“It also would reduce our cost of internet service and connect our buildings together,” he added.
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West Carrollton has joined Miamisburg and Oakwood in approving measures to join the Miami Valley Communications Council’s project. The network has been in the concept stages for years, but has only become cost effective in recent times, officials said.
Centerville, Kettering, Moraine and Springboro are expected to pass similar measures in the coming weeks for what MVCC Executive Director Brian Humphress said will be about 19 miles of fiber, making possible shared services in areas such as data sharing and crime mapping while benefitting schools and inviting business growth.
“It will be done in a more cost-efficient manner than if done individually city by city,” according to Humphress. “Bringing communities together to solve joint problems in an efficient and effective manner is the mission and purpose of MVCC, and this project is a representation of our member cities’ commitment to that mission.”
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The plan is the result of a study that started a few years ago with a $100,000 state grant for innovation, Humphress has said. The network would expand on the concept of a 911 system now shared by Centerville and Kettering, officials said.
Kettering City Manager Mark Schwieterman has said future uses for the system could be beneficial for businesses which decide to integrate their systems with the technology. It could also provide businesses with incentive to relocate, officials said.
The projected cost of the network, which will be centered in Kettering, is $966,750, and leases with the Kettering City School District and the Miami Valley Educational Computer Association will cover $256,750 of that bill, records show.
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Projected over 10 years, the member partners will fund construction based on population, ranging from Kettering’s share of $272,367 to Moraine’s $30,586, according to documents. Operating costs will be shared equally through a decade at $43,594 for each member, records indicate.
Miamisburg’s share – which includes a $97,869.66 in construction - will be “considerably less than the $22,000 (annually) we pay for our primary internet service provider,” Assistant City Manager Emily Christian said.
Miamisburg City Councilman Greg Thompson, a member of the MVCC committee, agreed.
“I think it will be a very good cost savings,” he said. “Over the 10 years, we’ll get a pretty substantial savings in the city and I think it will also increase the quality of our network.”
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Once all cities sign off on the project, a request for proposals will be sent out. Construction should start sometime in early spring with the target of having the network in operation by Labor Day, Humphress said.
“So a lot of things,” Townsend told his city council recently, “will happen fast here in the coming months – not the least of which is deciding how we use all of this new technology and how we can further partner on some common cost savings (issues) as well as rolling it out and offering as an economic development incentive to companies.”
NETWORK 10-YEAR
BUILDING COSTS
Kettering, $272,367
Centerville, $116,385
Miamisburg, $97,869
Springboro, $84,426
West Carrollton, $63,738
Oakwood, $44,625
Moraine, $30,586
*TOTAL: $966,750.
*Includes lease payments by Kettering City School District ($225,000) and Miami Valley Educational Computer Association (31,750).
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