Thepursuit of delivering fiber optic to almost every Cook County home has met with a new twist, but new twists are becoming routine. “Every time the phone rings we get a new piece of information,” Cook County Information Systems Director Danna MacKenzie told the county board on Tuesday, March 23, 2010.
MacKenzie reported that the Northeast Service Cooperative of Mt. Iron has applied for a second round of federal stimulus funding that would bring fiber optic not only through the Highway 61 corridor to Canada but to most homes in Cook County.
The Northeast Service Cooperative applied in the first round for funding for a fiber optic line along the Highway 61 corridor. With this next round, it has asked Cook County to lend its support.
The question the Cook County Fiber Optic Commission asked, said MacKenzie, is whether support for the second grant would detract from the support Cook County has given to Arrowhead Electric Cooperative and Pulse Broadband, which have applied jointly for the same grant.
Thetwo grant applications propose using somewhat different types of technology. Pulse Communications has a patent on a system that uses fewer fiber optic strands at lower cost. Pulse’s “eight-pair cable” would have less capacity than the over 100 strands more commonly used, according to Arrowhead Electric Executive Director Don Stead at an informational meeting at Arrowhead Electric the night before, but, he said, this state’s entire telecommunications needs could be serviced by only two fiber strands.
Mackenzie said they learned that the two grant applications would not compromise one another; rather, they would give the USDA two different models to consider.
Fiber Optic Commissioner Terry Meath said Arrowhead Electric and Pulse are proposing a memberowned model that would be set up much like many rural electric cooperatives were set up after the Rural Electrification Act. The Northeast Service Cooperative is proposing a model that would be more like federal highway programs under which highways are owned by the government but can be used by everyone. They are “very different approaches,” Meath said. “I think both have their merits.”
The county board approved a motion to send a letter of support for the Northeast Service Cooperative grant application.
1% tax projects
Commissioner Bob Fenwick reported that he would be working with the Community Center board on plans for a new community center/pool facility to be funded by the 1% sales and use tax that will begin April 1. He believes it’s time to send out RFPs (requests for proposals) for initial design work.
Fenwick said he will talk to county department heads about how the new facility could help meet space needs for various departments as well as a possible county administrator.
The library board will be discussing its own plans for expansion, another project to be funded by the 1% tax, Commissioner Fritz Sobanja said.
Commissioner Fenwick suggested that the new community center could ease some of the library’s need for space for people to access computers and the Internet.
Commissioner Bruce Martinson said Birch Grove Community Center is also considering its needs. The1% tax is authorized to fund recreational facilities there as well.
“Well, we’re on the road,” said Commissioner Jan Hall.
Joint Housing Initiative report
Lake/Cook County Housing Initiative Coordinator Nancy Grabko reported on the program’s 2009 accomplishments. Funding was procured for repairs and rehabilitation of nine Cook County homes and tax abatements on seven Creechville homes that were hooked up to city water and sewer.
For every dollar spent on administration, Grabko said, the program brought in $12.82 in housing assistance.
The program serves people at 80% of median income or below. Out of 30 applications, four households are being considered for rehabs this year. Grabko said she would like to see all corners of the county served.
Lake County Housing and Redevelopment Authority chair Tom Lovdahl maintained that if the two counties continue to work together, the program would get stronger.
“Our counties have been passed over for decades,” Cook County Economic Development Authority Director Matt Geretschlaeger said. “Our funders now know we’re not going to go away. …Is there a need? Holy cow, there certainly is.”
Bruce Martinson pointed out that Grabko voluntarily reduced her pay to help ensure the program’s continuance.
“I believe we’re heading down the right road in meeting the needs of our residents,” Grabko said.
North Shore Scenic Drive grant
The board passed a motion to support a Federal Highway Administration grant application by the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC) on behalf of the North Shore Scenic Drive Council, but not by unanimous vote.
The grant would complete an inventory of trails leading from the North Shore Scenic Drive along Highway 61 and would help update a master plan for future infrastructure improvements.
Voting nay was Fritz Sobanja, who was concerned that the project would lead to overdevelopment of wayside rests. He said he believes many areas should remain in a natural state where people can enjoy “a sense of personal discovery.” He didn’t want some places to end up being as developed as the Cross River area.
Sobanja was also concerned that while money might be available now to develop wayside rests, it might not be available later to maintain them. This is what happened at the Rock Cut, he said, which has been blocked off from public use.
This is just a study, said Commissioner Jim Johnson.
But it could lead to bigger things, Sobanja said.
It may, Johnson agreed. The wayside rest at the Rock Cut was built to make a safe place for people to stop and take pictures, he explained.
A letter of support suggested by Bryan Anderson at ARDC as a template the county board could use states that a master plan “would lead to improvements for the byway visitor. …We look forward to improving the quality of the scenic route, while preserving its cultural, social, and natural integrity….”
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