Nicholas Green of Catalyst told the Gilliam County Court that the county’s proposed broadband project received a preliminary award from the Oregon Broadband Office for the state’s BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment) program but still must clear federal sign‑off and several pre‑award requirements.

Green said the application the county submitted proposed a $7,300,000 project, including $5.5 million in BEAD funding and a 25 percent county match of about $1,800,000. The county originally planned to serve about 397 locations but reduced the plan to 334 locations to keep construction costs within program thresholds.

The award is preliminary, Green said. The Oregon Broadband Office has submitted a package of awards to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the county is waiting on NTIA’s approval before the state will prepare a final grant agreement for Gilliam County to review and sign.

Why it matters: if NTIA approves the state’s package, Gilliam County will move from planning to contract negotiations, procurement and construction. Until that federal sign‑off and the state’s contract document are issued, the county cannot obligate grant funds.

Green described a set of pre‑award items the county must complete before Business Oregon will sign a grant agreement: a cybersecurity and supply‑chain risk management plan (which Green said his firm will prepare under contract), proof of insurance and a performance bond, evidence of financial capability, verification that the county’s Unique Entity Identifier in SAM is current, and standard paperwork for conflict‑of‑interest, debarment/suspension and lobbying disclosures. He said he had submitted a draft sample contract from the Oregon Broadband Office to county staff earlier the same day.

Green also said the county needs to decide a procurement approach. He described two options that are allowed under current NTIA and state guidance: a traditional design‑bid‑build procurement or a progressive design‑build approach. Under design‑bid‑build, LS Networks (LSN) would finish designs and the county would publicly bid construction, awarding to the lowest technically qualified bidder. Under progressive design‑build, the county could select a design‑builder using weighted criteria (price plus qualifications, timeline and past performance) and potentially “light” portions of the network as permits and segments are completed, which Green said could accelerate service turn‑up.

Green said Catalyst and LSN already have implementation and design contracts in place and that those contracts would be revisited to form a BEAD implementation contract when the state finalizes the award. He said the Oregon Broadband Office’s preliminary announcement to the county came Sept. 9 and the county had a weeklong public comment period afterward.

Timing: Green said he expects NTIA approvals on the Oregon package in November and state contract documents in December, and added that if those steps occur the county could be cleared to begin construction as early as January, provided the pre‑award items (including the performance bond) are in place.

County direction and next steps: Green asked the court to authorize two county signers on the indemnity agreement needed to secure a performance bond (he said Hartford provided a quote and required two authorized signers). He recommended that the court consider a work session to review procurement alternatives and implementation sequencing rather than making a procurement decision at the meeting.

“Hold on tight because like all things BEAD and broadband these days, it’s all, I would say, preliminary until it’s final,” Green said.

Green and county staff said they will continue design work, prepare pre‑award documents and return with details of the performance bond and a draft procurement plan for the court to consider; no final contract was signed at the meeting.