Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
A member of the Jacksonville-based consultant firm that is advising local officials on the state of the RESTORE Act funding – especially in relation to the broadband expansion – recently gave the Jefferson County Commission an update on the project.
Heather Pullen, a senior public affairs consultant with Langton Consulting, told the board on Thursday evening, Jan. 21, that her group was negotiating with CenturyLink on the contract for the design and planning of the broadband system.
The commission awarded CenturyLink the contract for the design and planning phase of the broadband system in November, with the idea of extending Internet connectivity to remote neighborhoods of the county.
The RESTORE Act funding stems from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, and the multimillion-dollar settlement that the federal government later reached with the oil companies responsible for the environmental and economic disaster.
Per the terms of the settlement agreement, the five affected Gulf Coast states and their smaller governmental jurisdictions are slated to receive part of the settlement money for economic and environmental recovery projects.
Pullen told the commissioners that her group had a meeting set up with U.S. Treasury in the coming days to discuss the obstacles that her group and others were encountering in their efforts to access the RESTORE Act funding for their clients. She expressed the hope that the talk would prove successful and make the process smoother going forward.
The U.S. Treasury is at the top of the multitude of state and federal agencies that have oversight and a say in the distribution and use of the RESTORE Act funding for the various projects, down to the county level.
Pullen promised to report the results of the meeting with the U.S. Treasury and give commissioners another update on the broadband project in the coming weeks.
Local officials estimate that the planning and designing phase of the broadband project will take
between six and eight months to complete, with construction set to begin sometime after.
Depending on what decision county officials make following the planning and designing phase, it will determine if CenturyLink, or another company, does the actual installation of the fiber-optic cable.
Jefferson County so far has received $65,450 in RESTORE Act money for the broadband design and planning phase, which project is expected to cost in excess of $1,243,000 to construct, with the additional RESTORE Act funding to follow.
Areas of the county initially identified to receive first-time or upgraded Internet service include U.S. 19 North in the vicinity of the former Jefferson Kennel Club; the Ashville Highway and Aucilla Shores areas; U.S. 90 West and South Main Avenue; and the Lloyd area, including the I-10 Interchange and the Heritage Hills and Sanctuary subdivisions.
Since the initial identification, however, CenturyLink has reportedly indicated a willingness to explore other areas of the county and other methods for the installation of the fiber-optic cable to expand the service area even more.
Per the term of the agreement tied to the RESTORE Act funding, whatever company installs the broadband must turn over ownership of the system to the county once it’s operational for a period of 15 years, after which time the company can negotiate with the county to take back the system’s ownership.