Livingston County organizing funds for expanded internet 'trunk line'

LIVINGSTON COUNTY — Livingston County officials are gearing up to replace and expand the county's fiber optic internet "trunk line" using federal COVID-19 relief dollars.

The county, in partnership with the Livingston Educational Service Agency, currently has a 72-mile private fiber optic line.

More:Livingston received $37 million in COVID-19 aid. Here's what they're doing with it, so far

The update will replace the existing fiber, complete a closed loop, and extend to more parts of the county, including rural outskirts, to mostly serve schools, police and fire departments, and municipal buildings.

While the expanded line wouldn't supply internet service directly to homes, it would put broadband internet within three miles of most residents in the county. Internet service providers could then connect to the trunk line to supply service to customers.

"We’re going to try to build off the existing trunk line, and then private companies can utilize that trunk line to cover more of the county (with broadband service)," Livingston County Administrator Nathan Burd told The Daily in May.

The county received more than $37 million from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, known as ARPA. In December, county officials created a "roadmap" for spending ARPA dollars, including more than $12 million for expanding broadband. Officials also passed a resolution authorizing negotiations, contracts and agreements to construct, maintain and operate the system.

Building the system in four phases is expected to cost more than $25 million, which would be funded by a combination of ARPA funds and private and public contributions.

Burd said in May the county is also pursuing grants.

The current network runs through portions of Howell, Brighton, Pinckney, Fowlerville, and Brighton, Genoa, Green Oak, Hamburg, Putnam, Howell, Marion, Hartland and Handy townships, according to maps included in county and LESA documents. Maps of the future build-out show fiber lines extending across the county.

On Monday, June 5, commissioners on the four-member General Government/Health and Human Services Committee approved a resolution to create two funds related to the project. The resolution proposes a capital project fund for revenues and expenses related to constructing the system and a special revenue fund for revenue and expenses related to service and maintenance of the system.

Operations and maintenance will be funded by a combination of lease revenue and maintenance agreements, according to the resolution. The full board meets next on Monday, June 12.

Livingston County Treasurer Jennifer Nash said Monday creating the funds is "housekeeping."

"Our fiber optic system has not been a money-generating system, and the systems that have been proposed and have been approved, they require funding coming in and funding going out," said Commissioner Douglas Helzerman.

Nash said, once the system is in place, it could generate revenue that exceeds expenses.

"We expect, in this case, that the revenue streams coming in ... of lease revenue, of conduit lease, maintenance contracts, that those revenues may potentially at some point exceed the expenses of the system," Nash said. "In that case, because we are using a special revenue fund, those are restricted dollars. We can use surplus for a specific purpose."

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In part, they could be used for upgrades.

Commissioner Jay Gross said the county is in the midst of engineering the system.

"We're probably going to start laying cable yet this year," Gross said.

Officials from eight townships previously asked the county to use the funding differently, to close internet gaps for residents in rural areas. County officials have said the trunk line is a longer-term solution.

— Contact Livingston Daily reporter Jennifer Eberbach at [email protected].