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Monongalia County relays CityNet update to resident; county cites ARPA funds and multiple broadband projects
Summary
A resident inquiry prompted a county update that CityNet has funding approval and will begin construction after state authorization; county staff said Monongalia County has separately used ARPA dollars and is advancing other broadband projects including Frontier and Comcast work.
A citizen inquiry about fiber internet prompted county staff to relay a response from CityNet and to summarize the county's ongoing broadband projects during the April 16 meeting.
The commission discussed correspondence from a resident, Michelle Shockley, who said her area near I‑79 and Goshen Road had been promised CityNet fiber service but had no installation date. County staff relayed a reply from a CityNet representative, Melissa O'Brien, saying that service will be available at the address and that the project will proceed as funding for the project had been approved; construction will begin once CityNet receives authorization from the state.
County staff said Monongalia County has additional broadband projects advancing, including an upcoming Frontier project in the same area and three Comcast projects elsewhere. The county noted it has used American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars on some local projects and, as a result, in some places is "ahead of the state" in project deployment while other providers await federal grant allocations.
The resident who contacted the county told staff she and neighbors had been unable to rely on previous connectivity options and were eager for a fiber option; county staff said they passed CityNet's update back to her. The commission did not take formal action beyond noting the correspondence and relaying the vendor's response.
