Garfield County commissioners on Sept. 8 authorized the chair to sign a commercial lease agreement for carrier-neutral locations and an indefeasible right-of-use (IRU) fiber agreement with Region 10. Staff said the agreements will allow Region 10 to use county facilities and fiber infrastructure as part of a broader effort to expand broadband in the I-70 corridor.

Planning and county legal staff said Region 10 had already signed on to the agreements and that the county’s signature will permit the regionwide project to leverage private and federal funding opportunities — including upcoming federal programs — to extend higher-capacity fiber. Staff thanked Region 10 for taking a lead role and noted the county may see competitive federal broadband funding (NTIA/BEAD) return to future rounds.

Commissioners approved the signature authorization unanimously and asked staff to correct a scrivener error in the signature block that incorrectly listed a commissioner’s name for signature.

What’s next: county will finalize the lease documents, execute the IRU, and continue coordinating with Region 10 on broadband grant applications and fiber deployment planning.