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Cardinal Ridge gets fiber after county grant; congressman’s field rep introduced
Summary
Haywood County commissioners heard a broadband update and a letter from Cardinal Ridge residents thanking the board for a competing-access grant that brought fiber service; the congressman’s field representative, Lake Silver, introduced Reagan Bunch as his incoming Haywood County West field rep.
Unidentified Commissioner (Speaker 1) read a letter from the Cardinal Ridge Homeowners Association thanking the board for supporting a competing-access broadband grant that “provided fiber optic broadband access to the Cardinal Ridge community.” The letter, delivered on behalf of HOA president Richard Hanos Hanoske, also thanked Dr. Deborah Porto, chair of the Haywood County Broadband Committee, and Hannah White, described in the letter as "the NCACCC strategic project coordinator for Haywood County Community and Economic Development," for their help securing the award.
Lake Silver, identified in the meeting as the field representative for Congressman Chuck Edwards, told commissioners he is moving to a community-services liaison role in the state auditor’s office and introduced Reagan Bunch as the new field representative who will cover Haywood County West. Bunch told the board she will serve part time through the school year because she teaches middle school and asked for patience while she transitions into the position: “I need some patience to start, because I'm gonna be just part time, until the end of the school year because I teach middle school.”
A broadband operational update provided later in the meeting outlined the current and planned footprint for service expansion. Speaker 5 said the recent work tied to Spectrum and RDOF-related efforts has “3,400 locations ready to go” and 5,100 planned locations in the pipeline. The speaker added that a state BED (broadband equity/access devices) submission could add about 900 more locations and that, if approvals and funding proceed, the buildout could be completed by 2030.
Commissioners and others at the table praised Lake Silver’s responsiveness and welcomed Bunch’s appointment; several commissioners noted they rely on the congressional office for constituent casework. The board did not take a formal vote on the congressional staff change; Lake Silver described the personnel change and left the incoming field representative to introduce herself.
What happens next: county staff and local partners will continue implementation work tied to the grant and provider build schedules. The update at this meeting was informational; the timeline for service to specific addresses depends on state approvals and provider schedules and was described by staff as contingent on those external steps.
