DC Community Resources & Tourism allocates $100,000 for broadband expansion
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — The Dunn County Community Resources and Tourism Committee has allocated the $100,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds in the amount of $60,000 to 24-7 Telcom and $20,000 each to Bloomer Telephone and Mosaic Technologies.
The three Internet service providers (ISPs) will be applying for broadband expansion grants through the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, and those grant applications are due next week, said James Anderson, county board supervisor from Menomonie and chair of the CRT committee, at the committee’s March 7 meeting.
Mosaic Technologies is applying for broadband expansion in the Town of Grant, Bloomer Telephone is applying for broadband expansion in the Town of Colfax, and 24-7 Telecom is applying for broadband expansion for five projects around Dunn County.
For this round of broadband grant applications, $100 million is available.
For the first round of $100 million available last year, the PSC received requests for $400 million.
All together, Dunn County will be receiving $8.8 million in ARPA funds. The federal government distributed the first half of the money last year and will distribute the second half this year.
Out of the first round of ARPA money, the Dunn County Board has approved using $3.2 million for highway projects.
Cities, townships and villages also have received ARPA money. The amount awarded to each municipality is based on population.
Broadband
On a recommendation from the CRT committee, the Dunn County Board approved allocating $100,000 of the ARPA money for grant applications to expand fiber optic Internet service at the board’s February meeting.
If 24-7 Telcom, Bloomer Telephone and Mosaic Technologies do not receive grants, Dunn County is not obligated to disburse any of the allocated ARPA money, Anderson said.
Although a representative for Bloomer Telephone was not available, representatives for 24-7 Telcom and Mosaic attended the CRT meeting using the Zoom online platform.
The Town of Grant is very enthusiastic about the project, even going so far as to get some financial support from Marshfield Clinic, said Preston Pearson of Mosaic Technologies.
The Town of Grant project is an extension of the Town of Otter Creek project, he said.
Mosaic received a grant for Otter Creek last fall, and within a week of the grant award, “plows were in the ground” plowing fiber optic cable. The project will be finished in the second quarter of 2022, Pearson said.
The goal of 24-7 Telcom is to have all of the townships in the grant projects 100 percent served, said Jim Kusilek of 24-7 Telcom.
If some of the projects look like they are missing certain areas, those areas most likely are already being served by 24-7 Telcom’s parent company, West Wisconsin Telcom, he said.
Projects
The grant applications for 24-7 Telcom will cover projects in the Towns of Dunn, Eau Galle, Lucas, Menomonie and Sherman.
In the Town of Dunn, the project will serve 20 residences and businesses for a total project cost of $340,390.
In the Town of Eau Galle, the project will serve 20 residences and businesses for a total project cost of $479,750.
In the Town of Lucas, the project will cover 66 residences and businesses for a total project cost of $801,925.
In the Town of Menomonie, the project will cover 219 residences and businesses for a total project cost of $1,106,684.
In the Town of Sherman, the project will cover 131 residences and businesses for a total project cost of $1,500,630.
The Bloomer Telephone project in the Town of Colfax will cover 79 residences and businesses for a total project cost of $656,647.
The Mosaic Technologies project in the Town of Grant will cover 131 residences and businesses for a total project cost of $1.6 million.
The total cost of all of the projects is $6.49 million.
Depending on the project, the cost for bringing fiber optic Internet access to each residence or business ranges from $5,000 to $23,000.
The Towns of Dunn and Eau Galle are allocating $30,000 each toward the projects in each township.
The Town of Lucas is allocating $500, while the Town of Menomonie is allocating $20,538 and the Town of Sherman is allocating $34,037.
For the Bloomer Telephone project, the Town of Colfax is allocating $65,000.
For the Mosaic Technologies project, the Town of Grant is allocating $45,000.
The total amount being requested for the grant applications is $4.92 million, with contributions of $2.2 million from the ISPs and $115,075 from the townships.
ARPA
Anderson’s suggestion was to allocate $60,000 of the county’s ARPA money to the 24-7 Telcom projects and allow 24-7 Telcom to decide how much money would go to each project.
Bloomer Telephone and Mosaic would each receive an allocation of $20,000 for their projects, he said.
Tom Quinn, county board supervisor from Downing and a member of the CRT committee, wondered if some of the $100,000 should be saved for other broadband grant applications.
Fiber optic Internet access in the rural areas of Dunn County will provide opportunities for economic development, Anderson said.
The expanded Internet access also will be important for rural residential housing. Without the broadband access, some houses may not sell as well or for as much money, and some houses may not be built at all, he said.
Anderson said he did not support holding back some of the $100,000 in ARPA funds.
More grant opportunities may not come along until 2023, and there may be different members on the CRT committee by that point, he said, adding that the committee should approve using the full $100,000.
Anderson has decided not to run for the Dunn County Board again in the April election, so at least one CRT committee member will be different.
Approval
The Dunn County Community Resources and Tourism committee unanimously approved allocating $60,000 to 24-7 Telcom and $20,000 each to Bloomer Telephone and Mosaic Technologies.
Larry Bjork, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the CRT committee, was absent from the meeting.
Anderson asked Bartlett to vote on the motion in Bjork’s absence so there would not be an even number of committee members, which could result in a tie vote.
Voting in favor of the motion were David Bartlett, county board supervisor from Boyceville and chair of the Dunn County Board; Ann Vogl, county board member from Menomonie; Quinn; Anderson; and Jim Zons, county board supervisor from Colfax.
Anderson pointed out that 24-7 Telcom would have to let the county know how much of the $60,000 the company was allocating to each grant application so that if the grants are awarded, the county will know how much to pay out.
Kusilek said staff at 24-7 Telcom would determine the county’s ARPA amounts for each application in the next day or two.
24-7 Telcom most likely will find out in June or July if any of the grant applications have been approved, he said.
