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Authorizing the execution of a Restated License Agreement with New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC at 1202 Northport Drive (Lake View Water Tower) (District 18)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends authorizing the execution of a restated license agreement with New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC (“Cingular”) at the Water Utility’s Lake View Water Tower (1202 Northport Drive) for telecommunications purposes.
BACKGROUND
The City currently has a number of license agreements in place that allow for the attachment of
telecommunications equipment to City-owned property in various locations throughout Madison. These agreements generate revenue for City agencies and are beneficial to the telecommunications companies for building out their networks. The most common agreements are on parcels with water towers - owned and managed by Madison Water Utility - because of the towers’ height and transmittal potential. These license agreements often run for 20 to 30 years and over time, the status of these agreements can generally range from “active” (as originally agreed); “expired” but in a holdover (continued as-is) state; or active with pending equipment change requests that necessitate renegotiating the terms of the existing agreements. Furthermore, there exists the capacity for the City to accommodate “new” license agreements at many of their sites.
Ongoing and accelerating changes to telecommunications equipment, technology, and standards over the decades have made it difficult for current City staff - particularly in the Water and Real Estate agencies, where agreements are primarily negotiated and evaluated - to ensure that these agreements are appropriately valued and managed in ways that best benefit the City.
In the fall of 2023, the Water and Real Estate agencies worked with City Purchasing to write up and issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for consulting services related to telecommunications lease negotiations and evaluations. Specifically, proposals were soug...
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