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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1997 <br /> Councilmember Haskell asked when we might hear something on the grant and was informed that it should be <br /> <br /> very soon after grant application submission this month, and that prospects for award were good. Council <br /> approval to submit the Grant application will be on the agenda for Council's meeting on October 14, 1997. <br /> <br /> Vice-Mayor Crabtree also thanked Giles Smith for the hard work and success that he had achieved in <br />!~'-~mproving the performance of the existing communications system. <br /> <br />33 <br /> <br />Council then took up discussion of calendar and agenda issues for their upcoming meeting with the Henry <br />County Board of Supervisors. All members of Council came to agreement on the afternoon or evening of <br />October 23, 1997 as the best date, and agreed that the activities of the Patrick Henry Development Council, <br />the Southern Virginia Economic Development Partnership, and the Chamber of Commerce, relative to efforts <br />to attract higher paying, technology oriented jobs, should be the focus of the agenda. <br /> <br />Council then moved on to discussion of a fiber optic loop proposed by the Electric Division, primarily <br />intended to improve the current SCADA Electric Grid control system and provide better synchronization of <br />the City's traffic signals. Mr. Leon Towamicki, Director of Public Works, Mr. Mike Scaffidi, Traffic Signal <br />Technician, and Mr. Dennis Bowles of the Electric Division were present to provide information on this <br />project. Mr. Towamicki stated that the original concept for this project had been limited to those <br />improvements related to the SCADA System and the Traffic Signals. Upon further consideration, however, it <br />was determined that a self-healing fiber optic loop to connect all public buildings and facilities could satisfy <br />the original requirements while providing major additional benefits, at a modest additional cost for the overall <br />project. Mr. Towamicki stated Ithat funding for the basic project had already been built into the current <br />budget and future planned capital improvement budgets, and that the additional costs for the enhanced project <br />would be about $100,000 over the next five years. The enhanced project, called a SONNET Loop, would <br />include benefits that would link all the public buildings and facilities in the City in the same manner as the City <br />of Blacksburg's '~lectronic Village" concept. A 48-fiber cable would be run both above and below ground in <br /> <br /> <br />