77.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesPFA Forging Ahead on Broadband Initiative

PFA Forging Ahead on Broadband Initiative

With a tight deadline looming for some of the work, Public Finance Authority board members wasted no time Wednesday in moving ahead with a few resolutions that would push ahead progress on its territory-wide broadband initiative.

On Monday, senators approved a bill that gave the PFA, or a wholly owned subsidiary of the PFA, the authorization it needs to use federal stimulus funds or bond proceeds to build out and run the network. At the time, PFA head Julito Francis explained that legislative approval was necessary in order for the authority to front the money needed to cover a local match and operations costs for the first six months.

Board members took full advantage of the authorization Wednesday, not only taking care of the startup money, but finalizing the structure of the subsidiary that will be overseeing the network and putting in place the company needed to conduct an environmental assessment on the layout of the network, which is due to the feds at the end of January 2011.

In March, the PFA board authorized the issuance of up to $20 million in new bonds needed to help finance the project, which is expected to cost more than $100 million. The government has been applying for federal grants to cover most of the costs and has since received five separate awards allowing for not only the construction of the network, but conducting public awareness campaigns, expanding job skills and setting up computer centers, among other things.

At this point, the government has $106 million for the construction of the fiber optic network, to include $59 million in federal funds, along with $15 million in in-kind contributions from WAPA and the new bond proceeds, which will also be used for the local match.

At a meeting in September, PFA board members voted to tack another $12 million onto the bond issue, bringing the total up to $32 million, which would: provide $5 million in working capital for the network over the next three to four years; cover $2 million worth of expenses not covered by the federal grants; and help the government acquire and build out its main computer and network operations centers.

At this point, the bond issue still has to be approved by the Legislature, Francis explained Wednesday.
But in the meantime, the board has established a wholly owned subsidiary of the PFA called the V.I. Next Generation Network (VINGN), charged with implementing and operating the broadband assets on an ongoing basis once the network has been built. The PFA would be the subsidiary’s sole stockholder, while a group of seven individuals would sit on its board of directors.

VINGN’s composition was finalized at Wednesday’s meeting, with the seven slots being filled by the existing PFA board members — Gov. John deJongh Jr., Debra Gottlieb, Angel Dawson, Keith O’Neale and Pablo O’Neil — along with Francis and V.I. Water and Power Authority head Hugo Hodge Jr.

The board then authorized the use of $3.5 million from its Project and Administration account as interim funding for the local match and VINGN startup costs for the next six months.

And wrapping up the matter, board members then authorized Francis to negotiate and finalize a $348,535 contract with the Maguire Group for an environmental assessment to determine whether the layout of the network is going to disturb any environmental, historically or culturally significant areas.

A request for proposals is also out for firms to complete construction engineering drawings for the network, Francis said later.

In other news, the board also approved resolutions:
-tapping PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) to complete the PFA’s full and single audits for 2010, with the caveat that they finish the work on a timely basis (in the meantime, the PFA will continue negotiation with PWC and Ernst & Young for future auditing services, board members said); and
-extending Jaredian Design’s contract for work on the new St. Thomas library and archives center until the end of March 2011 and authorizing an extra $146,500 from the project’s fund account for additional work to the entranceway and the library’s game room.

Present during Wednesday’s meeting were: Dawson, deJongh, Gottlieb, O’Neale and O’Neil.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.