In Brief: Blaine City Council

City enters into franchise agreement with Wave Broadband

Telecommunications company Wave Broadband can extend its presence in Blaine after the city council voted to grant a non-exclusive franchise on March 27.

Wave, formerly Black Rock Inc., has maintained a presence in Blaine since 2012 to offer specialized dark fiber services. The agreement approved by the city council allows the company to expand its services to offer internet, data and voice, among other things.

According to a city staff report, Wave Broadband has signed off on similar agreements in Ferndale, Everson, Bellingham and Nooksack, as well as other cities throughout Washington.

Bellevue engineering firm pens contract with city for Sweet Road reconstruction

Winter weather took a toll on Blaine streets this year, particularly on Sweet Road.

The city is pursuing a two-phase project to reconstruct the damaged roadway, which, according to assistant public works director Bill Bullock, carries between 300,000 and a million tons of freight on an annual basis.

“After the winter thaw, public works decided to break the project into two phases to reconstruct Sweet Road based on the severe damage to the road surface this winter; a high risk of developing a hazardous condition if not rehabilitated this year,” read a city staff report.

On March 27, Blaine City Council unanimously agreed to move forward on a contract with Bellevue-based TranTech Engineering LLC in the amount of $64,316.42 to perform engineering design services for the project. Funds will be allocated from the Transportation Improvement Board.

Council awards bid to Sail Electric Inc. for project in Vista Terrace neighborhood

In connection to the city’s expansion of utility services in the Vista Terrace neighborhood through a Local Improvement District (LID) last year, the council agreed to move forward with plans to convert area power from Puget Sound Energy to Blaine power, among other things.

The vote cast on March 27 awarded the project to Sail Electric Inc. in the amount of $162,140 at nearly half of the city’s original estimate.

The majority of the work will consist of electrical cable and equipment installation in the neighborhood.