From Staff Reports

PARKERSBURG — Broadband access and other potential uses for the City of Parkersburg’s American Rescue Plan Act funds will be the subject of a town hall meeting 4-6 p.m. Monday in the executive conference room on the second floor of the Municipal Building.

Parkersburg City Councilwoman Wendy Tuck announced the session and is hosting the meeting with fellow council members Jesse Cottrille, Bob Mercer, J. R. Carpenter, Chris Rexroad and Austin Richards.

The meeting will be split into two segments, with the first hour focusing on the model for broadband services used in South Charleston and options available to Parkersburg. The second hour, from 5-6 pm, is reserved for the public to give its suggestions on how the remaining ARPA funds should be used.

“It’s clear that the federal government wants the decision to be made at the local level, with input from its local residents,” Tuck said in a news release.

Council held a special meeting Nov. 30 to receive comments on the funding, and four people spoke.

Speakers for the first hour of Monday’s town hall include South Charleston City Manager Rick Atkinson, where the city is installing its own fiberoptic network and leasing to companies like SecureNet, whose owner, Kevin Mullins, will also be at the meeting. West Virginia Delegate Vernon Criss, R-W.Va., will discuss the state’s plan to reach under-served areas, and a representative from U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito’s office will address federal guidelines for using ARPA funds to provide broadband access.

Speakers on the status of broadband in the city will include Sheriff Rick Woodyard; Marian Clowes, associate director for community leadership of the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation; Jonathan Farley, director of information technology at Wood County Schools; and Randall Shiers, CEO of SW Resources.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the need for internet service in the area, as people worked and learned from home, the release said. The Wood County Board of Education used C.A.R.E.S. Act funding to assist students with internet access in 2020.

“Internet access is a complex issue, crossing city, county, state and federal lines of responsibility, plus that of the private sector,” Tuck said. “In this town hall, our constituents can learn what can and can’t be done, and what the possibilities are.”

In addition to broadband infrastructure, ARPA funds may be used to support public health responses, such as mitigating the spread of COVID-19 or providing behavioral health services; address negative public impacts from the pandemic, like assisting workers, families and small businesses; replace public revenue lost due to the pandemic; provide premium pay to essential workers; or invest in water and sewer infrastructure.

The city is set to receive a combined $21,805,407 in Rescue Plan funding. Council has so far voted to allocate $7 million toward a Parkersburg Utility Board water system enhancement project to lower the needed rate increase and $200,000 to help leverage state funds for an extension of water and sewer service to Fort Boreman Hill.

Tuck said people can share input at the town hall or council meetings or by contacting council members directly. Other town hall meetings are being considered, she said.