In 1956, the Federal Highway Act completely revolutionized cross-country travel in the country — developing interstates from city to city and coast to coast.
Now, Christian County, Todd County and Trigg County are in the midst of their own far-reaching changes regarding the information highway — in what’s unfurling as a $30 million-plus project for broadband infrastructure through conjunctive efforts from Pennyrile Electric and Hopkinsville Electric System and Energy Net.
During Tuesday morning’s Christian County Fiscal Court session, Judge-Executive Steve Tribble and his squires heard planning and executive updates from PRECC President and CEO Alan Gates, HES-Energy Net General Manager Jeff Hurd, and Energy Net Telecommunications Manager Richard Shaw…all in regards to the continued progress of affordable and effective high-speed internet in the tri-county area.
Gates stated the project is in “Phase 1” of engineering, which includes the identification of proper electrical routes, the assessment of total materials needed, the cutting of right-of-way and the potential for pole replacement in certain regions. Gates added contact has already been made with fiber contractors, around 35 other firms and a parts vendor in order to vet the full scope of supplies needed.
The tentative plan, Gates said, is a five-year rollout period, with new customers coming on board as soon as the first quarter of 2022 — and he noted the possibility of a faster unspooling if more contractors come on board for the project.
Hurd likened the project to bringing electricity to the Pennyrile area.
Shaw is hoping customers — current and potential — visit goenergynet.com with questions, concerns and requests for broadband service, and stated rates should remain the same for the three available packages at 200 megabytes, 500 megabytes and 1 gigabyte.
Roughly $13 million of this project will be funds provided by the American Rescue Plan Act — which was signed into law by US President Joe Biden in March 2021. ARPA funds must go to water, sewer and broadband improvements around the country.
For more information about Tuesday’s meeting, visit whvoradio.com.
In other business:
Irene Grace, director of the Christian County Animal Shelter, delivered her monthly update in regards to May, in which the organization took in 349 animals — 263 through the main office, 69 from Hopkinsville, 11 from Todd County and six from Trigg County.
Grace noted there were 103 “Pets of the Week” showcased, with 86 adoptions, 90 rescues and 35 reclaims — and 314 pets (110 dogs, 47 puppies, 60 cats and 97 kittens) were sent out to homes.
CCAS also received $803.56 in cash donations for the month.
Christian County Solid Waste Coordinator Jim Fleming also delivered a strong report following the Waste Tire Collection Event, where tire retailers, scrap/salvage yards and recycling businesses were prohibited from participating.
Instead, local, regional and state residents were strongly encouraged to remove unused, dilapidated tires from their properties, and Fleming noted 39,424 tires were turned in (and almost certainly recycled into mulch and rubber mats) during the drive.
It’s a 25% increase from 2018 efforts, in which 29,981 tires were claimed in that event.
The next such effort will occur again in three years.
In its second reading, the Christian County Fiscal Court also unanimously passed the expected 2021-22 general fund budget, which was set at $42,351,221.
District 7 magistrate Terry Gilliam said while the number may look stout on paper, constituents must remember there are federal relief funds that have been injected into the final total.
CCFS next meets on July 13 at 8:30 a.m. in Hopkinsville.
