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Sawyer County weighs joining regional broadband bond pool and funding towers to shore up public-safety radio coverage
Summary
County officials spent much of the meeting reviewing BEAD maps, competing options to expand broadband and a plan to upgrade the public-safety radio network that could rely on a private builder-financier. Staff were asked to return with contract details and a draft resolution by July.
Sawyer County officials spent the bulk of their regular meeting reviewing federal BEAD mapping, competing broadband-build options and proposals to rebuild the county's public-safety radio network, and asked staff to return next month with draft resolutions and contract details.
Board discussion, led by county staff member Andy and Sheldon Johnson of the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, focused on the imminent BEAD mapping and application windows at the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) and on two different approaches to meeting both broadband goals and radio-coverage needs. Johnson said the PSC process will include a public review of draft coverage maps followed by a provider-contest period, and that counties will likely have only a short window to submit resolutions endorsing or recommending particular providers. "They're allocating points for county resolutions," Johnson said, urging counties to prepare for that timetable.
The two build options presented were: a county-led GenComm plan to rebuild the radio system with new tower sites and microwave backhaul, and a BugTussle partnership in which BugTussle would build fiber and towers using pooled bond capacity (Fond du Lac County would issue the debt) and the county would extend its borrowing capacity but not provide upfront cash. The county-owned GenComm build was presented as an estimated $2.4 million project to deliver improved portable (handheld) and paging coverage. Under the BugTussle scenario, the transcript records a worst-case construction estimate of $16,000,000 for fiber and tower infrastructure; a project budget itemization later cited fiber at $9,400,000, tower construction at $6.75 million and equipment at $5.67 million, with additional interest/issuance costs included in the materials shown to the board.
"I'm blown away by the fiber cost per mile compared to what I'm familiar with," one supervisor said, calling a $9.4 million fiber line and an $8,082,500-per-mile figure 'excessive.' Andy responded that the BugTussle option reduces the county's upfront cost and that counties participating in pooled financing typically receive an annual payment for the use of their borrowing capacity, but he also warned there is a contingency risk: if the private company fails, the county could become responsible for remaining debt. "We don't put any money in," he said of the BugTussle proposal, "but there is risk that we'd have to incur the debt then and service it." (All quotes are taken from attendees as transcribed.)
Board members queried the timing, the mechanics of pooled debt, overlap with existing providers and whether the county should instead pursue its own backbone. Johnson said the PSC's initial mapping threshold for identifying underserved locations was described in the presentation as "25 up, 3 down," and he estimated PSC application opportunities could open in September or October after the comment and challenge windows close. He also said counties may receive points in PSC scoring for demonstrating local engagement with providers and for county resolutions recommending particular applicants.
Public-safety needs also framed the discussion. The county's radio network vendor (GenComm) recommended several new tower sites to reach a target of roughly 90–95% portable coverage; staff said those sites include Hayward (existing), the LCO/WOJB tower, Birchwood, Meteor and a potential new site at Loretta, with additional gap-filling possible via a BugTussle or neighboring-county site in Price County. The GenComm-only option would have the county own towers and pay for microwave backhaul; the BugTussle option would use fiber backhaul provided by that firm's ring, lowering the county's backhaul cost but leaving the county without ownership of towers.
No final action was taken. The public-safety committee asked staff to continue negotiating with GenComm and BugTussle to see whether a combined plan could meet coverage goals and to prepare a draft resolution for the board in July so Sawyer County could be included in the next bonding pool if it chooses. A final decision was discussed for a possible August deadline tied to the pooled-bonding schedule.
What happens next: staff will return with comparative cost materials, draft contract language and a recommended resolution; the board expects a July deadline to commit to the pooled-bonding plan if it wishes to participate.
