Oct. 13—Praising the benefits of the public-private partnership, officials broke ground Friday on a ToledoTel internet expansion that, when completed, will bring broadband service to more than 2,300 homes and businesses in the Winlock area.
Lawmakers and county officials say the broadband project can serve as a model for future partnerships.
"Today starts the reality of bringing the best broadband internet access in the world to the residents of Winlock," said Dale Merten, ToledoTel vice president and CEO. "If it hadn't been for this partnership, this would not be a reality."
The project includes 134 miles of line construction, funded through a $23.5 million grant from the Washington State Broadband Office and an additional $2.35 million matching funds from ToledoTel. Merten said ToledoTel does not have direct access to the grant funding needed for the project, which required Lewis County involvement.
"Together, with our skills and their skills, we've been able to get this project going," Merten said.
For the county, Commissioner Sean Swope praised county Budget Administrator Becky Butler and Infrastructure Specialist Eric Eisenberg for their work on the expansion project.
"If it wasn't for these two individuals ... this probably would have never happened," Swope said. "It was their expertise and their diligence and their long hours, on top of all of the other work that they do, that helped to make sure that this happened for Winlock."
Swope said the Economic Alliance of Lewis County also deserved credit for the project, adding, "Without their assistance, I don't know that we would have gotten here."
Legislators on hand for the project's groundbreaking said they hope a successful project in Winlock will inspire future partnerships. Reps. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, and Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, said the project could be replicated throughout the state.
"You always want to encourage public-private partnerships, and this has been one that's reality been successful, between the state, ToledoTel, the county," Abbarno said. "And it's good when you have these successful partnerships.
In his remarks, Abbarno said the state should deploy these funds to expand access in "rural communities, and really communities generally."
"I live in Centralia, for instance, and I don't have very good internet," Abbarno said. "So it just points to the needs that we have. Whether it be senior citizens accessing telehealth to students trying to get their homework done at the end of the day, we need to make sure everyone has access to fast broadband."