FARMINGTON — Franklin County commissioners voted Tuesday to agree in concept to a two-part amendment to the county’s Tax-Increment Financing Development Program. One part would address language for noncommercial entities in connection to broadband and the other would related to more than one communications study.

The TIF was approved in 2008 in connection with the 44-turbine Kibby wind energy facility on Kibby Ridge in Kibby and Skinner Townships. The TIF is slated to support economic development in the unorganized territory in Franklin County. If the proposed amendment is approved it would be the fourth one to the original document, according to county Clerk Julie Magoon.

In June 2019, the Legislature approved a change to the county’s TIF program regarding using funds for costs associated to broadband and fiber optic expansion projects. The change allowed the costs for preparation, planning, engineering and other related expenses in addition to the construction expenses of those projects. It also provided that if an area with a municipality or plantation is unserved with respect to broadband service, as defined ConnectME Authority in state law, broadband and fiber optics expansion projects may serve residential or other nonbusiness or noncommercial  areas in addition to business or commercial areas within the municipality or plantation.

The wording needs to be added to the TIF program document, Magoon said.

Charlie Woodworth, executive director of Greater Franklin Development Council,  updated commissioners in September on a $1 million federal grant the council received to support high-speed, fiber-optic internet service for Carthage, Temple, Weld and Wilton, and Perkins and Washington townships.

The Northern Border Regional Commission announced Aug. 20 that the Greater Franklin Development Council was awarded an economic and infrastructure development grant for its competitive application, according to a media release from the council.

The Franklin County Broadband Initiative began about four years ago as a grassroots collection of citizens pointing out that inadequate broadband was preventing rural Franklin County from growing and succeeding. The towns and townships, the county and Livermore Falls in Androscoggin County gave monetary support for a detailed report.

The grant is expected to help reduce the cost to the towns and townships in an effort to help “improve the ability of residents to diversify the economy, work and learn from home, establish home-based businesses, reverse out-migration and attract new residents,” according to a release.

The $1 million grant will cover 10% of the $10 million endeavor, Woodworth said. The high-speed internet provider would pay 70% of the cost. The towns would have been responsible to pay 30%, but the grant lowers it to 20%. Woodworth said he will pursue funding at the state level to try and reduce the towns’ share to 10%.

Woodworth is preparing another grant application at the state level that would reduce the expense and the change could be made to the grant application.

The second part of the amendment would remove the words “one-time cost” and replace it with “ongoing” in connection to a study of county emergency communications capacity and strategy to plan for  communications improvements, a one-time cost, prorated to exclude costs outside the unorganized territory. The cost allocated for the study was initially $60,000 and there is a significant amount of the money left.

Magoon told commissioners that a public hearing could be held Oct. 20 on the amendment.

The county’s TIF attorney, Shana Cook Mueller, of Bernstein Shur law firm in Portland will draw up the changes.

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