Rockingham County to take a closer look at broadband service

At its Monday meeting, The Rockingham County Board of Commissioners approved hiring The Howell Group, LLC, to conduct a broadband engineering study for the county.

This study will explore ways to expand broadband Internet access across the entire county and allow the county to take advantage of federal broadband stimulus funds.

Mark Wells, director of the Business and Technology Center, said this study has to be done in order to apply for the stimulus funds.

“The feds want engineering designs – they want a ‘shovel-ready’ project,” Wells said.

The first phase of the study is $41,000, which will be contracted immediately. The other $8,000 is designated for grant writing assistance from The Howell Group. Wells said these funds were needed because of the limited time to apply for federal money.

The study is projected to take 60-90 days to complete, but Wells hopes it won’t be that long. He said the federal government just released a statement which said the broadband stimulus money will be available after 2010. The money for the project has to be spent or designated by Sept. 2010.

In other business, the commissioners approved a request for the public library to hold Food for Fines Week Dec. 14-19. Customers are able to use non-perishable food items as payment on overdue fines. One item is equal to $1 in fines. Charges for lost or damaged materials may not be paid off with food items.

A resolution was also passed to show the commissioners’ support of the Dan River Basin Association and what it does for the county. T Butler, secretary of the board for the DRBA, and Katherine Mull, executive director, came and spoke to the commissioners. The group’s activities include programs which teach children how to raise trout and set them back into the stream, stream monitoring for bacteria problems, and education about what trails and rivers have to offer in Virginia and North Carolina. 

Tom Robinson, county manager, said the DRBA needed to be recognized for all the hard work it does in the county.

“They work really hard to get these programs going and they are doing a phenomenal job,” Robinson said. “It seems like they have a stronger presence in surrounding counties, but this is their home county. We thought it would be appropriate if we went on record and said how strongly we support them and support their continued work for the basin and for the county.”