POMEROY–The Port of Garfield County commissioners announced the completion of the Pataha fiber project, authorized two expenses, and discussed the preliminary results of fiber study of Garfield County at their meeting on April 4.

The Pataha Fiber-to-the-Home project is completed, barring final checks. The port commissioners authorized Port Manager Diana Ruchert to give a notice of completion when the final checks have been made. The notice will close out the construction contract. The commissioners also authorized Manager Ruchert to purchase extra drops from the Port of Whitman County if needed.

A change order of $3,754.92 on the teardown of Warehouse 3 by Chris' Professional Electric was approved to account for extra dump fees from the use of dumpsters to remove the debris. The second expense authorized was a retainage release for ZeroDB for the Pataha fiber project for $18,086.17. It will be held until all forms are turned in to the Port office.

Conclusions reached by the preliminary results of a study done in Garfield County on the efficacy of running fiber internet throughout the county are that it is not recommended. The estimated cost to cover the entire county is $48,000,000. The hills and trees of our county create difficulty for running fiber, as well as the distance between homes, averaged at one house per square mile. Suggested steps were to place fiber in slow phases rather than all at once, and to place it in areas of denser population.