By REID TUCKER
Information technology representatives from various Walton County agencies presented the DeFuniak Springs City Council with the idea of jointly participating in connection to an optical fiber communications ring.
The “fiber ring project,” as it was referred to at the Aug. 25 regularly scheduled Council meeting, would, if approved by the Board of County Commissioners, serve all major county agencies as well as local municipal governments and all their associated departments. Such a project could fulfill the communications needs of the county as a whole as it grows over the course of the next 100 years, said Walton County Administration rep Rick Wilson. In a show of intra-agency cooperation, Wilson was joined at the presentation by IT directors from the Walton County School District, Sheriff’s Office and Geographic Information Systems department.
Though Wilson said the project did not, as yet, have the go-ahead from the County Commission, cooperation on a fiber optics project was the only foreseeable way the county would be able to gain access to the increased bandwidth and higher speeds afforded by fiber.
“There is a major issue in Walton County, and that is that the local telecom providers do not want to invest in this county,” he said. “We’ve asked them to, they don’t want to, and they don’t have any plans to, as far as I can see, unless we want to foot the entire bill. Our rates are getting higher, our service is getting worse and there’s no relief in sight.”
Wilson said that if DeFuniak Springs, Paxton and Freeport pooled their resources with the county agencies, costs associated with connecting to the fiber ring project could be reduced from $20 million or $40 million to about $2.5 million. The key is a public-private partnership with a new telecom company currently running optical fiber, which, for a monthly connection fee, will run fiber to residential housing, businesses or government buildings connected to the system. The package deal currently being discussed would provide a 50 megabyte connection for a monthly fee of $550.
Aside from the cost-saving aspects of a cooperative arrangement between the county government and municipalities is the added benefit of instantaneous high-speed connectivity between DeFuniak’s first responders and county first responders, as well as secure access to city files through the Emergency Operations Center in the event of a natural disaster. Furthermore, residents in the county’s most rural communities can take advantage of educational opportunities and even online medical services via the internet.
If the idea progresses into the planning stage and eventually into full implementation following contractual negotiations, the fiber ring could provide service for 50-plus county and municipal government buildings, as well as residences and businesses. When economic development (FCC statistics show that 39.7 percent of all new jobs created as a direct result of broadband availability) is factored into the equation, it becomes clear that broadband connectivity is crucial for the development of Walton County, Wilson said.
“Rarely do you find a project that meets all the public’s needs at the same time, and those are public safety, educational needs and economic development,” he said.
City Councilman Mac Carpenter voiced his support for the idea, saying that such a plan could help with the rejuvenation of DeFuniak’s historic downtown district by attracting new and different kinds of businesses to set up shop there. Additionally, city-wide broadband internet access could be a great public service for DeFuniak Springs citizens and, indeed, the city itself, as the city government’s current contract with Bright House Networks does not provide enough bandwidth for the city’s current needs, particularly with regard to law enforcement.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to turn an expense into an investment, into an asset,” Carpenter said.
Wilson and the other IT directors emphasized they didn’t attend the Council meeting to strike a deal with the city at this time, as the plan has not yet been approved by the County Commission. Also, Wilson said it would in all likelihood be early 2016 before any work could be done on the project. Mayor Bob Campbell suggested budget discussions on the matter before the conclusion of Fiscal Year 2015.
Other items of note at the meeting included the first reading of two amendments to the city’s water and wastewater ordinances that will allow the Council to set water and sewer rates by resolution, as well as the passage of a new policy regarding staff or board member’s travel expenses. Councilman Ron Kelley first proposed a 60-mile radius from DeFuniak Springs as the cutoff before a city representative would need to seek board approval to get public funds to cover a trip made on the city’s behalf. However, after some discussion by the board members, the radius was expanded to 120 miles to allow trips at least as far as Tallahassee, though trips involving airfare or overnight stays will still need to come before the Council.
The topic of travel expenses came up after Carpenter’s recent trip to attend a meeting in Chautauqua, N.Y., at the behest of Florida Chautauqua Center President Chris Mitchell, who could not attend. Mitchell contacted Mayor Bob Campbell about the trip, but he in turn asked Carpenter to attend as a representative of DeFuniak Springs. City Manager Sara Bowers approved the trip, which cost approximately $1,000 in airfare and hotel reservations, but she did not first seek the Council’s decision given time constraints.
Kelley, along with Councilmen Henry Ennis and Kermit Wright, agreed that Carpenter’s trip was a good idea as far as building goodwill between DeFuniak Springs and the home of the famous Chautauqua Assembly, but insisted that the Council should have been notified about the trip before approval was granted. Kelley contended that the trip, as positive as it was, was not a matter of city business and therefore the city should not be on the hook for the bill. Carpenter said the trip was city business in that it involved promotion of DeFuniak Springs and, furthermore, he should not have to reimburse the city.
“I represented the city of DeFuniak Springs, and I think I did a very good job of it,” Carpenter said. “I’m quite proud of that trip and I think it’s going to pay some dividends for the city of DeFuniak Springs.”
He said the trip to New York was in the interest of making connections that could stimulate future economic development for DeFuniak Springs.
