Commissioners Talk Broadband Improvements

August 7, 2025 by Allison Wilson

A grant from Broadband Ohio could provide some under-served Geauga residents with high-speed internet, according to Spectrum.

“The (Ohio Residential Broadband Expansion Grant) grant program is a competitive grant designed to fund last-mile broadband infrastructure projects in areas currently lacking access to reliable, high-speed internet,” said Sandra Williams, director of state government affairs for Spectrum, during the July 29 Geauga County Commissioners meeting.

Spectrum was awarded grant money to provide internet service in Geauga to Burton Township, Huntsburg Township, Middlefield Township, Newbury Township, Parkman Township and Troy Township, Williams said.

The estimated field cost of the project, which would pass 1,070 locations with 65.3 fiber miles, is $3.6 million, she said, adding Spectrum would also be contributing financially to the project.

It must be completed by December 2026, she said.

Spectrum would not be using other company’s fiber cables and would run their own brand-new ones, she said.

Williams provided commissioners with a list of impacted addresses, many of which are in Middlefield, Commissioner Carolyn Brakey noted, questioning if Amish homes had been filtered out.

They do not filter out the Amish, Williams replied, explaining in another county with Amish communities, they went door to door to Amish addresses and asked if they would like to receive service.

In other business, the Geauga County Department of Emergency Services is considering changing their name, due to the public often being confused on what it is they do.

“Back in the 80s, our agency was formed and we were called the disaster services agency. In the 90s, the name got changed to the department of emergency services,” said Director Roger Peterson. “We are the only county in the state of Ohio that’s not called the emergency management agency, basically.”

The department routinely gets phone calls from citizens who think they are the emergency room at University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center, he said, adding later that a few times a year, they get calls serious enough to tell the caller to hang up and dial 9-1-1.

“There’s just a little bit of confusion and we’re looking at just trying to standardize the name to match up with the rest of the state,” he said.

The name has also caused confusion when the department has worked with other counties, Deputy Director Austin Rice said.

“Everyone knows what EMA, or emergency management is,” he said. “If we’re working with other counties or statewide agencies, they don’t know what DES is, so that causes some delay and confusion there.”

The name change is currently being reviewed by the department’s attorney, Peterson said, adding once the department gets the official opinion, they will coordinate with the commissioners’ office to answer any questions officials may have.