When workers and students in rural Southwest Colorado were sent home during last spring's pandemic shutdown, the lack of broadband access hit home hard. And it may have prompted the City of Cortez and Montezuma County to jointly fund a $600,000 project to extend fiber optic cable south of town.
1
00:00:00,590 --> 00:00:02,040
The Cortez City Council
2
00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:04,050
and the Montezuma County Commissioners
3
00:00:04,050 --> 00:00:07,660
have agreed to jointly
fund a $600,000 project
4
00:00:07,660 --> 00:00:09,740
to extend fiber optic cable
5
00:00:09,740 --> 00:00:11,570
to the Southern part of the County.
6
00:00:11,570 --> 00:00:13,580
And that could open the area
7
00:00:13,580 --> 00:00:15,503
to more economic development.
8
00:00:16,340 --> 00:00:18,080
You're watching the Local News Network
9
00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:20,830
brought to you by TruWest auto of Cortez
10
00:00:20,830 --> 00:00:24,200
and Durango Party Rental
serving the Four Corners.
11
00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:26,510
I'm Wendy Graham settle.
12
00:00:26,510 --> 00:00:30,070
Construction will begin soon
on a fiber optic cable project
13
00:00:30,070 --> 00:00:32,500
that will extend access to broadband
14
00:00:32,500 --> 00:00:34,640
from Fifth Street on South Broadway
15
00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:37,610
to Road G and U.S highway 491
16
00:00:37,610 --> 00:00:39,130
where our Love's Truck Stop
17
00:00:39,130 --> 00:00:42,180
has been proposed for the
old M & M truck stop site
18
00:00:42,180 --> 00:00:44,090
on the Northeast corner.
19
00:00:44,090 --> 00:00:47,170
The City of Cortez and the
Montezuma County Commissioners
20
00:00:47,170 --> 00:00:49,070
have agreed to the first ever
21
00:00:49,070 --> 00:00:51,490
jointly funded broadband project
22
00:00:51,490 --> 00:00:54,940
to the tune of $300,000 each.
23
00:00:54,940 --> 00:00:58,110
Montezuma County, IT director Jim McCLean
24
00:00:58,110 --> 00:01:00,000
said shutdowns during the pandemic,
25
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,940
brought into focus the need
to expand high speed internet
26
00:01:03,940 --> 00:01:05,950
beyond city limits.
27
00:01:05,950 --> 00:01:07,520
The pandemic is probably
28
00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:09,100
what really started getting people
29
00:01:09,100 --> 00:01:11,990
to pay attention to how
important broadband is.
30
00:01:11,990 --> 00:01:13,620
We've always known,
31
00:01:13,620 --> 00:01:16,623
but I don't I think it
was still an afterthought.
32
00:01:17,700 --> 00:01:20,240
I know for the County personally,
33
00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:23,200
when they sent everybody home,
34
00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:26,430
the first go around in March, April,
35
00:01:26,430 --> 00:01:30,380
we had 28 employees
36
00:01:30,380 --> 00:01:33,010
had virtually no internet at all
37
00:01:33,010 --> 00:01:34,210
which surprised me,
38
00:01:34,210 --> 00:01:35,850
so they couldn't even work remotely.
39
00:01:35,850 --> 00:01:39,750
So we were scrambling trying
to come up with something.
40
00:01:39,750 --> 00:01:42,140
And those that did have internet
41
00:01:42,140 --> 00:01:44,010
80% of them wasn't fast enough
42
00:01:44,010 --> 00:01:46,740
to be able to do anything with it anyway.
43
00:01:46,740 --> 00:01:48,220
We have to solve this problem
44
00:01:48,220 --> 00:01:52,130
and I truly I'm frustrated
like everybody else
45
00:01:52,130 --> 00:01:53,220
because we've been waiting
46
00:01:53,220 --> 00:01:55,380
for them to come solve this problem for us
47
00:01:55,380 --> 00:01:57,170
and they're not doing it.
