Commission urges Raleigh residents to take internet survey

Sep. 22—Raleigh County Commission President David Tolliver is urging every resident of the county to help improve internet service for southern West Virginia by taking a survey before Oct. 15.

The survey is sponsored by Appalachian Power, which has contracted the Virginia-based Blue Ridge Surveying and Mapping Company to complete plot where Raleigh County residents have reliable broadband service and where they do not.

"It is vitally important that the citizens get a copy of this," Tolliver said during the regular Commission meeting on Tuesday.

The survey will "pop up" at the Raleigh Commission website, raleighcounty.org, and is also available on local media company websites, including WVVA TV. Users may rank their service on a 1 to 10 scale.

Tolliver said at least 400 Raleigh residents must complete the survey by Oct. 15 in order to show where service is most needed in the targeted section of the county.

The 2021 broadband bill in West Virginia expedites permit processes for internet service providers to install fiber broadband along rights of way during Division of Highways (DOH) projects and improves "dig once" regulations that allow multiple internet service providers to install fiber broadband without digging multiple trenches.

Based on the results of the survey, Appalachian Power will allow broadband companies to place cables on electrical poles owned by Appalachian. Those cables will be used to deliver better broadband internet service to homes in southern West Virginia.

Appalachian Power will use the Raleigh County survey to help six counties, including Raleigh, to save "thousands of dollars" as part of a plan by Region One Planning and Development Council to expand broadband.

Tolliver explained that Region One is expanding broadband in phases. The current survey will help develop the "middle mile."

The middle mile in broadband delivery refers to the segment of a network that lines a network operator's core to their local office. In Raleigh County, the "middle mile" segment will encompass communities from Ghent to Sophia.

After the "middle mile" is completed, said Tolliver, Region One will be able to start expanding broadband to "the last mile," which involves providing internet to residents' homes in underserved areas of the region.

He said it is vitally important that the Middle Mile is completed as a first step in delivering broadband throughout Raleigh County. He said that internet service is sporadic in parts of the county, and the survey will show those areas.

"We got to know that. And ApCo is paying for this survey," Tolliver said.

"We urge the people of Raleigh County to get this survey," he said. "It takes about two minutes to fill out this survey, and if the people in the area of, say, Helen to Rhodell from Route 3 to Route 1, if you don't fill out this survey, we don't know where to spend the money to put fiber optic cables on the ApCo poles."

In June 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), an initiative designed to invest $20.4 billion into developing rural broadband networks, including those in West Virginia.

The grant will be allocated to internet providers over the next 10 years to help fix the digital divide in rural America, according to FCC. Starlink, a Space X company that delivers internet service via satellite, won a RDOF contract in West Virginia. The largest was Frontier, which won $247.6 million in RDOF monies in West Virginia.

West Virginia will receive $8 million a year for the next 10 years for broadband development.

Reliable internet connectivity is an essential service, prompting state lawmakers to pass legislation in April to address broadband expansion. The law, which went into effect May 27, offers consumer protection and defines "underserved" areas of the state.

The law creates a dispute resolution process, with the Public Service Commission (PSC) dealing with complaints arising from agreements between companies.

Commissioners Linda Epling and Greg Duckworth joined Tolliver in approving a grant drawdown of $13,789.50 from Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Reclamation Program to construct the White Oak water project, starting this fall.

The grant will allow the county to deliver public water service to the Summers County line, Tolliver said.

Tolliver grew up in a mining community in nearby Wyoming County and did not have reliable water service when he was a child. Since taking office, he has led an effort to ensure that every part of Raleigh County has a public water system.

"The only two water projects we have left is Joe Cooper Farm Road and Ellis Ridge," he reported at the meeting.

Once those two water projects are completed, all of Raleigh County will have public water service, Tolliver added.

In other actions:

—West Virginia Del. Chris Toney (R-Raleigh) presented a $5,000 check to Commission for Trap Hill Little League. Earlier in the meeting, Commission had approved a grant application that Trap Hill Little League made to the county for $5,000.

Toney presented a $5,000 check to fund the county grant.

"Man, I appreciate that," said Tolliver. "I know they appreciate it down there.

—Commission approved a petition by Mills Floor Covering in Sophia for a one-acre parcel at 750 Robert C. Byrd Drive to be rezoned from Rural Residential to B-1, which is commercial. The business plans to add a show floor on the property, along with an ice cream stand.

—Commission approved courthouse grant applications and a resolution that permitted Tolliver to act on behalf of the county in order to enter contracts with the West Virginia Courthouse Facilities Improvement Authority. The authority is a state agency that the Legislature created to help county government fund modifications to existing courthouse facilities or to build new courthouses.

County governments may apply for grant funding on an annual basis. The authority had put together a grant application for Tolliver to sign, which was signed on Tuesday.

—Commission approved a contract addendum between Raleigh Commission and Jimmy Miller, who owns a company that provides the county with projects which involve GPS services for those who are on home confinement. County attorney Bill Roop said the addendum attaches to Miller's original contract with Commission.