Gene Cruise from Surf Broadband and Joe McCarter from RTC Communications/Rochester Telephone Company/Marshall County Fiber presented proposals for funding to expand broadband to underserved areas in Marshall County.
Cruise presented a funding request of $500,000.
“The project we’re asking for is a half-million dollars to serve 150 homes between LaPaz and Bremen, or Lake of the Woods, but when you fund that we’re going to match it by building all of Lake of the Woods and over to Bremen and the Town of LaPaz. So, your half-million dollars will actually be matched by probably $1.5 million,” said Cruise.
Surf Air has already completed broadband projects in Bourbon, Tippecanoe, and Bremen, with Plymouth to be complete this year.
Marshall County Fiber has already invested $9.8 million in fiber in Marshall County with projects in Bourbon, Argos, and South of Plymouth region. Future builds include REMC Lakes, Culver rural and Knox, according to McCarter.
McCarter stated, “One of the projects is to get transport fiber from our existing REMC Smart Grid to the Culver hut. Getting to the Culver hut is just over a five-mile build. The other is what we call The Lakes Region. The additional money would be utilized in order for us to finish that build.”
The Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program provided grant funds for these projects, but the funding help from the county will help complete more of the process.
The total of $1 million would come from American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Commissioner Stan Klotz said he sees the value of the projects, but said his priority is the roads and wants to see a dollar amount of the entire American Rescue Plan Act funds before these projects are approved.
Commissioner Michael Burroughs made the motion to fund $500,000 for Surf Broadband and $500,000 for Marshall County Fiber which was seconded by Commission President Kevin Overmyer. It was clarified that the funding will be recommended to the Marshall County Council to appropriate these funds. The motion was approved 2-1 with Klotz opposed to the motion due to his concern about funding for roads.
