Parish Council OKs application for Sorrel broadband grant

FRANKLIN — The Sorrel area could enjoy the broadband internet access it lacks if an application for state funding is approved.
The St. Mary Parish Council voted Wednes-day to commit funds toward a matching grant that could amount to a total of $800,000 to provide fast internet service in that community, and possibly others in west St. Mary.
The council made the move after a presenta-tion by Chris Fisher of Cajun Broadband.
According to a state government website, $177 million in funding is currently available for improving internet access under the state’s Granting Underserved Municipalities Broad-band Opportunities program, more nimbly known as GUMBO grants.
Fisher proposed a pilot program starting with the just under 600 residents of Sorrel.
The project would cost $800,000, Fisher said. Cajun Broadband would put up 20%.
The applications are judged on a point system, Fisher said. The application would receive an additional point for each 1% the parish government commits toward matching the grant.
Councilman Craig Mathews, who represents Sorrel, urged the council to move ahead with the application. Mathews pointed to the implementation of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, when children from homes without broadband were at a disadvantage.
“Broadband is a critical access point ...,” Mathews said. “This is a do-or-die, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The council voted to commit to a 10% match, or $80,000. The council discussed splitting the funding source between the parish’s share of American Rescue Plan Act funding, for which broadband access is an acceptable use, and funds raised by a 0.3% sales tax imposed for west St. Mary public works projects.
The council also authorized Cajun Broad-band to make similar applications for the Four Corners, Verdunville and Irish Bend areas without a parish match commit-ment to see if they’re approved. The idea is that if those applications are denied, the council could make applications for those communities during the next funding cycle, which has a June dead-line.
Fisher estimated that providing broadband for all the west St. Mary communities identified as underserved would cost $10 million-$15 million.
Budget contains
trash fee hike
The council introduced its 2022 budget without objection Wednesday.
The budget anticipates general fund revenue of about $40 million and spending of $41.9 million. The difference of $1.9 million will draw down the parish’s fund balance to about $14.5 million.
Residents of incorporated areas will feel the new budget come February.
The budget raises the charge for trash pickup outside the parish’s municipalities to $19 from $15 per month.
The rate has remained unchanged for 15 years, Chief Administrative Office Henry C. “Bo” LaGrange said. But the cost of the contract has gone up because of price hikes linked to the Consumer Price Index.
The parish is currently subsidizing trash pickup with money from a 0.75% sales tax dedicated to water, sewer systems and public safety. Raising the fee paid by consumers will free about $350,000 a year in reve-nue from that tax.
Water and sewer com-missions receive a 0.65% collection fee.