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Expansion and Investment of Utility Services
The City has recently expanded its electrical generation
capacity, adding a new 50-mega watt turbine generator. We have also recently
undergone wastewater facility improvements and have constructed a new one
million gallon water tower in Safari Industrial Park to assist industrial
expansion and future growth opportunities.
Expansion and Investment into Communications
Services
 The
municipal electric utility in Chanute has operated a fiber
optic communications network dedicated to electric
department operations for several years. This network was
built to link the three municipal power plants, the bulk
delivery switching station and the City’s largest electric
customer, Ash Grove Cement.
Recently this fiber network was extended
underground from an exiting fiber terminal in the now
retired power plant 1 to the City’s Memorial Building. The
investment, including interconnecting electronics, was
funded by the municipal utilities in Chanute. This network
expansion improves the performance and security of the
interface between the outlying municipal utilities and the
City’s governmental departments.
Benefits to the utilities of being connected
to Chanute’s community network include: Access to central
accounting and budgeting records maintained on the City’s
network, hardware and software sharing (the Water and Waste
Water Departments have identified immediate $17,000 avoided
software costs), use of city-provided Internet access,
secure high-speed data network for SCADA and other critical
data purposes, elimination of unnecessary duplicative
purchased telephone services such as the T-1 data circuit
between the Memorial Building and the Utility Complex, and
improved work flow among the municipal utilities. The
network also provides a common, manageable platform that
will support the increasing security and video surveillance
requirements of the municipal utilities.
Another Opportunity to
Collaborate
During studies conducted on behalf of the
City, it was discovered that there is the potential for
substantial federal reimbursement funds, upwards of 70%, if
the City were to become the Internet Service Provider for
USD 413. Interconnectivity among the school buildings,
Neosho County Community College, Chanute Public Library, and
the City government offices had been sought for years.
The once informal group is now called the
Integrated Chanute Area Network (ICAN) Group. The City
Commission approved the expansion of the City’s
communications network to interconnect the ICAN Group
through the City’s network and authorized the City to
provide Internet Access to these entities.
This infrastructure investment in the
community is expected to be repaid by the members of the
ICAN Group in fees for services over a 8-10 year period.
Additionally, it has been estimated that the ICAN Group can
save as much as $150,000 in capital investments in the first
full year of network operation. In addition, it has the
potential to save as much as $100,000 each year thereafter,
because of the ability to share expensive computer hardware
and software.
Furthermore, the performance benefits for
the students in Chanute are dramatic. Because of the
community network, a statewide Kan-Ed educational network
interface can be developed, further expanding the
educational opportunities for students in Chanute.
The City has begun a quasi-partnership with
AT&T to provide T-1 connectivity at discounted prices
through aggregation of broadband services and
infrastructure. Several private businesses are beginning to
enjoy the benefits of the City’s communications efforts
through direct fiber or T-1 connectivity.
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