Faster internet in the works for County

Thank God. It took forever to write this short article

By Adam Broderick

High-speed Internet is essential for development and progression in today’s economy, and having a consistent broadband connection has been identified as a necessity in Gunnison County.

The Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) awarded $5.2 million on Thursday, August 6 to begin developing a regional network in Delta and Montrose counties on the Western Slope.

Gunnison County will apply for funding to extend that development eastward this December, funding that Gunnison’s Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is confident will be awarded. Gunnison, and potentially Hinsdale, Ouray and San Miguel counties, could eventually integrate into the same broadband network.

According to an August 7 press release from Region 10 LEAP Inc., a nonprofit offering public programs in support of 18 local communities and six counties in western Colorado, “The $5.2 million award represents approximately half of the $9.5 million estimated budget for the Phase 1 buildout of the project, which covers the communities of Delta and east Montrose counties. A second phase is currently in the final planning stages to cover Ouray, San Miguel, Hinsdale, and Gunnison counties.”

Last July, the BOCC decided this summer was not the appropriate time to pursue a $1.2 million broadband grant for Phase 1 of the Region 10 development plan. Money from a previous DOLA grant was still being used to improve current broadband connections, and no specific action plan was ready at the time to detail any further spending, so the BOCC decided to hold off on any more DOLA funding until this December when applications for Phase 2 funding are due.

Gunnison County commissioner Paula Swenson wrote in an email that a 50 percent match in funds would be required to receive the grant money. But first, she wants to make sure that matching the grant (with funds contributed mostly by the county and the remainder divided among the local municipalities) would be the best utilization of county resources. She believes a conversation with the community needs to take place before applying for the Phase 2 grant this December.

In the press release, Delta County commissioner Bruce Hoyde said, “Broadband is as essential to the growth of [our economy] in the 21st century as electricity and telephone were in the 1900s.”