shared 9-1-1 systems, without having to contract for third-party data circuits;
• Large data sharing initiatives such as traffic video, law enforcement dash/body cam video, and the like;
• Lower IT and telecomm expenses and increased internet bandwidth for all users;
• An improved path to MVCC to transmit council video, avoiding anticipated charges for existing council video fiber;
• Direct connectivity to the Ohio Academic Research Network; and
• Opportunities for business development throughout the MVCC communities.

The finished Fiber Ring Project will be a combination of city-owned fiber and private network-owned fiber that will be accessed through shared use agreements, and the project is projected for completion in 2018.

The total cost to build the Fiber Ring Project is about $935,000, of which $225,000 would be paid as lease revenue from the Kettering School District. The remaining $710,000 would be paid by the seven participating MVCC communities, with Oakwood’s contribution to be approximately $45,000.

In order to pursue this project, Council must adopt an amendment to the current appropriation ordinance. This amendment will appropriate an additional $45,000 from the Capital Improvement Fund.

This is a first reading of the ordinance, so Vice Mayor Byington made no motion.

A copy of the ordinance, having been placed on the desks of each member of Council prior to introduction, was read by title.

Mr. Epley explained that this is an ordinance to increase rates for the Sanitary Sewer Utility which serves all residential and commercial structures in the city.

The city has operated a Sanitary Sewer Utility for many years, but Oakwood does not own or operate its own sewage treatment facility. Oakwood has local sewer personnel and city sewer infrastructure, but sanitary sewer waste is treated at facilities owned by the city of Dayton and by Montgomery County. Each year, Oakwood contracts with Dayton and Montgomery County for the use of their pipes and treatment infrastructure.

The costs of Oakwood’s own city personnel and infrastructure maintenance account for approximately 25% of the Sanitary Sewer Utility rates charged to Oakwood residents, while the cost of contracting services from Dayton and Montgomery County account for approximately 75% of those rates. Oakwood has not raised rates since 2009, but in the eight years since then, Oakwood has absorbed five increases in the Dayton rate and three increases in Montgomery County’s rate. On average, each Dayton increase was over 4%, and each Montgomery County increase was over 3%. An additional Montgomery County increase of 14% is scheduled to take effect in 2018.

In short, Oakwood’s Sanitary Sewer Utility cannot sustain further increases in these outside costs without an adjustment to the rate. The City Manager has proposed an increased rate schedule, with adjustments to eliminate the minimum use credit, eliminate the second tier consumption rate, and increase the standard consumption rate. For typical household water usage of 1,000