Brown County Commissioners Court met on Monday morning, December 19, and approved two agreements for internet services for county offices as well as the Law Enforcement Center.

Commissioners first approved, on a vote of 4-0, an agreement with Conterra Ultra Broadband, LLC.  It is a 60-month agreement which requires a one-time charge of $15,300 then $1,295 monthly.  The one-time fee will be paid through ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds.

Similarly, Commissioners approved, on a vote of 4-0, an agreement with Astound Business Solutions, LLC (formerly Grande and Harris Broadband).  It is a 48-month agreement which requires a one-time charge of $15,000 then a $1,440 monthly fee.

It was pointed out that the combined monthly rate of $2,735 is only slightly higher than the $2,400 being paid monthly to Frontier now.  The two providers will replace the one now in place.  The end result is the county will have two different internet service providers which should keep service at all times for all county offices, resulting in more dependable service.

In other business:

• The Burn Ban remains off in Brown County.
• Commissioners also approved the Treasurer’s/Auditors Report which showed Brown County investments, as of September 30, 2022, in Certificates of Deposit totaling $11,590,186.94, earning interest in the third quarter of $49,438.12.
• The next meeting of Commissioners Court will be Tuesday, December 27.

Present for the meeting were Commissioners Worley, Kelton, Traweek and Shaw along with County Auditor Jennifer Robison and County Clerk Sharon Ferguson.  Commissioner Kelton presided over the meeting.

Commissioners recessed their meeting and were going to reconvene at the Brown County Extension Office to hear the annual report from county agents.