Broadband project construction set for fall

YATES COUNTY--County officials have announced that the county's broadband committee has secured two contracts related to the $14M high-speed internet USDA ReConnect project that was awarded to the county last year. Approved by the legislature, the contracts are part of the process designed to bring internet access to 1,600 additional premises in Yates County.
"The broadband update was important because now that we have chosen our engineering firm to design the network and oversee the construction and our internet service provider to operate the network, we can move forward full steam," said Nonie Flynn, Yates County administrator.
According to an update issued by Flynn, bringing expanded internet access has long been the goal of the legislature and work has been ongoing diligently behind the scenes since the project was approved.
"There was a lot of work that was done to get us to this point - first making sure we were in compliance with all the rules and regulations with the USDA on our grant funding and secondly in choosing the engineering firm and the internet service provider that would be best for our county," Flynn said.
One of the first tasks of the broadband committee was to recommend the business and operational model for the project, and it was determined that a public-private partnership with Empire Access could help reach the goals.
"We are excited to partner with Yates County to offer high-speed fiber optic internet in rural areas of the county that do not have fast, reliable access today," said Jim Baase, Chief Operation Officer at Empire Access.
Empire Access is headquartered in Prattsburgh and is locally owned and operated. Already providing fiber optic service in portions of Yates County, Flynn said Empire Access is well known for its competitive pricing and high customer satisfaction ratings.
"Residents and businesses will have access to fiber optic internet, phone, TV and security services," the prepared statement says. "Expect to see direct mailings and communications from Empire Access as portions of the network become operational."
The other contract approved is a $1.06 million contract for New York Engineering Services (NYES) as the professional engineering firm responsible for finalizing the network design and then to also provide oversight during the construction phase.
"The workload now is primarily with New York Engineering," Flynn added. "The county then will have to choose a construction firm for the build of the network, which will also occur this year."
For his part, Bart Bretsch, President, New York Engineering Services, said that he was very excited to partner with Yates on the project.
"The RFP vetting process was very thorough and professional, and we continue to be impressed with the Yates County team," said Bretsch. "They are focused on the mission to deliver high speed internet to every Yates County citizen, and will prove to be great stewards of the Federal Grant money they have been awarded."
As a result of the contract, NYES will be setting up an office in Penn Yan for the duration of the project and preliminary work will begin in May.
Once that work is complete the project will move into a bid process with a goal to start construction in fall 2021.
Construction will proceed in phases and once those are determined, residents will be able to track status and progress on the county's ReConnect internet site at yatesconnect.org.