The company many people know for its hardy cellphones will work with the city of Loveland to design and engineer a detailed plan for its future municipal broadband network.

“We felt that their engineering experience and background was a very good fit,” said Brieana Reed-Harmel, broadband project manager for the city.

The 12 respondents to the city’s request for proposals for the project were assigned scores based on eight initial qualifications, including their safety records, experience and cost as illustrated in their proposals. The vendors were narrowed to four finalists, who were interviewed in person.

Reed-Harmel said city staff were comfortable with the fiber optic construction team, Bear Communications, and have a “very strong” level of confidence in the team.

Joe Bernosky, director of Loveland Water and Power, spoke highly of the Bear employee who presented to the city.

“I have the best feeling for Bear and the gentleman who presented … I had an extraordinarily high degree of confidence in his statements, how he presented himself, and their qualifications,” Bernosky said.

City Manager Steve Adams, who sat in on the presentations, echoed the praise, though he noted the scores of the top three vendors were close.

The agreement is not a guarantee that Nokia or Bear will be involved in the actual construction of the network, nor if the city will actually go forward with a build at all, Reed-Harmel said. The city could take the finished designs and contract out with a different entity, public or private, to build the network, she said.

Members of council voted 9-0 in favor of the contract with no deliberative discussion.

“Do they build their networks as good as they built their old cellphones? You could bury them in concrete,” remarked Councilor Jeremy Jersvig.

Future community park

Council also unanimously approved Tuesday a $2.2 million appropriation from the capital expansion fee fund to acquire 60 acres of land in the northwest corner of the city for a new community park.

The city is buying the land ahead of actual development of the park, said Dan Willadsen, city parks planner.

The parcel of land is located near West 57th Street and Wilson Avenue.

“If we don’t take a look at acquiring land now … there will be no more land to increase our parks when our population doubles,” Willadsen said. “We’re running out of space, and this was an offer on the table from the landowner.”

The park could potentially contain a dog park, picnic areas, or other amenities that appeal to a wide audience, but no plan has been made yet, Willadsen said.

The cost includes purchase of the 60 acres at $35,000 per acre, plus administrative fees. There will be no impact on the unassigned balance of the Parks CEF Fund because the funds being requested were already appropriated within the 2018 city budget.

The city’s current water holdings would not be enough to irrigate the new land, but the city will buy more to compensate, Willadsen said.

Loveland’s Parks and Recreation Master Plan, adopted in 2014, defines a standard for 4.5 acres of public recreation space per 1,000 Loveland residents. The plan identifies northwest Loveland specifically as in need of a park to meet this standard, particularly as the city’s population grows.

The parks plan states that Loveland provides on average fewer trails and pathways, less accessible open space acreage, and less indoor recreation space than Fort Collins, Longmont or Boulder.

A geographic information system analysis included in the plan revealed a need for more than 170 acres of neighborhood parks and 597 acres of community parks in addition to those in place in 2014, the plan states.

Master plans carry about a 10-year lifespan, so the next update to the figures will occur in 2024, said Elizabeth Kayl, director of the Parks and Recreation department.

Julia Rentsch: 970-699-5404, jrentsch@reporter-herald.com