Kirtland City Council has approved a contract for Chagrin Valley Gig to install a new fiber internet service in the city.
Council approved the agreement 5-0 at its Oct. 20 meeting, with council members Sue Grazia and Eric Ziegler absent.
The 25-year agreement is mostly the same as the version originally presented to council in September. Amendments included new language about CVG’s responsibilities when moving conduits or notifying property owners about upcoming work.
Under the agreement, CVG will install a fiber-optic internet service in Kirtland, providing minimum upload and download speeds of 1 gigabit per second on standard service plans.
After the first resident is connected, CVG will offer discounted pricing and no installation costs for at least two years. Its GigaStream plan will cost $132.50 per month, while the company will also offer a more expensive plan as well as cheaper plans at lower speeds.
The company will cover the expenses of designing, engineering and operating an underground-first network for city residents and businesses. The agreement says CVG will make reasonable efforts to provide substantial completion on the network four-and-a-half years after the company starts groundwork or a year passes from the agreement going into effect, whichever happens first.
The contract includes internet service at Kirtland City Hall, the Kirtland Community Center and both city fire stations. CVG will also provide a connection for intersection monitoring purposes at the intersections of Route 6 with Route 306 (Euclid-Chardon and Chillicothe roads), Route 615 with Route 306 and Joseph Street with Chillicothe Road.
CVG will also have a 25-year lease to use property at 8480 Euclid-Chardon Road.
Council requested proposals for a new fiber internet service in 2023. The recent city legislation described high-speed broadband internet as a “critical need” for Kirtland’s quality of life.
CVG is operated by Ohio Gig. The parent company operates community internet services throughout the state, and a news release said it serves more than 5,800 subscribers with more than 700 miles of internet lines in Ohio.