MONONGALIA COUNTY, W.Va. — Broadband expansion in Monongalia County is advancing on multiple fronts, leveraging federal coronavirus assistance money to get the most value for the county taxpayer.
On WAJR’s “Talk of the Town,” President of the Monongalia County Commission Sean Sikora provided a basic overview.
“We have five projects that are now in execution mode through the next year and have two years to complete,” Sikora said. “We’ve leveraged about $8 million in American Rescue Plan (ARPA) dollars to get about $20 million in projects to our community.”
The newest additions to the program are Comcast projects in the Snake Hill area valued at about $1.4 million and River Road valued at about $175,000 to add 20 miles of fiber optic cable for 120 homes and businesses. Those are in addition to the contract awarded to Comcast in June of 2024 for a large area in the western end of the county referred to as “Ring 11.”
“That project covers predominantly what we had designed as Ring 11 in the western end of the county,” Sikora said. “Plus, spatterings elsewhere, where Comcast has an existing network.”
With the contracts that have been awarded this year, broadband expansion has moved to all areas.
“With the previous Comcast in the western end and now the eastern end and the project off River Road, we essentially have the county covered,” Sikora said.
The two most recent contracts addressed smaller areas with available remaining ARPA funds. Sikora suggested other underserved areas in the county will be identified in the future, and they could possibly be funded through something similar to the Orphan Road program. The program subsidizes road improvements for residents in older areas developed before any road regulations or drainage requirements were in place.
“There may be some in the future, so maybe like the Orphan Road program,” Sikora said. “Maybe have some funds put aside for other areas that otherwise may not be covered, but that’s something we’ll do in our next budget.”
Next week, another contract award announcement will be made that could bring upgraded connections to hundreds more.
Commissioner Jeff Arnett credited the progress with the vision of Sikora and the groundwork by Ohio-based Ice Miller Whiteboard through a $250,000 contract with the county. The clear plan and vision have allowed expansion to quickly gain traction and make notable progress.
“All this money comes in, and it just gets spent, and you don’t know what happened to it, and Sean wasn’t going to let that happen,” Arnett said. “We’re going to have a concrete plan and hit every area that needs to be hit—he’s really put in the hours.”