Schoharie County’s $30 million last-mile broadband project is getting a big boost from the Sharon Springs Free Library and the Town of Richmondville.
In exchange, they’ll be getting free internet from MidTel, which is handling the build-out.
Believing it’s a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for economic development, supervisors voted last month to move ahead with the ConnectALL grant, despite concerns over the fact that they still don’t have a signed contract with Empire State Development, which will be handling reimbursements.
This month, supervisors agreed to move ahead to bond $35 million for the work; the money will only be “borrowed” as-needed to pay bills.
Thursday, MidTel’s Jim Becker got the go-ahead from the Sharon Library Board to put a small—10-by-12 or 10-by-14—stone-faced prefab shed in the library parking lot, likely at the rear of Main Street site, to help extend broadband to underserved areas including the nearby Town of Seward.
The Sharon Springs “aggregation hub” is one of four they’ll need at each corner of the county, Mr. Becker said, including sites in Richmondville, probably at the Town Barn, and the Esperance Transfer Station.
The fourth hub will be put on a site they already own, he said, an effort to save money.
The hubs will include a generator and propane tank and will be screened with a privacy fence. They’ll be placed by a crane on top of concrete pads with work to begin ASAP.
The broadband project is on a tight timeline; it has to be completed by December 31, 2026.
The county will own the infrastructure for 10 years.
After that, Mr. Becker said, it’s likely MidTel will take over ownership.
In exchange for the site, Mr. Becker told both the Sharon Library Board and the Richmondville Town Board, MidTel will provide free internet.
At the library, which runs on a shoestring budget, that’s expected to mean a savings of more than $840 annually.
The Town of Sharon and the Village of Sharon Springs, library tenants, will also get the free broadband.
“It’s for the whole building,” Mr. Becker said.
As part of Sharon Springs’ New York Forward grant, SEEC has been awarded $169,000 for Main Street Wi-Fi, a project MidTel will also be working on.
When that moves ahead, Mr. Becker said, they’ll also be able to help the library with its Wi-Fi, again at no charge.
Library trustees unanimously voted to let MidTel place the hub.
The Town of Richmondville did the same at its March 13 meeting.
Councilmen have been working to expand broadband there for 10 years and Richmondville remains one of the most underserved towns.