City staff: contractor cut downtown 864-count fiber; repair bid falls to $8,000, board to consider $4,000 reimbursement

City staffer Eric Seigenfuss told the Eagle Urban Renewal Agency on Sept. 15 that a horizontal bore associated with a downtown project nicked one of the city’s fiber-optic cables, an 864-count line that currently carries no active services.

“One of the city's fiber optic cables was, basically nicked, cut. It's an 864 count fiber that's there, so it's not small,” Seigenfuss said, describing meetings with the contractor, the locator and utility providers. Seigenfuss said the contractor-network of record and an 811-locator map showed the fiber on only one side of the sidewalk; the bore placed the drill outside that mapped corridor.

Seigenfuss said the project's initial repair bid was about $23,000. After shopping for options and locating a splice contractor who had previously worked in Eagle, staff received a second bid for $8,000. He asked whether the Urban Renewal Agency would consider sharing the cost with the construction project team.

Chairman Mark Butler said a 50/50 split — $4,000 from EURA and $4,000 from the project — “seemed reasonable,” and asked staff to put a reimbursement item on the next board agenda with a resolution to formalize the payment. Board members emphasized updating as-built maps and coordinating locators and providers to avoid recurrence.

The board made no formal payment today; staff said it would return with a proposed resolution and supporting documents at the next meeting.