PORT ANGELES — City Hall has agreed to pay Capacity Provisioning Inc. more for fiber-optic redundancy.
In a 7-0 vote Wednesday, the Port Angeles City Council approved a $30,458 change order for installing new fiber-optic connections to city buildings.
The city has contracted with CPI to install additional connections to 13 facilities already serviced by the fiber-optic network to ensure that the connections cannot be lost, what city staff call “redundancy.”
The change order bumped the contract from $146,241 to $176,699.
The price changes were attributed to unforeseen installation problems, including adding a utility pole and additional underground trenching.
Some parts of the change order reduced the cost of a few of the installations, but the overall change was an increase of $30,548.
A few changes were proposed by staff, including about $6,100 in additional work to accommodate unrelated electrical conduits.
Glenn Cutler, city public works and utilities director, said before the meeting that the additional connections are needed to ensure that access to the network cannot be disrupted at key facilities.
“It’s prudent to have both sources,” he said, comparing it with having backup generators.
Cutler declined to say what facilities are involved due to concerns over security.
Last week, the city’s Utility Advisory Committee voted 3-1 — with Councilwoman Cherie Kidd, who sits on the committee, voting no — to recommend that the City Council approve the change order.
Kidd said Wednesday that it was disappointing that the redundancy would cost more but that she now thought it was justified.
The city is paying CPI $5,045 a month for fiber-optic connections at 35 facilities.
The network provides high-speed Internet access and is used for videoconferencing, utility and sewage overflow monitoring, surveillance and radio communications.
The city has contracted with CPI, a Port Angeles company, for use of the network since 2002.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.