More than 60 people gathered at the Friendly Buffalo in Big Lake Tuesday to brainstorm about expanding high-speed internet in Sherburne County.

 

The community visioning meeting was hosted by the Sherburne County Broadband Coalition Steering Committee and  moderated by Bill Coleman and Karl Samp of Community Technology Advisors, who were contracted by the Blandin Foundation.

 

Last November, Sherburne County was selected as one of 10 counties statewide as a Blandin Broadband Community. The Blandin Broadband Communities program is an intensive, two-year partnership between Blandin Foundation and selected rural Minnesota communities. 

 

The program provides planning, technical and financial support to communities that demonstrate the determination to bring the benefits of a broadband-enabled economy to their communities.

 

A survey done last year with the help of the Blandin Foundation  showed a large percentage of businesses and individuals felt Sherburne County was either unserviced or underserviced when it came to high-speed internet. Many business owners said they were at a distinct disadvantage to companies outside the county because of slower internet speed. Some individuals said they were unable to get Internet at home.

 

During Tuesday’s workshop, attendees were arranged in groups, with Coalition members leading discussions about the different broadband assets in Sherburne County and shortfalls that need to be addressed.

 

The goal was to identify different projects that could be implemented within the county to help expand broadband and wireless  service throughout the county.

After the groups had time to list their ideas, a final list of about 20 projects was compiled.

 

Some of those ideas included: 

• Establishing a fiberoptic plan map throughout the county; 

 

• Doing a feasibility study to get an estimate on how much it would cost to expand broadband throughout the county;

 

•  Creating a computer rehabilitation and redistribution center that includes training;

 

• Providing computer training at assisted living facilities and create a “tech squad” that could focus on training the elderly;

 

• Meeting with other cities that have had issues with monopolies with their providers;

 

• Bringing high-speed broadband to all industrial parks in the county;

 

• Installing wi-fi on all public transportation;

 

• Coordinating an infrastructure plan to be included with other city, county and township construction projects.

 

Assistant County Administrator Dan Weber said the next step will happen Monday when the steering committee meets to review and rank the list of projects.

 

As one of 10 Blandin Broadband  Communities, the county will share in $750,000 in funding for broadband-related projects. The county could receive up to $100,000, although there is a funding cap of $25,000 for each individual project. 

 

“We’ll meet and rank those priorities,” said Weber, “then we’ll apply for funding for those projects.”