Updates on broadband internet and fiber-optic cable were discussed at the weekly Wednesday morning meeting of the Highland County Board of Commissioners.

Steve Williams, director of marketing and global sales at SOCS Business Solutions, said that Southern Ohio Communication Services is currently in the middle of its 511-mile project and building through Adams County on its way to Highland County at the moment. Williams said that through the Ohio Residential Broadband Expansion Grant (ORBEG), the company would build 109 miles of fiber optic cable through Highland County that would pass 1,007 homes.

He said that the company has 336 homes that it has engineered for that the company doesn’t have any funding for, with the project cost per home passed over equaling $7,800. He said there was around a $1.8 million gap between what they have and what they would need for the remaining homes.

Gary Cooper, CEO and president of the Southern Ohio Communication Services, said that they are in Highland County right now and are building north. He said an issue they are experiencing is getting access to utility poles.

Cooper said that through the ORBEG program, the state granted them and South Central Power access to 941 of the homes, which meant both companies would be required to build them under the current rules. He also said the state is aware of the issue and promised it would find a solution, but hasn’t yet.

Williams said he didn’t think it was a smart way of spending the grant money by having two different companies service the same houses. Commissioner Dave Daniels said that it was his understanding that the pole access was a countrywide problem hampering efforts, with Cooper saying that the Ohio Legislature is very much aware of it. He also said that the timeline for the ORBEG money has been extended due to this issue.

Daniels then broached the idea that if South Central Power picked up some of the properties that they were both scheduled to service, then maybe the extra funding could be extended to the 336 homes that could be passed by, with Cooper saying they could do that if Ohio Broadband would allow it.

Cooper said it’s not a good use of money to double fund homes, so if something is in South Central Power’s area on its poles and South Central Power was going to build it itself, then the state should release Southern Ohio Communication Services from its obligation and let them use that money on unfunded areas.

In other news, Julie Bolender, Highland County Economic Development director, discussed a proposal from Michael Linton, a workforce coordinator from Ross County. Bolender said the proposal was for a Regional Workforce Development Program that Ross County wanted to collaborate on with multiple counties in the area.

She said the proposal was for Highland and Jackson counties to be satellite offices and Ross County to be the hub.

Daniels said he didn’t see why the county wouldn’t want to partner or at least discuss the opportunity.

“But, you know, if we can join forces and expand the resources that our folks have, then I think that’s a good thing,” Bolender said.

The board of commissioners agreed to allow Bolender and Tim Dettweiler, a workforce representative in Highland County, to move forward with the opportunity.

The board of commissioners approved a letter of support to Southeast Ohio Works. Bolender said the letter was for the company to look into the U.S. Economic Development Association’s (EDA) Recompete Pilot Program and support their application. She said the program was “basically” a grant for persistently distressed communities try to create and connecting workers to good jobs as well as to address prime age employment gaps.

The board of commissioners also made six approvals, with a few of them related. Change Order 1A-2, 15A-2 and 16A-2, for the new OSU Extension Building, to Tag Williams, Inc., Weller’s Plumbing and Heating and CT Electric, respectively, to delete sheets from the original set of drawings and add new sheets to the contract documents. Another approval for the new OSU Extension Building, to Tag Williams, Inc., was to remove unsubstantiated material from the future driveway at the north and east of the new building at the direction of the geotechnical engineer/inspector.

Nicole Oberrecht, Highland County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding coordinator, said these change orders were due to the building first being specked as a post-frame building, then being changed to conventional framing. She said the second aspect regarding the material was related to four different spots that needed to be remedied, where the old soil needed to be taken out, backfilled and then compacted.

There were nine resolutions approved by the board:

* Res. No. 23-152 is consent from the board of commissioners for an annexation petition filed by Fred Beery on behalf of the Bright Local School District to certify the transcript to be deposited to the clerk of the village of Mowrystown.

* Res. No. 23-153 is a petition filed by the Paint Township Trustees to vacate around 130 feet of an alley located in Paint Township. The board agreed to set the date and time for a public viewing to be held on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 10 a.m. and a public hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 11 a.m. in the Highland County Commissioners’ Office.

* Res. No. 23-154 is an authorization for a budget modification within the 1000 County Court budget in the amount of $500.

* Res. No. 23-155 is an authorization for an additional appropriation from unappropriated funds within Specialization Docket Subs 2665 in the amount of $84,114.10.

* Res. No. 23-156 is an authorization for a budget modification within the MVL 2065 budget in the amount of $106,000.

* Res. No. 23-157 is an authorization for a budget modification within the JRIG 2670 budget in the amount of $1,770.35.

* Res. No. 23-158 is an authorization for an additional appropriation from unappropriated funds within 2605 Revolving Loan Fund – Other Expense in the amount of $104,350.

* Res. No. 23-159 is an authorization for an additional appropriation from unappropriated funds within 2360 Other Expense – IT Upgrades in the amount of $100,000.

* Res. No. 23-160 is an authorization for an additional appropriation from unappropriated funds within 2000 Dog and Kennel in the amount of $6,000.

There were also three contracts approved by the board:

* Contract 78 is between the board of commissioners, the Highland County Sheriff’s Office and Securitas Technology for Service Agreement #238043.1 Fiscal Year 2024.

* Contract 79 is between the board of commissioners, the Highland County Prosecutor and Karpel Computer Systems Inc. for Case Management Software.

* Contract 80 is between the board of commissioners, the Highland County Sheriff’s Office, JusticeWeb and the Montgomery County Commissioners for a 10-year renewal beginning on Jan. 1, 2024, of the Montgomery County Criminal Justice Information System.

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.