Lewis County PUD honors committee head for help on action plan

Mitchell Roland, The Chronicle, Centralia, Wash.
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Aug. 25—Lewis County Public Utility District (PUD) commissioners honored the head of the county's Broadband Action Team during their meeting last week.

Frank Corbin, chair of the action team, received a plaque for his oversight while the county crafted the Broadband Action and Digital Equity Plan. The plan now qualifies Lewis County broadband companies for additional federal assistance to expand access, according to a news release from the Lewis County PUD.

The work was completed by a volunteer group, including Corbin, who represented Lewis County, the PUD, the Timberland Regional Library, the Port of Chehalis, Althea and local citizens.

"It is not often the commission gets the honor to recognize Lewis County citizen volunteers for their hard work," said PUD Commissioner Michael Kelly. "We, the PUD Board of Commissioners, the PUD ratepayers and their families, are thankful for Frank Corbin's leadership of the Lewis County Broadband Action Team and its volunteers' planning work, which will now allow the PUD and other local eligible entities to apply competitively for grant money from the Federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program."

According to the PUD, Washington will receive $900 million from the program to fund broadband projects. The program will distribute $42.45 billion in grant funding across the country. Each county in the state crafted an individual plan, which will be incorporated into a statewide plan to receive federal funding.

"I'm honored to receive this recognition, but I cannot pass this moment by without honoring the team of volunteers that put in so much time, expertise, and effort into the successful completion of the Action and Digital Equity Plan that will reap millions in federal broadband grant dollars benefiting Lewis County residents and businesses," Corbin said. "Our work will continue, and we will not fail to meet our objective to ensure every resident and business in Lewis County has affordable, fast, and reliable broadband that allows them to achieve the maximum benefits that digital connectivity can provide."

The PUD recently launched a portal on lcpud.org that shows whether an address has access to broadband internet service. During a 2020 survey of PUD customers, 77.2% of respondents did not have broadband access.