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Clearwater County pursues support for broadband initiative from Rocky Mountain House

Jul 4, 2018 | 1:15 PM

Clearwater County council met with Rocky Mountain House town council Tuesday evening to discuss a partnership in the County’s broadband internet initiative.

The meeting included multiple presentations, beginning with Craig Dobson, President of Taylor Warwick Consulting Ltd.

Dobson shared some of the findings of the recent broadband public engagement sessions held in Clearwater County. According to the findings, the County plans on implementing fiber lines, which last up to 50 years, with updates every five to ten years.

Mayor of Olds, Michael Muzychka also presented details on the community-based broadband system his town has implemented, called O-Net.

Muzychka says the system has attracted hordes of business, and has created hundreds, if not thousands of jobs.

“We’re seeing a huge economic growth right now in Olds,” says Muzychka. “Inevitably when I ask the new businesses why they are coming into town, one of the top three things is O-Net.”

Muzychka adds the internet service hasn’t only improved employment, but also social services.

“It has benefited the town in so many different ways, the college benefits from it, our high school has seen significant improvement in grades and so-forth. We’re seeing investment in seniors housing, long term care facilities by private operators coming to town because of the O-Net, and our hospital has benefited greatly as well.”

According to Muzychka, O-Net initially took out $14,000,000 in loans to fund the project, which will be paid over a 20 year span.

He adds that if Clearwater County were to partner with Rocky Mountain House on their broadband initiative, it would be beneficial financially.

“Costs go up a bit when the density is lower,” says Muzychka. “That’s why I think Clearwater County partnering up with Rocky mountain house is a perfect fit, because that spreads those fixed and variable costs over a wider base and just lowers the cost for everybody.”

Clearwater County Reeve John Vandermeer says the project will most likely cost between $40 and $50 million, and that the county plans to pay a third of the cost while perusing two-thirds of the funding from the provincial and federal governments.

“We’re at the point now where we want to make the case to the provincial government,” says Vandermeer. “We’ll be asking for their support on community based broadband system services.”

Vandermeer says partnering with Rocky Mountain House would improve the likelihood of financial support from the government. For now, the County is simply seeking a letter of support from the Town, in order to apply for government grants.

Rocky town council will look over the information and discuss it further during the July 17 council meeting.

Clearwater County’s draft broadband business is planned to be released by the end of August.