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Pine County approves letter of support and $1,000 contribution for East Central Energy BEAD grant
Summary
The board voted unanimously to provide a letter of support and a financial contribution not to exceed $1,000 to East Central Energy for a BEAD/DEED broadband grant application to extend fiber to remaining eligible locations in Pine County.
Dennis Rice, broadband manager at East Central Energy (ECE), asked the Pine County Board of Commissioners for a letter of support and a small financial contribution to accompany ECE’s application to the state BEAD/DEED broadband program. Rice said the company aims to close remaining “serviceable but unserved/underserved” locations in Pine County and planned to submit a BEAD application on April 19, with the state window closing shortly thereafter.
Rice described how eligibility is determined by FCC‑reported service data (the fabric/BSL maps) and said DEED’s threshold for eligibility is below 100 Mbps download / 20 Mbps upload; locations reported under that threshold are considered eligible. He described ECE’s planned build as fiber‑to‑the‑home with no legacy infrastructure in the new build.
Commission discussion noted the community impacts of connectivity, including telemedicine and online services. A motion was made and seconded to provide a letter of support and a financial contribution of $1,000. The motion carried with all commissioners voting in favor.
The board’s action authorized the county to provide a written letter of support for ECE’s BEAD application and to contribute up to $1,000 toward the application, as requested by ECE. Dennis Rice thanked the board on behalf of ECE.
No additional conditions or strings were specified in the motion; the financial contribution amount was limited in the motion to “not to exceed $1,000.”
