The Jasper City Council on Monday evening voted to go forward with it’s plans to go into the broadband internet business. The move came following a decision earlier this year to award Kramer Services Group of Weyerhaeuser, Wisconsin $450,000 to study the issue and develop a plan for it’s implementation within the city.

Following a presentation by Kramer representative Brandon Wright, the motion was made by council member Michael Daniels and was seconded by Laura Golden to go forward with a request for proposals to construct the system with all voting for except for Anderson Land, who abstained.

Wright said plans were for the system to be completely underground from one end of town to the other offering up to 1 gig of upload and download speed at prices between $75 and up depending on the speed the customer required. Wright said that if all went as planned the service might be available within a year or so.

Who will build the system is unknown. However, there have already been indications that Kramer itself might bid the construction of the system.

If successful, the City of Jasper would compete with AT&T, Sparklight and numerous wireless companies already providing the service.

In other action on Monday, the council also voted to move forward with plans for buying out homeowners in low lying or flooded areas with the use of grants provided by the Texas General Land Office. To facilitate that project, the city voted to hire Jordan Services for appraisal services.

Also on Monday, the Jasper City Council and Mayor Randy Sayers presented the members of the Jasper County Historical Commission with a certificate recognizing the Municipality of Bevil, the original townsite of Jasper and it’s founder John Bevil who established a home there in 1829.

Written by mlout