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County reports $32 million in broadband grant awards; staff seeks resolution support for next BEAD rounds
Summary
Kittitas County Public Works told commissioners it has assembled approximately $32 million in broadband grant funds across three programs and asked the board to support additional BEAD/BEED rounds with a formal resolution.
Public Works staff updated commissioners on multiple broadband expansion efforts and reported roughly $32 million in combined grant awards and provisional awards for county projects.
Staff said the county has secured three grant sources that together total about $32,000,000: approximately $3,000,000 from the Public Works Board (project for the Fort and Edgemont areas), about $11,000,000 from the Washington State Broadband Office, and roughly $18,000,000 in provisional awards from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD/BEED) program. The $3 million project is expected to begin construction in June, with conduit installation in the ground and service offered in July or August, staff said.
Public Works described project responsibilities as partnerships with private providers rather than county-operated services; the county will facilitate grant administration and coordination. On the public-works-board-funded project, staff said the county expects to enable approximately 550 potential service locations in the Fort and Edgemont areas. The Washington State Broadband Office project could cover about 700 additional locations, staff said.
Staff told the board that BEAD/BEED funding comes with a 75% federal match and that the state of Washington has committed to fund the required match if the project is led by a local agency such as Kittitas County. Staff said the county submitted seven BEAD/BEED applications and received provisional awards for two, totaling about $18,000,000.
Public Works warned the board that round 2 technical approaches will encourage lower-cost technologies where appropriate, including wireless or low-earth-orbit satellite, and that those alternatives typically do not allow open access for multiple retail providers in the same way fiber can. Staff requested direction to bring back a resolution supporting BEAD/BEED round 2 applications and to proceed with preparations for additional rounds of state and federal funding. Commissioners agreed to advance the application work and to return the resolution for formal action.
