The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners sparred over the final finishing details of the broadband project on Tuesday at its executive meeting as another $900,000 payment is due for the project, which is 96% complete.
The original concept called for a $17.5 million project, with Point Broadband paying $12.5 million and Leelanau County paying $5 million through ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds, to be finished in 2023. In 2025, the final touches won’t be done until September.
Broadband wasn’t originally on the agenda, but District No. 5 Commissioner Alan Campbell wanted to discuss a dispute regarding Chris Scharrer, founder and CEO of DCS Technology Design, who was the county’s go-to contractor and consultant.
Last month, the board approved $3,000 for Point Broadband fees through ARPA, and $8,000 for DCS Technologies through “Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment” (BEAD) federal funding for a total of $11,000 a month. Scharrer has since declined to work with the county further, according to the board.
The BEAD program is a federal funding program designed to expand highspeed internet access across the United States by providing grants to states and territories to build broadband infrastructure in underserved areas. About $42 billion in BEAD funds are available nationwide, but the program’s future is uncertain due to ongoing funding cuts at the federal level.
The proposal to add the item to the agenda was met with annoyance from interim administrator Richard Lewis, but it was eventually allowed for discussion, which yielded no action.
Lewis mentioned that Point Broad Band can finish the rest of the consulting work needed for the remaining 4%. Lewis will be leaving his post as Jim Dyer steps in on April 1st.
Campbell and District No. 4 commissioner Ty Wessell sparred over several separate details and facts of the project that have been disputed by a recent “fact-finding sheet” provided by commissioner Campbell.
“This (broadband) is a point of pride for this county,” Wessell said.
Wessel himself submitted a fact-finding sheet that disagreed with several “facts” listed in Campbell’s document.
Campbell said at the meeting he wanted an audit of the entire broadband project, which wasn’t received with much enthusiasm from the entire board and was pushed back.
Wessell and District No. 6 Commissioner Gwenne Allgaier supported Scharrer and DCS Technology’s efforts, according to the commissioners, citing his resume with projects of this magnitude from around the world.
District No. 3 Commissioner William Bunek didn’t necessarily support Campbell’s argument for an audit, but did reiterate that when the project started in 2021, a contract with DCS for a survey “was supposed to be $62,000, then it turned into $120,000 and extended to $388,000,” Bunek said in general terms with rough figure estimates during the meeting.
Survey findings showed Leelanau County had about 22,700 occupied parcels, with 5,045, or about 22% of the county, without cable or fiber or little to no access to other high-speed broadband services. At the direction of the board of commissioners, in November 2023, DCS Technology Design began working with LIFT to develop a highlevel broadband plan. The mission was to develop a countywide plan for expansion and implementation of high-speed broadband services to all residents, farms, and businesses currently not served by broadband access.
