Hello Commissioners,
Administrator Lawson will soon be recommending to the Board that you join the NLEA Broadband Consortium. I hope each of you will independently research this proposal and not blindly follow Mr Lawson down another primrose path promising a utopia for Cheboygan County.
The NLEA falsely states "There currently exists high speed internet fiber in our area that is only accessible to schools, governments and hospitals.(and non-profits) In many instances, companies are left with internet service that is less than adequate or unavailable. Through the NLEA Broadband Consortium companies located within participating counties will have an additional option for services."
In truth, Peninsula Fiber Network LLC offers fiber network access in Cheboygan County on the same route as MERIT that can be accessed by a number of existing last mile providers in Cheboygan County. There is no need for the NLEA consortium.
The proposed NLEA Broadband Consortium agreement was vetted by Emmet County legal counsel and is a public document. Since that legal review, Emmet and the NLEA have severed their relationship. Emmet's legal counsel identified the open-ended financial commitment (Section 7.1) and the lengthy 5 year agreements with automatic renewals. As with any NLEA proposal, there is no promise of performance or a quid pro quo service in exchange for signing the agreement.
The public documents sourced from Administrator Lawson under my FOIA request are months of effort from Buck Love/NLEA attempting to rush this consortium agreement to your desks. The first 2018 proposal included Emmet, and now the latest proposed 2019 agreement is only 3 counties. Antrim, Charlevoix, and the poor country cousin-Cheboygan County.
From the NLEA website: There are several examples throughout our NLEA region where our informal NLEA Broadband efforts have assisted companies to receive much needed high speed internet and competitive bids to compare pricing with current service providers. Both options saved companies money and provided better service. The NLEA Board feels that now is the time to formalize our efforts for greater impact.
Hats off to Charlevoix Commissioner (and NLEA Board member) Chris Christensen for leading this effort with a “missionary zeal” over the past several years. His leadership, along with Charlevoix County Administrator Kevin Shepard (also NLEA Board member) and consultant Eric Granstaff have been instrumental in the progress made on this important effort. Buck Love (NLEA Business Retention) serves as our staff lead.
The NLEA, after watching Charlevoix Commissioner Chris Christensen become involved with MERIT years ago, now wants to jump on the moving wagon. There are some obvious conflicts of interest. An employee of a Cheboygan County firm lobbying for the NLEA consortium is a current NLEA Board member. The NLEA involvement might financially benefit his employer while exposing all Cheboygan County taxpayers to the risk of unknown future liabilities.
Cheboygan County's decision to join the NLEA in 2007 has failed to provide any measurable business or economic growth. Cheboygan's Community Development Department, after a decade of failure under Director Steve Schnell, no longer exists.
The time for being led, being told what to do by staff is over. It is time for the Board of Commissioners to lead Cheboygan County.
Thank you,
Carl Muscott
Emmet County's support of Great Lakes Energy Broadband
Peninsula Fiber Network LLC - Fiber network in Cheboygan County
