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Columbiana Port Authority Gets Broadband Study Funds
EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio -- The Columbiana County Port Authority this morning approved two resolutions during a special meeting that could potentially improve broadband wireless capability throughout the county and strengthen its chances to lure new business.
The Port Authority board approved the acceptance of a $49,500 Local Government Innovations Fund grant from the state of Ohio that would be used to conduct a broadband connectivity wireless study, reports Port Authority CEO Tracy Drake.
A second resolution was approved hiring IceMiller Whiteboard to conduct the study and to determine whether the county should pursue a $500,000 loan application to the state that would support startup costs for the project.
"It would determine the costs of the project, equipment suppliers and users of the service to see if it makes sense to acquire the loan," Drake noted.
The study would provide a business case for Whiteboard to prepare the $500,000 loan application. The loan money would be used to purchase equipment for the system, and the equipment would then be leased to a private telecommunications company. The lease payments would be enough to cover repayment of the loan, Drake explained.
Drake says the grant funds will allow the Port Authority to leverage interest it has in the Access Fiber network -- a system that serves schools across Columbiana County – and use it as a backbone for wireless connectivity.
The Port Authority owns a portion of that fiber, since it contributed more than $1 million toward developing the Access network in Columbiana County.
Installing a new wireless network would provide businesses with additional services, making the county an attractive location for either new companies or expansions, Drake said.
The wireless network was to initially target the southern portion of the county, Drake said. Should the study prove feasible, the project could expand countywide.
Also, the Port Authority approved a third resolution selling a 3,800-square-foot building to Christopher Cowan on a $12,000 land contract basis. Cowan wants to rehab the deteriorating building and use it for his business, Cowan Masonry, Drake said.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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