The wheels are officially rolling on an effort to establish broadband Internet throughout East Baton Rouge Parish.
The Metro Council voted Wednesday to approve a $150,000 contract with Columbia Telecommunications Co.—a Maryland-based telecommunications and IT engineering consulting firm—to move ahead with a study to determine the best strategy for implementing a parishwide broadband system.
Also during Wednesday’s meeting, the council voted 8-2, with two members absent, pledging its support to issue a $10 million bond for the proposed TramLink BR, which would connect LSU with downtown Baton Rouge.
Local support for the project, which is expected to cost roughly $170 million, is needed to secure federal funding.
City-parish Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel says with the resolution the city parish can file an application for the Federal Transit Administration’s Small Starts grant. The city-parish is seeking $85 million in federal funding. It has already applied for a $25 million federal grant.
Daniel says the city-parish expects to find out in September or October whether the tram project will be included in the president’s budget.
In the meantime, the broadband study will be conducted. John Snow, vice president of Emergent Method and a consultant to the city-parish, says the study is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The CTC team will inventory the city-parish’s existing broadband services and infrastructure. This includes looking at maps, GIS and other data to take stock of what’s already in place and where underserved areas are, Snow says. CTC also will make recommendations for how best to conduct outreach to key stakeholders and communities.
“There are a lot of moving parts and pieces to this,” Snow says. “We will be working with the CTC team to make sure we stay on the critical path for completion.”
Another component of project is to get the council to approve an ordinance establishing a “dig once” policy, dictating that conduit will be laid down anytime a road or sewer project is being done. CTC will craft the ordinance in conjunction with the city-parish, Snow says.
Prior to the Wednesday’s meeting, some council members said they were undecided about how they would vote on CTC’s contract and were still researching the broadband proposal. Despite remaining questions for some, all of the council members present voted to move ahead with the project. Snow says that’s a good sign for the initiative’s chances for success.
“What you saw last night was very strong support,” Snow says.
Daniels says the contract must be approved by the city-parish’s legal department before arriving on Mayor Kip Holden’s desk for a signature. After that, the contract will be delivered to the purchasing department and a purchase order will be issued. The entire process normally take about 10 days.
—Alexandria Burris
