Huntington Beach considering installation of fiber optic communications downtown

The Huntington Beach City Council on Monday night will consider approving a bid to construct fiber optic communications from City Hall to Pier Plaza at the beach.

Director of Public Works Sean Crumby said in a report that the city has identified a need to develop the connection between City Hall and city facilities in the downtown area.

The plan is to install new fiber optic cable, a conduit and other equipment to connect the kiosk at Pier Plaza, the Huntington Beach Police Department substation on Fifth Street, the Main Street library branch, the art center and Lake Street Fire Station.

The project is included in the city’s Fiscal Year 2020-21 Capital Improvement Program budget. The Public Works Commission voted to recommend the project on March 17.

The City Council will consider awarding the contract to Elecnor Belco Electric, Inc., which submitted the lowest bid of $626,451 among 10 submitted for the project. Overall, Crumby estimated the project would cost about $781,000.

Also on Monday night’s agenda, the city will consider awarding a separate contract to Elecnor Belco Electric in the amount of $357,636 for three traffic signal modifications in the city.

These include the installation of left turn arrows in all directions at Warner Avenue and Graham Street, adjacent to Meadowlark Golf Club.

The other improvements include replacing conduits and rewiring the intersections of Warner Avenue and Nichols Lane, as well as Brookhurst Street and Indianapolis Lane.

According to a report prepared by Crumby and submitted by City Manager Oliver Chi, the existing conduit and circuitry at those intersections have deteriorated over time and constantly run into maintenance issues.

Monday’s virtual City Council meeting begins at 6 p.m. and can be watched on channel HBTV-3 or online at huntingtonbeach.legistar.com. Residents may send comments on agenda items to [email protected].

Communications received by 2 p.m. Monday will be distributed to the council prior to consideration of agenda-related items.

Residents are encouraged to submit comments during the meeting via Zoom.

The Webinar ID is 971 5413 0528 and can be reached via the Zoom app or by calling (669) 900-6833 and entering the ID.

Individuals will be placed in a holding queue and prompted to speak when the city clerk announces their name or the last three digits of their phone number.

Time for remarks is limited to three minutes.

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