HOLLIDAYSBURG — Blair County has become the sixth and last county to join an effort aimed at designing a regional high-speed fiber-optic network that should someday make slow internet connections a thing of the past.

Commissioners Bruce Erb, Laura Burke and Amy Webster voted Thursday to put $50,000 of the county’s American Rescue Plan federal grant dollars toward a projected $300,000 study to identify a network of fiber-optic internet projects for Blair, Bedford, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset counties.

Fiber-optic connections, as described in industry publications, are regarded to be at the core of all future broadband internet options. While expensive, they’re also recognized as fast and reliable.

Alleghenies Broadband Inc., a nonprofit agency formed to improve internet access in rural areas of the six counties, has lined up the Foresite Group of Birmingham, Ala., to undertake the regional study, based on the company’s expertise and responses to a request for qualifications.

“We’re excited to get started on this next effort,” ABI Inc. Executive Director Brandon Carson told commissioners Thursday.

The study should take about six to seven months, he said.

In the meantime, ABI Inc. is already working with Bedford and Huntingdon counties on internet access improvement efforts involving existing or to-be-built cellphone towers.

“We do have some efforts for you to consider in Blair County,” Carson told commissioners Tuesday.

On ABI’s request for $50,000 to support the fiber-optics study, Erb acknowledged that the county’s action has been on hold, pending legal research and revisions to the county’s agreement with ABI Inc.

Solicitor Nathan Karn and Pittsburgh attorney David Mitchell, who monitored the county’s obligations and use of Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act grants, were involved in revisions to the agreement that Erb said offer financial protection to the county.

When Webster asked about that risk, if Blair County is someday ordered to repay the $50,000 that the county is turning over to ABI, she was advised that the language in the agreement makes ABI responsible for proper use of the grant dollars.

Burke, who had a copy of the agreement at Thursday’s meeting, directed Webster to an indemnification clause that was in the agreement commissioners are signing with ABI.

“That gives me a great deal of comfort that we’re not taking any undue risk with the ARP dollars,” Burke said.

Erb also referenced Mitchell’s assistance in helping the county follow the rules and regulations for spending and distributing CARES money.

“We got a clean audit,” Erb said of CARES.

ABI’s request for Blair County’s support was also pending when the state Office of Open Records found ABI to be an alter ego of the Southern Alleghenies Planning & Development Commission and directed the commission to meet a public records request filed by Hollidaysburg Community Watchdog President Richard Latker.

That directive, which has not yet been met, is on appeal with the county court.

During Thursday’s commissioners meeting, Burke referenced a portion of Blair County’s agreement with ABI, acknowledging that public records associated with study-recommended projects will be subject to Right-to-Know requests, as submitted through the county. She also noted that ABI would provide relevant records to the county for answering those requests.

Webster asked Carson if county commissioners could examine ABI records. While Carson replied that ABI is not a public agency, he said it would “comply with the county’s request.”

Erb said after the meeting that he was satisfied with the revised agreement and to move ahead with a study that will lead to better internet access for rural residents, a common inquiry that commissioners regularly receive.

Webster said that information about the revisions to Blair County’s agreement, as opposed to a prior proposal, convinced her to vote yes.

“I didn’t want our money to be jeopardized and for the county to be forced into paying back the government,” she said. “And I didn’t want our citizens to be prohibited from seeking out information about these projects.”

Webster also spoke favorably of the study’s focus.

“This study,” she said, “seems like it’s going to make sure the county gets fiber-optics.”

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.