Broadband

Meets Every Other Friday at 8:30am

Projects Proposed for CARES Act Funding

Real and lasting expansion of broadband in Jefferson County requires large and long-term investments which would generally fall outside the scope of this immediate CARES Act funding. JBAT, an organization that was in place prior to the pandemic, has a vision for “reliable, affordable, broadband high-speed internet for all (East) Jefferson County”. The JBAT team consists of representatives of the County, City of Port Townsend, school districts, medical, library, emergency, PUD, Port, and Washington State University Extension.

Working with that broad range of people, along with collaborating with the other ICC Groups on cross-over priorities, we found that the projects with the most immediate impact on pandemic recovery and resiliency have been those that very quickly made WiFi broadband available, and have put real broadband to use in the hands of residents and their children. Two of the subgroups who have made great strides in these areas, and continue to, are represented here and their proposals are attached.

1. Reimburse PUD for WiFi hot spot installations: Reimburse/fund the PUD for their very timely work started in March and continuing, in collaboration with local schools, to install 12 WiFi hot spots around the county enabling students/teachers/residents to use free internet services. This project request is for $190,000 and a breakdown of the deliverables and costs is attached.
2. Reimburse/fund Connected Students Initiative (a program of StrongerTowns) bringing internet services into the hands of residents/families. Reimburse/fund the subgroup Connected Students Initiative for their good work during this pandemic (and continuing) to connect underserved households to the internet by providing the hot spot, monthly services, and equipment that brings this service to real use. This project request is for a total of $80,563 and a breakdown of the deliverables and costs is attached.

Funding these projects with CARES Act monies has a positive two -fold impact. The PUD has committed to rolling reimbursed funds forward to continue the work they are doing, in conjunction with recommendations by JBAT. Connected Schools, by returning monies to their funding sources, opens up opportunities for those organizations to continue funding similar efforts.