Google Fiber is coming to Parkville after a decade of petitioning by city officials.
Representatives of Google Fiber attended the Tuesday, March 7 meeting of the board of aldermen to approve an initial licensing agreement to install underground utilities. Installation is expected to take about a year, with customers able to sign up early next year.
Service installation is intended across the city, with particular care taken in the historic areas of downtown to cause the least amount of disruption.
Kansas City was an early test market for Google Fiber, but the service had not extended to Parkville. Representatives said over the years Google Fiber has extended its footprint in the area and is now able to offer service in the Parkville area. Currently, installation is under way in 26 municipalities in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
City officials also approved modifications to municipal code due to the legalization of recreational marijuana in Missouri.
City administrator Alexa Barton wrote in her staff report that, “While the federal government still considers marijuana to be a controlled substance, it’s still necessary for the city to update its municipal code in order to conform to the new provisions of the Missouri Constitution pertaining to recreational marijuana. In summary, this involves modifying the reference to ‘medical marijuana’ throughout the Municipal Code to just ‘marijuana,’ as the new recreational marijuana rules allow one facility to sell both medical marijuana and recreational marijuana.”
Also at the meeting, the board approved the hire of Dan Sharp as the city’s new director of public works. Sharp comes to the city from the City of Lee’s Summit. He will replace Alysen Abel, who held the position for about 10 years.