Oconto County board OKs Bug Tussel project

The Oconto County Board took what is perceived as a major step forward in improving access to broadband in rural parts of the county on July 21 when it approved an intergovernmental agreement and tax revenue bond financing for Bug Tussel, LLC.

The board voted 28-1 with one abstention. Supervisor Jolene Barkhaus opposed the motion, and Supervisor Brandon Dhuey abstained.

Bug Tussel has been working for a decade on a project to bring the internet to rural parts of the state; Oconto County is part of the latest phase of that project along with a number of other counties. Fond du Lac County, which initiated the original effort in 2012, is to issue conduit bonds for Bug Tussel to acquire, build and install towers and other telecommunications infrastructure.

County Administrator Erik Pritzl told supervisors in May that Bug Tussel approached the county. The company said basically it can build the towers and, if everything works out the way it’s supposed to, at no cost to the county, Pritzl said.

The county gets a portion of the infrastructure for its own uses, including emergency communications, in exchange for guaranteeing the county’s portion of the bonds, estimated at $16.5 million.

County Board Chairman Al Sleeter said the county has worked with several vendors on a variety of projects that have earned state Broadband Expansion Grants, but Bug Tussel has been more aggressive about getting the job done.

“The county needs this service,” Sleeter said. “I grant you, we’re going to be guaranteeing $16.5 million; but I was here when we guaranteed the Law Enforcement Center. That seemed to work fine, and that was $30 million.”

The county opened its new Law Enforcement Center including the county jail five years ago.

Pritzl said approving the Bug Tussel project is not the end of efforts to improve internet access across the county.

“We’re focused on the assets on the towers, connecting the towers and then getting as close as possible to our government buildings and other resources that we have as well,” Pritzl said. “There are probably still areas that might be appealing in the grant application process that may continue.”