By Jill Fennema –

Last Tuesday, the Pipestone County Board returned their attention to a pending agreement with Hometown Fiber, a company that wants to install fiber optic cable for broadband internet in the two-thirds of Pipestone County that does not currently have access to fiber optics.

Marlena Pfeifer and Kyle Moorhead were on hand from Hometown Fiber. Pfeifer reviewed what the board had discussed last month. She explained that the next round of government grants will open in later summer or early fall. They are looking for $8 million in grants to help fund this project in Pipestone County.  In order to apply they will need to be through the engineering phase and have internet service providers (ISPs) on board.

She also presented the board with an agreement to contract with Hometown Fiber for services to get the ball rolling on this project.  At the end of the meeting the board approved a resolution to enter into an agreement with Hometown Fiber for $29,900. That fee will enable Hometown to dive into the technical aspects of the project, including finalizing the scope of construction work and start negotiating with ISPs.

One of the IS’s they are talking to is Woodstock Communications. Terry Nelson was on hand to discuss the project with the board and give them his take on the matters. Woodstock Communications has installed fiber in Edgerton and areas north of here including Woodstock and Ruthton, where the company is based. They have also brought fiber to several other small communities in Southwest Minnesota.

If the county moves forward and has Hometown Fiber install fiber throughout the underserved and other areas of the county, Woodstock would be able to pay for use of the lines and bring their services to customers that they currently cannot serve. However, Nelson pointed out that he will be relying on someone else’s network and that makes him a little nervous. He also does not like the idea of leasing something for years and never owning in.

Thoughtout the course of the hour-long discussion, the question of who would own the network came up. The county would own the network but would lease it back to Hometown Fiber, who would in turn lease it out to ISPs. The fees collected from customers who sign up for internet service will then be used to pay for the bonds that the county obtains.

What sort of bond will be the best type to finance this project is still up in the air. George Eilertson with Northland Securities was also on hand to give advice regarding these matters. He talked briefly about tax abatement bonds, revenue bonds, or general obligation bonds.

He will continue to advise the county on these matters as they move forward and look at what the best option is.