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Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 09/07/2021 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 098, 2021, APPROPR Agenda Item 2 Item # 2 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY September 7, 2021 City Council STAFF Chad Crager, Outside Plant Director Travis Storin, Chief Finance Officer David Lenz, FP&A Director Cyril Vidergar, Legal SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 098, 2021, Appropriating Prior Year Reserves for Use as Contingency Capital Funding of the Broadband System Construction. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on August 4, 2021, appropriates prior year reserves to fund the continued build of the Broadband system. The original construction budget is approximately 85% spent through the end of June 2021. Increased boring costs, additional premises in the build area and the construction schedule developed from the design/build framework have contributed to the need to access these funds. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading. ATTACHMENTS 1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, August 4, 2021 (w/o attachments) (PDF) 2. Ordinance No. 098, 2021 (PDF) Agenda Item 11 Item # 11 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY August 4, 2021 City Council STAFF Chad Crager, Outside Plant Director Travis Storin, Chief Finance Officer David Lenz, FP&A Director Cyril Vidergar, Legal SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 098, 2021, Appropriating Prior Year Reserves for Use as Contingency Capital Funding of the Broadband System Construction. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to appropriate prior year reserves to fund the continued build of the Broadband system. The original construction budget is approximately 85% spent through the end of June 2021. Increased boring costs, additional premises in the build area and the construction schedule developed from the design/build framework have contributed to the need to access these funds. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION During elections in 2015 and 2017, City of Fort Collins residents voted to approve constructing a City owned Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) broadband network. In 2018, through the Electric Utility Enterprise the City raised $142,815,541 in proceeds from two bond offerings. Of this amount, $108,608,249 was dedicated and appropriated to the initial capital projects budget, pursuant to Ordinance No. 056, 2018. An additional $27,458,550 of unappropriated bond proceeds was targeted for future operation and capital expansion needs. The design/build contract with the prime contractor Atlantic Engineering Group (AEG) allowed for an accelerated construction schedule. During the initial buildout phase, variable underground conditions, including greater than expected rock density, have resulted in higher cost projections due to the lack of available conduit suitable for use and the need for additional boring activities. Additionally, the number of serviceable premises in the current build area has exceeded the original business plan estimates. To address costs and materials associated with these updated conditions, the City and AEG executed four amendments to the original construction contract. Despite these adjustments, updated construction estimates nevertheless project the build moving faster than anticipated and completion is expected by year end 2022. At least one additional contract amendment (i.e. Fifth Amendment) will be likely to cover final quantities and costs. The operation and capital expansion needs to complete the project qualify for applying the unappropriated portion of bond proceeds Council designated in 2018. During the initial buildout phase, the City has realized favorable financial impacts from the interest earned on existing unspent bond proceeds and containment of operating costs. These unanticipated monies have allowed opportunities for redeployment of previously appropriated operating funds of $5,400,000 to the buildout capital project and avoided the need to seek additional appropriation to complete work under the First through Fourth ATTACHMENT 1 Agenda Item 11 Item # 11 Page 2 Amendments to the contract with AEG. In preparation for completing the work and any associated amendments to the contract with AEG once final quantities and conditions are identified, Broadband and Finance staff are requesting Council appropriate an additional $8,200,000 from previously unappropriated bond revenues, which will bring the total available appropriated funds for the capital project to $122,208,249, including the original appropriation of bond proceeds, and appropriations of unanticipated and excess revenues and lower operating costs in 2019, 2020, and 2021 annual budgets. CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS Prior Appropriated Funds $ 108,608,249 Prior Appropriated Funds – Budget Re-deployed $ 5,400,000 Current Appropriation Request $ 8,200,000 Total Available Project Funds $ 122,208,249 ATTACHMENTS 1. Powerpoint Presentation (PDF) -1- ORDINANCE NO. 098, 2021 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROPRIATING PRIOR YEAR RESERVES FOR USE AS CONTINGENCY CAPITAL FUNDING FOR THE BROADBAND SYSTEM CONSTRUCTION WHEREAS, upon passage of Ordinance No. 003 (2018), of the Board of the City of Fort Collins, Colorado, Electric Utility Enterprise (the “Enterprise Ordinance”), the Electric Utility Enterprise (the “Enterprise”) issued its “City of Fort Collins, Colorado, Electric Utility Enterprise, Tax-Exempt Revenue Bonds, Series 2018A” (the “2018A Bonds”) and its “City of Fort Collins, Colorado, Electric Utility Enterprise, Taxable Revenue Bonds, Series 2018B” (the “2018B Bonds” and, together with the 2018A Bonds, the “Bonds”); and WHEREAS, per the Enterprise Ordinance, the Bonds were issued and sold to fund construction of a municipal broadband system by the City’s Electric Utility (the “Electric Utility”) to provide telecommunication facilities and services, including the transmission of voice, data, graphics and video, to customers within the City, which facilities and services the Electric Utility had not previously provided but is authorized to provide pursuant to City Charter Article XII, Section 7 and City Code Section 26-570 et seq. (the “Broadband System”); and WHEREAS, pursuant to Ordinance No. 056, 2018, City Council appropriated $115,356,991 of the net proceeds ($142,815,541) from the sale of the Bonds to fund construction of the Broadband System, including capital, operating and debt service expenditures, leaving an unappropriated amount of $27,458,550 for future Broadband System operation and expansion costs; and WHEREAS, in 2018, the City engaged Atlantic Engineering Group (AEG) under a design- build contract to construct the Broadband System, and the parties have since executed four amendments to that contract in 2019, 2020, and 2021 to address changes in quantities and underground conditions, without requiring additional appropriation of Bond proceeds; and WHEREAS, in 2019, 2020, and 2021 annual budgets, as customers subscribed to City broadband services, City Council appropriated unanticipated and excess broadband operating revenues to complement the appropriation in Ordinance No. 056, 2018 and fund ongoing construction of the Broadband System; and WHEREAS, in anticipation of completing construction of the Broadband System in 2022, Broadband staff has identified the need for additional appropriation from the Bond proceeds in the amount of EIGHT MILLION TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($8,200,000) as contingency capital funding, which purpose qualifies for use of unappropriated Bond proceeds under Ordinance No. 056, 2018; and WHEREAS, this appropriation benefits the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of Fort Collins and serves the utility purpose of enabling timely and cost-effective completion of the Broadband System construction; and WHEREAS, Article V, Section 9 of the City Charter permits the City Council, upon -2- recommendation of the City Manager, to appropriate by ordinance at any time during the fiscal year such funds for expenditure as may be available from reserves accumulated in prior years, notwithstanding that such reserves were not previously appropriated; and WHEREAS, the City Manager has recommended the appropriation described herein and determined that this appropriation is available and previously unappropriated from the Broadband Fund and will not cause the total amount appropriated in the Broadband Fund to exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues and all other funds to be received in that Fund during any fiscal year; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. Section 2. That there is hereby appropriated for expenditure from prior year reserves in the Broadband Fund the sum of EIGHT MILLION TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($8,200,000) to allow for the use of contingency capital funding of the Broadband System construction. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 4th day of August, A.D. 2021, and to be presented for final passage on the 7th day of September, A.D. 2021. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ Interim City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 7th day of September, A.D. 2021. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ Interim City Clerk