Commissioners approve plan to upgrade jail internet and explore tower lease revenues; action pending funding source

Marshall County staff and an HWC representative briefed commissioners on Oct. 6 about recurring internet outages at the county jail and a proposed plan to improve reliability for the jail’s cloud-based systems.

Dan San Martano of HWC said the county’s current service from Surf is an informal in-kind arrangement in exchange for tower space but that the arrangement has resulted in unreliable connectivity. He presented a plan to install equipment and deliver a separate, more reliable internet connection for the jail, at an estimated one-time cost of $15,008.25.

Dan said that if the county moved away from the in-kind arrangement, providers who previously used the towers would need to pay rent to continue using county tower space. Two county towers (the highway garage and the jail tower) are associated with an EPICS fund; those tower rents would feed back into that fund if the county transitions to rent-based leases.

County health department leadership noted that the EPICS fund is administered by the health department and that any use of those funds would require health-board approval. Commissioners authorized staff to proceed with the technical work and to seek a funding source; they directed the county attorney and staff to draft a lease/fee agreement for tower users should the county require rent for tower space.

The board’s action authorized moving forward pending identification of the funding source; commissioners said they would consider EPICS fund use, special line-item options or general-fund coverage if necessary.