MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA), announced Oct. 7 over $115 million in grants to local and Tribal communities through DOA’s Flexible Facilities Program (FFP). Funded through the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) Capital Projects Fund (CPF) as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s American Rescue Plan Act, these grants will go toward funding public facility expansion or improvement projects designed to provide reliable broadband access to local communities, including libraries, community centers, and multi-purpose community facilities.
“We’re working to build the 21st-century infrastructure and workforce Wisconsin needs to meet the demands of the 21st Century, including expanding access to high-speed internet. Every Wisconsinite should have access to reliable, affordable, high-speed internet, and these investments will help build upon our work to close the digital divide, especially in our rural areas and communities,” Gov. Evers said. “I’m incredibly proud to be working alongside our dedicated state agencies and federal partners to help bolster our public infrastructure, including supporting our libraries and community centers and expanding access to critical services for folks in every corner of our state.”
Among the municipalities receiving funds, New Glarus received $4.25 million. Funding will assist with the construction of a new public library. The project will benefit over 6,100 individuals, including those who face challenges related to living in a rural area with a lack of access to reliable high-speed internet. The new library space will have a children’s programming area, a study room, and a classroom with six desktop computers. This project will include the installation of fast and reliable internet, improved technology access, and private spaces to perform virtual activities related to work, education, and healthcare.
The state of Wisconsin received a total of $189 million from the CPF for the FFP, the CPF Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program, and for the previously announced Digital Connectivity and Navigators Program at the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) to support high-quality multi-purpose community facilities and help address high-speed internet access, affordability, and adoption in the state. DOA was originally awarded $107 million from the CFP to support the FFP, and an additional more than $7 million was made available through savings across CPF programs.
In December, Gov. Evers, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin), DOA, and the PSC announced Treasury’s approval of the state’s plans to utilize $140 million of federal funds from the CFP to create the two new grant programs, the FFP and the Digital Connectivity and Navigators Program.
The FFP is designed to fund community facility projects such as public libraries, community centers, and multi-purpose community facilities in order to address critical requirements of digital and broadband access resulting from or exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. The projects are intended to serve disadvantaged populations most disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and who have limited or no remote access to broadband. The funded projects must provide new, renovated, or expanded facilities, broadband/high-speed internet service, and other digital connectivity equipment, and devices that will enable remote access to work, education, and health monitoring activities and resources. Wisconsin has committed to awarding at least $20 million in FFP grants to projects that include the construction, renovation, or expansion of public library facilities, in addition to digital technology and connectivity improvements within said facilities.
The FFP is open to all units of general local government and Tribal governments in Wisconsin. The maximum award is $4.25 million.
The CPF-FFP projects aim to:
● Directly support recovery from the coronavirus pandemic by strengthening and improving the public infrastructure to provide the digital resources necessary for Wisconsinites to be able to access remote work, education, and healthcare monitoring opportunities;
● Enable investments in capital assets designed to address inequities in access to critical services; and
● Provide 21st-century public infrastructure necessary to access critical services, including a high-quality and affordable broadband internet connection.
Since 2019, Gov. Evers has allocated more than $345 million in state and federal funds to expand high-speed internet, including the largest state investment in state history. These investments have made it possible for the Commission to award grants to help more than 410,000 homes and businesses access new or improved broadband services. In his most recent budget, the governor recommended allocating $750 million in state funding for broadband expansion to supplement the federal funding being allocated to the state in coming years.