County Tentatively Approved for 30M Broadband Buildout Grant

SCHOHARIE COUNTY — Access to high-speed internet service for every Schoharie County resident is on the horizon.

County Administrator Korsah Akumfi announced at the Friday, Sept. 20 Board of Supervisors meeting that the county has received tentative approval for a $30 million grant from New York State's ConnectALL Municipal Infrastructure Program to achieve complete broadband buildout in the county.

"It looks pretty good we will get $30 million," Akumfi explained in an interview after the meeting. He said the county has received an incentive proposal from ConnectALL and the county is seeking some clarification on some items in the proposal. Some of the other steps necessary before things are finalized are for the ConnectALL board of directors to formally approve the grant and the county BOS to sign off on a contract, Akumfi added.

The tentative approval news was greeted with enthusiasm at the Sept. 20 meeting. 

"This is an exciting moment for Schoharie County," Supervisor Alicia Terry of Gilboa said. "This is truly next generation, absolutely huge. You just don't know what kind of impact this could have on these hard-to-serve areas. The return on investment for Schoharie County is huge."

Fellow board member Donald Airey of Blenheim agreed but added a note of caution because the grant involves the state agency reimbursing the county in stages during the process rather than providing the $30 million all up front.

"It is exciting, I support it strongly," Airey said. "I'm excited but cautious. Reimbursement grants scare me. I know how it works, but I am a little afraid."

Akumfi explained there are four milestones during the buildout process, with the county getting reimbursed at the end of every one.

"We want to see this accomplished and also see the county protected as much as possible," he said. "We will be only the second county in the state to achieve 100 percent buildout."

In the after-meeting interview, Akumfi said the total estimated cost to achieve broadband buildout is $33.6 million. To close the gap, he said the county is seeking $1.8 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission and also working with partners like the Schoharie County Industrial Development Agency to bring the total up to $33.6 million.

Akumfi said residents would not have to meet income guidelines to get internet access under the buildout program. He added the timeline for buildout is relatively tight, with guidelines stating it must be achieved by the end of 2026.

"This is a huge investment in our community," Akumfi said at the Sept. 20 meeting.

In other news from the Sept. 20 meeting, Terry introduced Caroline Myran as the county's new agriculture development specialist. She succeeds Nick Kossmann, who left to take a job with a state agency.

"I'm really excited," Myran said. "I've farmed off and on most of my life."

Akumfi said part of Myran's job is to support agribusinesses and connect them with services. Her starting annual salary in her new position is $62,220.

Myran grew up in Vermont and has lived for about the last two years with her family on a five-acre property in Seward. She said at the meeting she has already visited some farms of some of the supervisors and is looking forward to visiting more and also farms around the county.

Myran has a bachelor's degree in Environmental Policy from Columbia University's Barnard College and a master's degree in Sustainable Agriculture with a focus on food systems from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She can be contacted at caroline.myran@schoharie county-ny.gov.