The Sherburne County Board approved a loan agreement with Palmer Wireless to help finance a broadband project in Haven Twp.

 

Last September, the board approved committing loan funding to three separate broadband projects pending matching funds from the Border to Border Broadband program administered through DEED. 

 

In January, two of those projects, the Big Lake Industrial Park and the St. Cloud Regional Airport, were awarded grant funding. 

 

The Big Lake project loan was approved April 18. That project is almost completed, with the businesses prepared to go online next week.

 

Tuesday’s request was to approve the St. Cloud Regional Airport project loan agreement. That project will provide up to 100 Mbps fiber to 16 businesses near the St. Cloud Regional Airport, the Minnesota Highway Research Center and several underserved residential customers.

 

Total project cost is $460,000.

 

Under the agreement, Sherburne County will provide a no-interest loan of $102,250, which is 22.2% of the total project cost. 

 

Palmer Wireless will contribute $178,350 (38.8%) and the remaining 39% ($179,400) is covered by the State Border to Border Grant (39%).

 

Palmer Wireless will begin paying back the loan at $900 per month starting in year  three and should have the loan paid off in year nine.

 

“That gives them a little time to build the customer base and get all the infrastructure in,” said Assistant Administrator Dan Weber.