The Westport City Council voted 4-1 at their March 10 meeting to approve a long-term lease agreement with SEALink Networks, Inc., for use of 3.5 acres at the Westport Water Plant.

SEALink, which is owned by Alaska Power & Telephone Company, plans to develop Westport as a submarine fiber optic cable landing site with a landing station in the ​​Cohasset Beach South area.

According to Westport Municipal Code 3.16, “Before real property is sold or leased for more than five years the subject shall be discussed at a minimum of two city council meetings not less than one week, nor more than 12 weeks, apart.” That second reading is set for March 31.

A memo from Westport Mayor Ed Welter to the City Council states, “The initial lease is for a 30-year term. The city will receive $.50/square foot/year as rent. The rent will increase by 10% every five years. After 30 years, the city will have received approximately $2.9 million in revenue from the lease agreement.”

The proposed lease agreement states authorized use of the land includes, “Construction, installation, operation, maintenance, repair, modification, upgrade, and/or replacement of cable landing stations and related facilities and operations to be developed in conjunction with certain subsea telecommunications and cabling equipment projects.”

According to a Jan. 28 press release issued by Alaska Power & Telephone Company (AP&T) upon their acquisition of SEALink, “(SEALink) is currently developing a cable landing station for subsea cables in Westport, Washington. These cables, also known as submarine cables, are fiber optic cables laid on the ocean floor and used to transmit data between continents or across large bodies of water, including providing connectivity for Alaska to the lower 48 states. … The subsea cables are anticipated to replace aging cables used by AP&T and other carriers, allowing Alaska residents, businesses, and communities to continue to receive high quality services.”

In addition to the cable landing station, fiber backhaul routes from Westport to Olympia and Westport to Chehalis are planned. According to internet infrastructure company Meter, “A fiber backhaul network connects smaller, local networks — like those at mobile towers, broadband access points, and enterprise setups — to core networks or regional hubs, which may then connect to the larger Internet infrastructure. … It’s the conduit through which data travels between these local points and data centers, making it possible for information to move efficiently across great distances.”

SEALink’s proposal also allows for, “Future community buildout of fiber-to-the-premise to provide more options for residential and business internet.”

If the lease agreement is approved by the Westport City Council during the second reading at the March 31 meeting, construction for the Cable Landing Station project would begin later this year and is expected to be completed in late 2027 or early 2028.