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Jefferson County board endorses three ISPs’ BEAD applications to expand broadband
Summary
The County Board voted to endorse three internet service providers’ applications for federal BEAD funding after the Broadband Working Group recommended the endorsements; the endorsements do not commit county funds and will be considered by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.
The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors voted to endorse three internet service providers’ applications for federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding after a recommendation from the county’s Broadband Working Group.
The endorsements, contained in three separate resolutions, give applicants county letters and the county’s formal endorsement — a local endorsement that the Wisconsin Public Service Commission’s scoring process awards points for. Amy Renard, chair of the Broadband Working Group, told the board the projects together would target what the PSC has identified as about 2,600 unserved or underserved locations in Jefferson County. “Each of these projects would go a long way in bringing high speed internet to its estimated now about 2,600 locations across Jefferson County that the PSC has determined are unserved or underserved,” Renard said.
Nut graf: The endorsements do not obligate county funds. Renard said none of the three companies requested matching funds from the county; the BEAD awards and final project approvals rest with the state PSC and the federal program. Interim county administrator Michael Lucky assisted the committee’s information gathering and outreach, Renard said: “He has been really instrumental in gathering all the information that we needed, reaching out to the ISP’s, putting out a request for information,” she said.
The board considered three separate but substantively identical resolutions to endorse: Bertram Communications, “Bridal Speed” (as read into the record), and Frontier (listed as the third applicant). Supervisor Randy Truax moved the endorsements; Mr. Wimeke seconded. The board conducted voice votes on each resolution and approved all three.
Discussion and procedure: A board member asked whether the three resolutions could be adopted in a single omnibus vote; the chair said the board would vote on each resolution separately but would avoid lengthy rereading because the texts were identical apart from the applicant name. Members of the Broadband Working Group said they had sent a request for information to ISPs and met with providers to evaluate technology, timelines, costs and other project details before endorsing the applications.
What the endorsements mean: The endorsements add local points to each provider’s BEAD application to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission; final award decisions, timelines and any required matching funds are determined by the PSC and the BEAD program rules, not by the county board.
Votes at a glance: The three endorsement resolutions were approved by voice vote. A recorded opposition to at least one of the resolutions was noted in the rollup of the voice votes; the transcript shows a vocal opposition referenced during the first vote. The endorsements carry no county fiscal impact, according to the Broadband Working Group’s summary.
Ending: The board moved on after the votes to the next agenda item, a finance resolution.