48
00:01:57,170 --> 00:01:59,640
While the project ends at the intersection
49
00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:02,530
where Love's Travel Stop has been proposed
50
00:02:02,530 --> 00:02:04,860
at the old M & M Truck Stop,
51
00:02:04,860 --> 00:02:09,290
both McClain and Cortez General
Services manager, Rick Smith
52
00:02:09,290 --> 00:02:11,630
say it's just the first phase
53
00:02:11,630 --> 00:02:14,020
of a multi-jurisdictional project
54
00:02:14,020 --> 00:02:17,440
to take internet all the
way to the Cortez airport
55
00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:19,823
and the Ute mountain Ute Indian tribe.
56
00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:24,210
The fiber optic cable will
offer an open access network
57
00:02:24,210 --> 00:02:26,750
so that private providers
can lease bandwidth
58
00:02:26,750 --> 00:02:30,490
to offer service to nearby
residences and businesses.
59
00:02:30,490 --> 00:02:33,910
The two also anticipate that
the fiber optics extension
60
00:02:33,910 --> 00:02:37,620
will generate economic
development projects in the area.
61
00:02:37,620 --> 00:02:40,550
Love's is a family owned national chain
62
00:02:40,550 --> 00:02:42,480
of truck and travel stops
63
00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:44,610
that are built to accommodate dozens
64
00:02:44,610 --> 00:02:48,910
if not hundreds of tractor
trailers and regular travelers.
65
00:02:48,910 --> 00:02:50,790
I have to look at the Love's Truck Stop
66
00:02:50,790 --> 00:02:53,440
is kind of your Walmart situation.
67
00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:55,090
Whenever they build a Walmart
68
00:02:55,090 --> 00:02:57,340
things start popping up around Walmart.
69
00:02:57,340 --> 00:03:00,360
I really believe it because Love is big
70
00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:02,700
and I believe that once
they put that in the ground
71
00:03:02,700 --> 00:03:03,640
over there and they build it
72
00:03:03,640 --> 00:03:06,980
you're going to see other
things develop around that.
73
00:03:06,980 --> 00:03:10,210
And by doing what we're
doing with the broadband
74
00:03:10,210 --> 00:03:13,010
it's going to meet their needs
75
00:03:14,090 --> 00:03:15,370
because that's the first question,
76
00:03:15,370 --> 00:03:16,203
everybody asked it anymore,
77
00:03:16,203 --> 00:03:17,570
they don't ask if you have water
78
00:03:17,570 --> 00:03:20,160
or if you have electricity,
that's an assumption.
79
00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:21,280
Now they ask, do you have
80
00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:22,667
what kind of high speed
internet do you have?
81
00:03:22,667 --> 00:03:24,770
That's the number one question?
82
00:03:24,770 --> 00:03:29,610
So we have an opportunity
to open broadband up
83
00:03:29,610 --> 00:03:32,480
literally for the whole Southern part
84
00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:34,980
but the big picture is it also sets us up
85
00:03:34,980 --> 00:03:38,000
for a regional improvement
in economic development
86
00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,650
because of those other projects
87
00:03:40,650 --> 00:03:42,190
eventually we'll get to Cortez
88
00:03:42,190 --> 00:03:43,860
these will plug right in
89
00:03:43,860 --> 00:03:46,913
and then it opens up for all Region 9
90
00:03:46,913 --> 00:03:50,110
McClain and Smith anticipate
the fiber optic extension
91
00:03:50,110 --> 00:03:51,920
will be completed by June.
92
00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:52,810
For more information
93
00:03:52,810 --> 00:03:55,080
log on to the City of Cortez website
94
00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,500
or the Montezuma County website.
95
00:03:57,500 --> 00:04:00,300
Thanks for watching this edition
of the Local News Network.
96
00:04:00,300 --> 00:04:02,070
Be sure to stay on top of the news
97
00:04:02,070 --> 00:04:05,200
through Twitter, Instagram,
or your favorite podcast.
98
00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:06,693
I'm Wendy Graham Settle.
