Through the American Rescue Plan Act and the prudence of local authorities, Hopkinsville and Christian County are approaching thorough broadband and fiber coverage from Pennyrile Electric, Hopkinsville Electric Systems and EnergyNet.
During Tuesday’s Christian County Fiscal Court meeting, Magistrate Darrell Gustafson noted that 40 workers (37 full-time, three part-time) have been assigned to the project, which will cost more than $35 million when complete.
Of that $35 million, Gustafson said $13 million is coming from Pennyrile Electric and another $13 million is being matched through the county — leaving about $9 million unfunded at this current time. Furthermore, Pennyrile Electric is already spending more than $10 million for the fiber/broadband backbone through its nine service counties.
Original estimates placed this project being completed in 4-to-5 years, but Gustafson said the latest projections now put a finish date in the spring of 2023.
Gustafson also noted that Pennyrile Electric officials have already filed for additional funding from the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority, but that those funds haven’t been released because of high demand and a need for a designed rubric to streamline allocations.
In fall of 2021, KIA officials announced its plans to garner the opinions of internet businesses on how to award bids on projects from all across the state.
One suggestion, Gustafson said, is to release funding for projects based on county per capita. He said it’s the “fairest” way, and as such, it would make sense for Christian County to receive $4.8 million of the $300 million available, since Christian County accounted for 1.67% of the state’s population.
According to Gustafson, Elkton Representative Jason Petrie is working on legislation to create some guidance. Judge-Executive Steve Tribble said seeking additional funds certainly is an option.
The work already complete seems remarkable now, Gustafson said, as Pennyrile Electric, HES and EnergyNet have had to deal with three significant weather events since last December.
