City eyes spending additional money for fiber connection to new Habitat for Humanity subdivision

An Aurora City Council committee has recommended spending additional money to build a city-owned fiber route to the new Habitat for Humanity Green Freedom subdivision in the city.

Aldermen on the Finance Committee on Thursday recommended a resolution to spend $243,686 with NTI National Technologies, of Downers Grove, to build the fiber connection to the city’s network, instead of leasing space on Kane County’s fiber network, as was originally planned.

The money would be an add-on to a $265,666 contract for additions to the fiber network approved in the 2023 Capital Improvement Project fund.

NTI is one of the regular fiber providers the city uses to build onto its OnLight Aurora fiber network.

The Green Freedom Subdivision includes 17 Habitat for Humanity homes of between 1,500 and 1,700 square feet on an 8.5-acre site between Lindenwood Avenue and Jericho Road.

The homes would be built along Garden Avenue, which would extend from Garden Road and Lindenwood Avenue in unincorporated Aurora Township to Jericho Road.

The subdivision has received a lot of attention because it will be a “smart neighborhood,” the first affordable, net zero energy subdivision in the country, developers have said.

It’s also a rare partnership between utilities – gas and electric – to create the net zero element of the housing, meaning the subdivision will use only as much energy, overall, as it generates.

It’s a first for Habitat for Humanity, too, which traditionally has built houses one at a time, not an entire subdivision at once.

The fiber connection is necessary for many of the energy-efficient applications in the subdivision, and Michael Pegues, Aurora’s Information Technology director, said originally officials planned to lease fiber space from Kane County.

But Pegues said county attorneys said they cannot continue to provide fiber to municipalities without new state legislation, “despite us using their fiber for a decade.”

Officials anticipate getting that new legislation in September, but the city needs to be ready to connect the Green Freedom Subdivision by June, Pegues said.

“We need to take an alternative route,” Pegues said.

Despite the additional up-front cost, officials said the situation will actually save the city in the long run, because it would own the fiber, rather than have to rent it over 10 or 20 years.

“We’re just going to do it ourselves,” Pegues said.

Aldermen on the Finance Committee agreed, and recommended the contract for the additional cost. The full City Council will consider it at the Committee of the Whole meeting on May 7.

“Anything that builds the infrastructure … particularly for Aurora is a good thing,” said Ald. Brandon Tolliver, 7th Ward, a committee member.

Ald. Shweta Baid, 10th Ward, asked if the city could get a state grant to cover some or all of the cost, and Pegues said that could be possible.

“We are constantly looking for grants,” he said.

slord@tribpub.com