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Board backs Red River Communications BEAD application and pledges $5,000 ARPA contribution if awarded
Summary
The Clay County Board approved a letter of support for Red River Communications’ federal BEAD broadband application to serve 17 previously excluded locations north of Holly and pledged a $5,000 ARPA match contingent on grant acceptance; staff said the contribution can come from previously designated ARPA funds.
The Clay County Board voted to provide a letter of support for Red River Communications’ application to the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program and to commit $5,000 in ARPA funds if the grant is awarded.
Tom (Red River Communications) described a project that would extend broadband service to roughly 17 locations north of Holly that had been excluded from a prior grant. He said the company is applying through Minnesota DEED and that including local government contributions improves scoring for such grants. County staff and commissioners discussed whether residents had been contacted (Tom said about 50% of those households already subscribed on prior projects or were pre-subscribed) and how ARPA funds would be drawn from a prior county designation; staff said $30,000 had been reserved previously for similar projects and $5,000 of that could be allocated for this application if the grant is accepted.
Commissioner Mojo moved to approve a letter of support and a $5,000 ARPA contribution contingent on award; the motion was seconded and passed. Commissioners and Red River staff agreed the contribution would only be paid if the BEAD award is received.
Tom said the adjacent North Holly project has been bid and the company awaits state historic-preservation clearances prior to construction. Commissioners and staff emphasized the importance of later community outreach and subscription conversion work if the BEAD grant is awarded.
