Lindon OKs $308,861 for UTOPIA

LINDON — Lindon was among the three Utah cities that approved a pledge for a UTOPIA bond on Tuesday, upping the the number to five out of 18 cities that have committed to backstop the proposed fiber optic system.

In a 4-1 vote, the Lindon City Council approved a pledge for a $308,861 bond to Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA). Midvale and Tremonton also approved pledges on Tuesday.

Lindon has two years to come up with the money for the bond, said City Recorder Ott Dameron. Most likely that will be included in the next budget year, which begins in July.

The backstop bond acts as "insurance" for investors should UTOPIA fail to generate sufficient revenue to cover construction costs. The bond makes up about 39 percent of the total cost for each city's UTOPIA network.

The size of the requested backstop bonds should not pose a financial risk for most communities in UTOPIA, said City Councilwoman Lindsey Bayless — the only council member voting against the measure. Bayless joined the others in noting, however, that the city is very hopeful the project will succeed.

"It's (the backstop bond) proportional to each community and their budget," Bayless said. "Lindon won't be expected to pay as much as Salt Lake City."

Bayless said he has some ongoing concerns because UTOPIA is groundbreaking innovation and because anything that is new is not without risk.

"It's a decision that needs to be weighed carefully," Bayless said.

Bayless called her dissenting vote "a voice of caution" on the project. She said she has looked at the UTOPIA project for over a year now and believes the project has changed its outline.

She said the change causing the greatest concern is the growing financial commitments being required for participating cities. Bayless said she is also skeptical that the plan to use UTOPIA as an open network where private companies will be the ones providing data, video and telephone services will be realized.

"I feel that we are moving from one type of monopoly to another," Bayless said.

The Tuesday decision will not become a binding commitment to the project until the UTOPIA board hears from the rest of the Utah cities that have expressed interest in fiber-optic network. Once the pledges are in place, UTOPIA representatives will come back to the cities to discuss a final financial plan, Dameron said.

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