Title
Approval of Providing Grant Matching Funds for San IIdefonso Services' Connect New Mexico Grant Application in the Amount of $1,800,000 with a Total Project Amount of $6,000,000 for a New Middle Mile Fiber Optic Line Connecting White Rock to Pojoaque
Recommended Action
I move that Council approve grant matching funds to the Pueblo de San Ilfonso for their grant application in the amount of $1,800,000 (one million eight hundred thousand) for a New Middle Mile Fiber Optic Line Connecting White Rock to Pojoaque contingent upon execution and approval of a written agreement with the Pueblo de San Ildefonso by May 31, 2024.
I further move Council authorize the County Manager to sign and submit a letter of support (Attachment A) to be included with the grant application materials.
County Manager's Recommendation
The County Manager recommends that Council approve the grant match funding as requested.
Body
The Pueblo de San Ildefonso (Pueblo) and the County have been discussing how to collaborate on and implement a new fiber optic line for over a decade. Over the last six months, these discussions have progressed when San Ildefonso Services, the economic development business unit of the Pueblo, expressed their interest in applying for state broadband grant through the Connect New Mexico program.
The project consists of a new fiber optic line from White Rock to Pojoaque. This line will allow connections from the County's existing fiber lines in White Rock and to Redinet fiber in Pojoaque. The new fiber line will consist of 144 strands of fiber. The County will have use of 24 of those fiber strands and the remaining 120 retained by the Pueblo. The high-level terms of the agreement between the Pueblo and the County are:
1. Pueblo will own the conduit and the fiber optic cable.
2. Council will have exclusive use of 24 strands of fiber for County operations use and the Community Broadband Network project.
3. County provides one-time funding in the amount of $1.8...
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