IMU in 2022

As we head into 2022, IMU will continue to strive to offer the best possible service to our customers. With no profit motive and only our residents’ best interests to serve, here are the major projects on deck so far. Please feel free to reach out with questions or concerns at 515-961-9444. IMU is here for YOU.

Streetscape Project Role Defined

In the City’s streetscape plan, IMU’s primary contributions are to upgrade the water mains, lay fiber conduit for future use, install decorative light poles, and underground the electrical infrastructure in the alleyways. IMU had planned on using $2.6 million in reserves that it had accrued. IMU had planned to contract out most of the work to meet deadlines. Unfortunately, our estimates for the required work came back over 35 percent higher than anticipated due to supply chain disruptions and other factors and meaning the project would cost IMU an additional $1 million. This made it impossible for IMU to complete the job as originally planned using reserves.

The City, having funded their own share of the streetscape, was able and decided to move forward on the original timeline. Currently, one of the nine phases are complete and all should be completed by November 2023.

To ensure IMU meets its commitments in alignment with the overall schedule, our approach has evolved. The utility will install conduit and duct banks to prepare for electric service, but won’t pull electrical wiring in at this time; this work will need to be completed on demand, as needed.

Overpaying for services with money we don’t have is not what’s best for the ratepayers, so we’re addressing the project one component at a time. We will rely less on outside contractors and IMU crews will be installing more of the conduit and underground equipment. Doing the work this way will afford us more options and flexibility to do the job correctly and meet our fiduciary responsibility to steward the resources of Indianola’s ratepayers. We will use contractors when needed and when it’s the best choice.

Electrical Improvements Move Forward as IMU Brings More Work In-House

As contractor scarcity shows no signs of slowing, Indianola’s electrical grid improvement needs exist as before. In 2022, work will continue to underground electrical wiring for the whole Indianola community as we move away from hiring contractors and purchase underground boring equipment to do the boring and conduit installation work ourselves. The equipment will be purchased in 2022; our goal is to have it delivered and operational in early 2023. Other Iowa utilities have made similar moves and are saving at least 30 percent, with shorter wait times for completion; IMU predicts our results will be similar, with lower costs and reduced service delays while not having to be beholden to market forces.

Fiber Will Expand Beyond City Limits For the First Time

Indianola Municipal Utilities has been awarded two grants totaling $614,107.44 from the Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grants Program to expand fiber-to-the-home internet service to customers outside the city limits.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) announced a total of $210 million in grants for new broadband infrastructure on Tuesday; from the pool of applicants, IMU was among 160 applicants chosen to receive funding.

The pair of grants, as part of the broader national initiative, will allow IMU to bring high-quality broadband to a currently underserved group of local residents. The grant will fund up to 60 percent of the cost of expanding fiber service to four additional census blocks - one north of the city and three to the south - totaling 98 existing residences. The remaining cost will be paid for by the utility.

Expanding the utility’s fiber footprint to those areas will also create the infrastructure for potential future expansion while fulfilling another important goal: setting the stage for greater participation in the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s site certification program. State-certified development sites are more desirable to commercial and real estate developers because certified candidate communities have already demonstrated they have the infrastructure to support growth.

After approval by the IMU Board of Trustees, IMU intends to start work on the northern block as soon as this Spring, with work set to be completed by the end of 2023. Work on the southern blocks will commence later; the utility is targeting a completion date for the second phase by September 30, 2026