The 2014 Local Government Cooperation Award was presented to Marshall and Saint Joseph counties during the Association of Indiana Counties last month. The award was presented to the two counties for working together to create a public private partnership that will bring what is dubbed dark fiber or high speed data from St. Joseph county down to Marshall County and Plymouth.
The $3.2 million metronet broadband expansion is being paid for by both counties, the City of Plymouth and several local businesses.
Marshall County Commissioner Kevin Overmyer said, “It’s not about Marshall County or St. Joe County or the City of Plymouth. Site locates are looking at regions where they can draw from a large population for employment.”
Mayor Mark Senter said, “There’s no doubt in my mind that this project will bring economic development and employment opportunities to Marshall County and Plymouth.
Even though Saint Joseph County already has dark fiber in place, the county had requests from local businesses that were having trouble sharing data with partering businesses in Marshall County.
This was all done without financial backing from state or federal government or large communication providers.
Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Plymouth was one of the funding partners and just one of many local organizations that will benefit. Broadband allows patient data to be transmitted securely and quickly which will allow technologies that transmit large volumes of data, technologies like 3D digital mammography to be accessible to patients in Marshall County.
From improved patient care to economic development opportunities to helping local businesses improve communication. This project is an example of determination, ingenuity and cooperation between local units of government.
