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SHERBURNE <br />C 0 U N T Y Sherburne County Administration <br />Sherburne County Government Center <br />13880 Business Center Drive <br />Suite 100 <br />Elk River, MN 55330-4668 <br />administration@co.sherbume.mn.us <br />(763) 765-3001 <br />1-800-433-5228 <br />January 5, 2022 <br />City of Elk River <br />Attn: Cal Portner <br />13065 Orono Parkway <br />Elk River, MN 55330 <br />Dear Mr. Portner, <br />As you may know, Sherburne County has been working for several years to help bring high-speed broadband <br />service to the many unserved or underserved areas of the County that need it. The County recognizes that <br />access to high-speed broadband service has become a basic necessity for businesses and residents to be <br />able to access critical services and participate in the current marketplace. In response to that need, the <br />County has developed a Broadband Access Grant Program to help broadband providers extend their services <br />to those locations where it may not be economically feasible without a public -private partnership. Under <br />the County's Program, Arvig has now applied for a grant as part of a project that will bring high-speed <br />broadband to approximately 247 homes (155 unserved and 92 underserved) and businesses within the City <br />of Elk River. I am therefore writing to inform you of Arvig's request and to ask that the City of Elk River <br />consider participating with the County in facilitating this exciting project for the City's residents and <br />businesses. A copy of Arvig's application was previously sent to City staff. <br />Because the County has limited funds available for its Grant Program, local participation from the City where <br />the project is located is an important part of the County's evaluation of which projects to fund. The <br />County's Grant Program includes scoring criteria to help the County identify which proposals will be most <br />beneficial and impactful when awarding grants from the limited funds available to us. A major component <br />of that scoring criteria (25fo of the total) is whether there will be financial participation from the City where <br />the project is located. Specifically, in order to receive a score, the City must agree to contribute a portion of <br />the applicant's grant request. For the project involved here, Arvig has applied for $1,205,518 in grant <br />assistance ($2,009,197 total project cost). Based on the size of the grant request and project in general, the <br />County is requesting the City contribute 25% of the grant request or $301,305. Please note that according to <br />the County's American Recovery Plan Act Broadband Access Grant Program guidelines, if the City declines to <br />participate financially at all, the project will not be eligible to receive County grant assistance and will not <br />proceed. <br />