Supervisors Approve RFP For Unserved Mahaska County Residents And Businesses

February 11th, 2022

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors met in a special session on Friday morning, where they discussed the final draft of a Request for Proposal or RFP.

The RFP would be used by internet providers to utilize in the bidding process for making internet available to Mahaska County citizens and businesses that may currently be underserved.

Mahaska County Supervisor Steve Wanders has worked with Mahaska County Economic Director Tom Flaherty and SmartSource Consulting to create the RFP.

Wanders said the hope is to bring internet capable of supporting students and adults who need to work from home. He also said the goal is to help area businesses connect to the internet, including rural agricultural companies and farmers. Examples given were hog confinements and grain storage facilities.

The money for the project is a federal program. “So we think it’s very important for the rural people to get this, and it without federal money that they’re given us, that wouldn’t be possible, but with the county are donating their $2 million towards it, it helps get the process going.”

Companies interested in the project will have until March 10th to submit their paperwork for the project, and Wanders says that the project could take a couple of years.

“It’s important to a lot of people, and we’re just trying to get our county connected,” said Wanders.