Michael Harber, president of American Telecom and Technology, went before the Kiefer Town Trustees, Monday evening, July 19, 2023, to present his proposed joint venture with the Town of Kiefer. “I have been in the technology business for over thirty years and I provide all the technology services. My goal is to bring them to the City of Kiefer, and let you become your own internet company,” said Harber.
He then used an analogy to describe his proposal. “The synopsis will look like this: If I came in here and told you I had built a thousand Chick-fil-As throughout the United States, and I have five e business partners, and we are going to come here, we are going to get grant money, it is going to cost the city zero.
“We will acquire the land, build the building, I will bring in the people for the software and the computers, we will order the food in here, we will work with the State Health Department, I will hire as many Kiefer citizens as I can for management training, so you can own the business someday, and for five years everybody can eat free at that Chick-fil-A.
“At the end of five years, the city will automatically own 51 percent of that business. I will be at 49 percent as a minor partner, you can decide what you want to do at that time. You can start charging for food, you could continue to let me run it and get more grant money, or do we sell it to Chick-fil-A Corporate, and we take our money and split it?”
Harber told the Board he provides internet and technology for the State of Oklahoma. He further stated he works with cities and counties and said he works with “Over a thousand large clients.” He went on to say he provides technology services to medical facilities and was the first AT&T Solution Provider in the State of Oklahoma. “Today I work with twelve companies including Dobson, Windstream, and Cox.” He also said he was a reseller of internet services.
Harber emphasized having high-speed internet would be an economic development tool, and his company has the necessary expertise to implement it in Kiefer. “Our skill set, because of all the companies we work with, by doing economic development, it lets me go to all the different buckets of money. The State has 1.1 billion dollars the federal government has given them for small rural towns and Native Americans. The Oklahoma Municipal league has half a billion dollars available, some of that is American Rescue Plan Act money.”
Harber told the Board those economic development programs would pay salaries “so the City doesn’t pay for anything.”
Harber’s plan calls for laying fiber-optic cable to provide fiber-optic internet service, and utilizing radio communications via towers to wirelessly provide internet services, similar to Airlink’s model, with a minimum download speed of 100Mbps.
Harber also spoke about providing telemedicine services, as well as technology services for the school, through the equipment provided by the proposed new local utility.
A member of the Town Board asked Harber if the proposed company would train people who wanted a job but didn’t have the necessary skills. “Yes, in that economic authority, I can now set aside money, so I can actually train high school kids to work with us.”
The Town Attorney asked Harber about the workings of the board mandated in the contract. Harber explained in detail how the board would function.
Harber advised the Board he has a gentleman whose primary role is writing grants.
Another Board member asked Harber what the Town would do to address the possibility of outdated equipment after five years. “The grant will take care of that for five years, but I can’t see that far into the future…. If I build a six-lane highway, at the end of five years I don’t know how much traffic there is going to be, I don’t know if there will be semis, Harleys, or whatever. But, you will have that infrastructure,” said Harber.
It was also brought up by Harber that after five years the Town could charge, say, $10 a month to pay for upgrades, maintenance, and operation.
Harber pointed out the town utility meters could be connected to a network, as well as other services, and security cameras and license plate readers could be placed throughout town, leading to what Harber called a “Smart Town.” The board had more questions and decided a lengthy review of the proposal should take place before any decision is made, and tabled the agenda item.
In other business, Trustee Gary Hudson was sworn into office by the City Attorney.
Austin Broadhead went before the Board to ask for a number of improvements to the ball fields at Municipal Park, such as backstops, moving railing, lighting, and providing water to the fields via new water lines, and placing a gate at the entrance of the ball fields.
Several items were tabled such as water lines, lighting, and indoor batting cage.
The Board tabled selecting a “computer and server” service company.
The board approved the hiring of George Bohl for the position of police officer to fill a vacancy left by an officer resignation.
The Kiefer Town Public Works Authority meets every third Wednesday, at 6 p.m., at City Hall. The Town Trustee meeting follows the PWA meeting.
