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Broadband Project

  • Culver
  • Current: Broadband Project

This page is intended to provide updates regarding the Town’s partnership with Surf to bring broadband to Culver.

October 31, 2022 Update

We are gearing up for the broadband fiber project and wanted to update you about what is going on with the project. Following is the status of this project. I’ve associated a timeline with the update in the event you are interested in the planning and how we reached the next steps of this project. If you are mostly interested in what is next, you can skip over the “Past Planning” section.

Past Planning

  • Fall, 2021: The Town of Culver formed a Broadband Fiber Taskforce to address the demand for fiber service in Culver. The Taskforce researched what it would take to bring a fiber solution to Culver. Members of the Taskforce came from Culver Redevelopment Commission (2), the Culver Town Council (1); the Culver Community School Superintendent; a local resident who served as CEO for an Argos business and has technical knowledge and experience with bringing fiber to Argos; representatives from JMC Engineers, a local firm in Culver with experience installing fiber; the Culver Town Manager; and an interested citizen who requested to be on the taskforce after learning of it. The Taskforce agreed that the Town Manager would serve as a liaison between the members of the task force and the Town Council/Culver Redevelopment Commission to keep the boards updated on progress. Each board received Town Manager reports at Council meetings and Redevelopment Commission meetings.
  • Winter 2021: The task force invited fiber providers to meet with the task force so that members could learn about the services they provide. Most providers responded with a visit to Culver, but some did decline an invitation.
  • Winter, 2021-2022: The Broadband Fiber Taskforce recommended to the Culver Town Council and Culver Redevelopment Commission to hire Scott Rudd, a broadband fiber consultant who headed up Indiana Broadband and now works for Thomas P. Miller & Associates. The purpose of hiring a consultant was to help guide Culver through the process.
  • Winter 2021–2022: The Town Council approved hiring a consultant to guide the Town through the process. The Culver Redevelopment Commission agreed to pay the consultant’s contract.
  • Spring 2022: The task force met with the consultant and began to work on an RFP (Request for Proposal). The task force wrote the RFP that included the specifications they desired from a service provider. Along with this RFP, they created criteria for grading the RFP. Some of the factors that were weighed in the RFP include quality of service and product, the cost to the end user, schedule availability, qualifications, past experience, and cost to the Town.
  • Late Spring: After the Town, Attorney reviewed the RFP and after members of the Culver Town Council and Culver Redevelopment Commission reviewed it, with the recommendation of the Broadband Taskforce, the Town Council approved publishing the completed RFP.
  • End of June 2022: RFP Deadline. The Town of Culver received three proposals.
  • July 2022: The Broadband Taskforce reviewed the proposals submitted and selected their recommendation of Surf Broadband Solutions.
  • July 2022: The Culver Town Council approved and awarded to Surf Broadband Solutions the RFP proposal the company submitted, pending the ability to fund the project.
  • August 2, 2022: The Culver Redevelopment Commission approved fully funding the Surf Broadband contract with a total investment from the CRC of $531,023.17. Surf will invest $796,534.75.
  • September 2022/October 2022: The Town of Culver met with surrounding communities that have worked with Surf to understand what to expect from the project. The result of meeting with other communities about implementation helped establish some guidelines for what to include in the permitting agreement and the contract with Surf.

If you would like to review the RFP we published, you can find it here: Broadband Fiber Project RFP | Town of Culver, Indiana

Next Steps

  • The Town of Culver and Surf will execute an agreement (this is expected to be completed in November) that will have been reviewed by the Town’s attorney, the Broadband consultant Scott Rudd, the Town Council members, and the Culver Redevelopment Commission members.
  • The Town is meeting with Surf’s team (CEO, Project Manager, and others) to review the schedule, what to expect, and concerns.
    • Primary concerns for the Town are: 1) Many of our residents are not in town year-round. With work that could affect utility lines, we want to be sure we have properly prepared homeowners for what to expect. 2) Businesses on Main Street are very busy in the summer season and would be impacted by any work going on in the area.

We will talk about key issues like these with Surf to determine the schedule and other related issues.

  • The Town of Culver will develop a Communication Plan that maps to the schedule for implementing the fiber network. Our goal is to communicate with residents and businesses throughout the implementation process to best ensure a smooth implementation.
  • Surf will be working in the right of way of our streets, sidewalks, and potentially alleys. This will require coordinated effort and communication with the public. We will be reviewing Surf’s design plans, scheduling plans, and so on. Given the nature of the project, we anticipate that installation won’t start until the spring; however, the schedule will depend on Culver’s unique needs.

We will continue to update you as progress occurs and as we roll out the installation of the fiber. Thanks for taking the time to read about this project. We are excited to bring another high-speed Internet solution to Culver.