Habersham County OKs amended Windstream partnership after state grant restructuring

Habersham County commissioners on Monday approved an amendment to the county's public-private partnership with Windstream to recognize a restructured state broadband grant award and a change in the grant’s payment structure.

The amendment updates the county’s existing build agreement with Windstream after the state adjusted the award from a reimbursable/match model to a fixed-award approach. County staff said the state award increased slightly under the new structure and removed the requirement that Windstream provide a match to the grant.

Why it matters: The change is mainly administrative for audit and contracting purposes but affects how grant funds are disbursed and documented. County officials told commissioners the modification does not change the company’s obligations to complete the build plan Windstream submitted to win the award.

Windstream operations manager Josh Baker described the company’s local footprint and recent investments in Habersham County during a presentation before the vote. “We greatly appreciate this partnership,” Baker said, and summarized Windstream’s prior investments and planned work in the county.

Baker said Windstream has invested $3,250,000 alongside an earlier state award of $5,670,000 (a combined $8,920,000) to extend fiber in the county. He told the commission Windstream had completed 146 miles of fiber and had about 117 miles remaining under that project. Baker asked the commission for a letter of support to accompany a separate federal BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment) application that would extend service to about 1,600 additional households or locations identified as underserved or unserved in the company’s plan.

County staff explained the state’s restructuring removed the match requirement from the grant terms and that Windstream remains responsible for completing the build it promised to the state. The staff presentation said the award amount under the new structure rose to about $6.2 million from the earlier figure reported in Windstream’s materials.

Commissioners voted to approve the amended build agreement as presented. County officials said the action and a record of the approval are being kept to satisfy audit requirements tied to the state funding.

What’s next: County staff will include the amended agreement and the meeting minutes in the grant file for audit purposes. Windstream may separately seek commissioner support in the form of a letter for its BEAD application; the company’s presentation requested, but the minutes do not record, a formal vote on a support letter at this meeting.