3. Minutes of July 20, 2023 Meeting
14727 209th St. N., Scandia, Minnesota 55073
Phone (651) 433-2274 | Fax (651) 433-5112 | www.cityofscandia.com
CITY OF SCANDIA
INTERNET ACTION COMMITTEE
MINUTES
Thursday, July 20, 6:30 p.m.
Scandia Community Center, 14727 209th Street North
Attendance: Bob Wilmers, Marshall Smith, John Carney, and Patti Ray. Absent: None
Also in Attendance: Council Liaison Steve Kronmiller and City Administrator Kyle Morell. Absent: None
Call to Order – The meeting was called to order by Chair Wilmers at 6:30 pm.
Approval of Agenda – Motion by Ray, seconded by Smith, to approve the agenda. Motion Carried 4-0.
Approval of Minutes – The June 20, 2023, meeting minutes were approved on a Motion by Ray, seconded
by Wilmers, with the following changes, page 1, line 23, “Boarder to Boarder” was changed to “Border to
Border,” and page 2, line 13, “an additional $779,500, outside of project costs,” was added. Motion
Carried 4-0.
Public Comments - No comments were offered.
Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program Article – Chairman Wilmers presented an
article that detailed the timing of federal broadband dollars over the next couple of years. The article stated that
the BEAD funds would be disbursed faster than previously anticipated and would need to be spent within a year
or two of distribution, not over the next five years. The committee also heard from MIDCO that they were aware
of these changes and were evaluating what it meant for future projects.
Midco Big Marine Project Update – Melissa Wolf from Midco joined the meeting over Zoom to update the
Committee on the following items:
1) Big Marine Lake Project – The City approved the project Agreement in May. Midco will begin
construction on the project in late 2023 or 2024, depending on how fast the design work can be
completed.
2) Line Extension Program – Midco will apply for two line extension grants in Scandia. The first is an
extension of the Big Marine Project and will pick up an additional 15 homes (and four vacant lots)
along Lakamaga Trail N., 195th St. N, and Mayberry Trail N. That project will cost $106,316.
The second is for the area of Meadowbrook Ave N., north of Hwy 97, and will pick up an
additional five homes. This project will cost $54,000. Neither project requires funds from
the City. If approved, the work must be completed within one year of the grant award. If the
projects are not awarded, Midco will resubmit in the next grant opening later this year.
3) Finishing Out Community – The Committee agreed to invite Melissa Wolff from Midco to their
August meeting to discuss a plan to complete the expansion of broadband throughout the City
4)
Capital Investment Committee Request Update – Morell informed the Committee that he relayed their request
for $250,000 in funding for 2024 and 2025, which the CIC received and included in the draft CIP. Council will
discuss the CIP funds in detail at their August 2, 2023 Work Session. Committee member Ray asked about
Scandia Internet Action Committee Draft Minutes
May 18, 2023
Page 2 of 2
funding from Washington County. Staff stated they have used up the funding they allocated from their ARPA
allotment. The Committee asked Staff to contact County Commissioner Miron to encourage further County
funding for Broadband.
Internet Expansion Cost Summary – Council Liaison Kronmiller and Committee member Ray discussed
previous project costs and the amount contributed by Midco outside of project costs. Since the City first
partnered with Midco in 2020, Scandia has received $3.1 million of outside funding to help expand broadband to
677 parcels.
Next Areas for Expansion and Timing – The Committee has requested Melissa from Midco be invited to the
August meeting to discuss finishing providing service to the community.
Internet Action Committee Charter – Changes to the purpose of the Committee were proposed. The current
purpose, as stated in the Charter, states “To work with approved Internet Service Providers, to develop and
implement a plan, with City Council approval, that would make reliable, cost-effective, high-speed internet
available to every premise in Scandia.” The Committee decided to remove “to develop and implement a plan,”
and add “at lowest possible cost to Scandia taxpayers” as the end.
Changes were also proposed to the Committee’s Goals. Goal 1 states, “Every home and business owner in
Scandia will have access to reliable broadband services capable of achieving speeds of 100/20 at a minimum.”
The goal speeds were changed to 1gbps/50mbps. Goal 3, which states, “Complete the plan by June 2020,” was
deleted, and the completion year stated in Goal 5 was changed to 2026.
Midco Day – Scheduled for Wednesday, August 23, from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. 300 green bags have been
ordered. The City will order 150 ice cream sandwiches from the Mercantile. Council Liaison Kronmiller will
produce Line Extension postcards and graphs for the Committee’s booth. Chairman Wilmers will work to get a
poster showing goal-to-go towards complete build-out.
Items for Future Discussion – The Committee asked to include Midco Day, Charter Review, update from
Melissa Wolf about future Midco construction plans within Scandia.
Next Meeting – The committee noted that its next regular meeting would be held Thursday, August 17, 2023, at
6:30 PM at the Community Center.
Adjournment – Motion by Wilmers, seconded by Carney, to adjourn the meeting at 7:52 pm. Motion
Carried 4-0.
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Kyle Morell, City Administrator