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Kittitas County staff ask board to send letters after ISP receives unexplained BNSF invoices
Summary
Public Works reported that LightCurve received BNSF invoices that grew “from $50,000 to $450,000” for a short conduit run needed to connect about 60 rural parcels; staff asked the board to authorize letters to federal and state officials to secure meetings and documentation for grant reimbursement.
Public Works staff told the Kittitas County commissioners on Monday that they are seeking the board’s authorization to send letters to federal and state officials after an internet service provider received unexpectedly large invoices from BNSF related to a rural broadband build.
Josh Fredrickson, Public Works, said the county and its ISP partner, LightCurve, planned to run fiber through existing conduit for roughly 1,300 feet to cross a BNSF right-of-way. Fredrickson said BNSF has issued invoices to the ISP “that have grown, from $50,000 to $450,000 without any explanation,” and that the county needs documentation to determine whether those costs can be reimbursed under grant awards from the Public Works Board and the Washington State Broadband Office.
“LightCurve’s request is, ‘hey, we just want to understand why we’re paying a bill,’ ” Fredrickson said. He told the board that if the county pays a portion of an invoice that is later deemed ineligible for grant reimbursement, auditors will require supporting documentation showing the expense was part of the project.
Fredrickson said he had invited BNSF to meet but that the railroad had declined or not participated, and that the county has discussed the issue with the Washington State Broadband Office and sought assistance from federal staff. He asked the board to authorize two letters with identical language: one to U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell’s office for help coordinating meetings with federal rail and transportation officials, and another to the Washington State Broadband Office, whose director Jordan Arnold “has verbally committed” to help coordinate discussions.
Fredrickson said the segment in question is needed to serve roughly 60 parcels in unincorporated areas (Edgemont, Thrall and Denmark Road areas). If that section cannot be installed, those residents would not be able to receive the higher-speed fiber the county is building.
Committee member S4 moved to authorize the letters and the Chair seconded. The transcript records the motion being made and seconded but does not include a recorded roll-call tally or explicit final vote.
Next steps: staff will deliver the proposed letters and seek the board’s formal sign-off; they said they will continue outreach to BNSF, the Washington State Broadband Office and federal offices to obtain necessary cost documentation for grant reimbursement and to keep the project on schedule.
Notes: the transcript uses the term “BEED” for a pending federal broadband program; that appears to be a transcription of the federal BEAD program (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment). The article reflects the transcript’s descriptions of grants as reimbursements and notes that specific vote tallies were not recorded in the meeting transcript.
