PRESCOTT – The Prescott City Council approved entering into an agreement with Swift Current Connect powered by Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services.  

The monthly price will be $149.95 for the City Hall and the Police Department, which share a connecting fiber, with each additional land connection being $69.95 and a one-time set up fee of $2,000. The buildings included in the proposal are the City Hall and Police Department, Fire Hall, and the compost site with other city buildings keeping current providers Comcast, CenturyLink, and AT&T. City Administrator Matt Wolf explained the necessity of the internet provider switch for the City of Prescott.   

“Right now, we have a variety of providers across our buildings and one of the issues that we are having is some latency problems,” he said. 

Wolf elaborated that currently City Hall at 800 Borner St. has 35-40 Mbps download speed and 6-8 Mbps upload speed, which results in issues with streaming meetings and uploading large files. Swift Current proposed an option that would supply one gigabit of service for all the specified buildings.  

“This would be done by providing City Hall and Police with a one gig service and then each additional building would be serviced by their address through something called a transparent land service or TLS,” Wolf said.  

The compost site which will be open from April to November would cost an additional $606 per year which brings the total price to $1,026 for eight months of service.  

“We believe that’s the best option. We could have gone with the cellular provider, but our concern was with the gate system,” Wolf said.  

He mentioned the city doesn’t want to potentially lose gate service at the compost site as it “was a worry in terms of customer service.” Wolf stated that even with the increase in price it is believed to be “better for the city moving forward.” Wolf said the increase to one gigabit is an “incredibly fast improvement” over what the city currently has and that as the city grows, more connections to buildings will be needed, including lift stations and well houses that integrate more advanced technology.  

Alderperson Maureen Otwell asked when Swift Current is expecting to expand its fiber optics to include more areas in Prescott. Wolf said Swift Current wants to see a “certain percentage” that connects before they make further investments in a community. He commented that the company is excited to continue making connections in Prescott.  

“I think fiber optic is a really good choice for the city,” Otwell said.  

Alderperson Adam Granquist added that from a technology standpoint, it is inevitable to need a higher speed as technology continues to grow.  

As the council reviewed the current internet providers at various city buildings, Alderperson Mike Gerke questioned why the beach house needed internet service. Wolf responded that due to graffiti vandalism and individuals defecating on the stairs, surveillance was installed at the site, which requires internet service.  

In other news 

The Prescott City Council approved Steve Most as the Prescott Fire and EMS Association Board Chair at the July 8 meeting. Most currently serves as a Plan Commission member.