By Aila Boyd
The Botetourt County Board of Supervisors voted last month to authorize county staff to execute an agreement with the Commonwealth Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) following an announcement in March that the county and Craig-Botetourt Electric Cooperative (CBEC) had been awarded $758,998 in grant funding for broadband expansion.
The funding is part of DHCD’s Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) program, which assists in the expansion of broadband service to underserved and unserved areas in Virginia. VATI requires that a private partner serve as the lead for broadband expansion projects, which CBEC is doing, but that localities serve as the primary grantees.
The application was submitted back in December.
In the meeting packet prepared for the supervisors, it was noted that the project will result in nearly $2 million in new investment in taxable public service company property and that fiber-to-the-home service increases home values by 3 percent on average.
The grants will be administered through Botetourt County Treasurer Bill Arney’s office and the Botetourt County Economic Development Authority will approve payment requests that will come from CBEC, essentially serving as a pass-through for the grant money.
The grant agreement between the county and DHCD notes that no less than $1,207,999 in matching funds has been committed to the project by the county and CBEC. It goes on to state that the county estimates it will contribute $200,000 in monetary contributes and $20,000 in in-kind contributions such as fee waivers and access to its resources. CBEC estimates a commitment of no less than $987,999.00 in cash and in-kind services.
