Vermont § 8085 - Broadband Preconstruction Grant Program

§ 8085. Broadband Preconstruction Grant Program

• (a) There is established the Community Broadband Preconstruction Grant Program to be administered
  by the Board. The purpose of the Program is to provide grants to communications union
  districts for preconstruction costs related to broadband projects that are part of
  a universal service plan. (b) As used in this section, “preconstruction costs” include expenses for feasibility
  studies, business planning, pole data surveys, engineering and design, and make-ready
  work associated with the construction of broadband networks, including consultant,
  legal, and administrative expenses, and any other costs deemed appropriate by the
  Board. (c) To ensure an equitable distribution of funds under this Program and to encourage collaborative
  work among communications union districts, grant awards shall be scalable and shall
  be commensurate with the size of a broadband project as determined by the project’s
  service area, road mileage, the number of unserved or underserved locations, or any
  other metric deemed appropriate by the Board. In addition, the Board may develop standards
  for the disbursement of grant funds in a manner that both supports the efficient and
  timely use of funds and also ensures accountability. (Added 2021, No. 71, § 2, eff. June 8, 2021.)