Aldermen discuss fiber optic project

SHEPHERD — Residents of Shepherd could soon experience faster broadband speeds once a project to replace old copper wire is complete.

At the April 14 meeting of the Shepherd Board of Aldermen, David Russel from Frontier gave a presentation regarding a fiber optic project they are doing this summer.

City Secretary Debra Hagler said Frontier will run fiber optic cable parallel to existing copper lines, and that about 11 percent of the cable will be underground.

The project, she said, should start in late summer and be complete and available for customers by November. At the start, the new service will be available to 2,000 homes at the start and will expand as demand increases.

“We were told that the service will have the same upload and download speed,” Hagler said. “Russel said that most other services have slower upload speeds, but with more people working from home, additional bandwith is necessary.”

In other business, the council:

• took no action on a request to divide property on North Byrd by Christian Stewart Jr. into approximately eight 1-acre tracts. The city attorney said the property owner’s plan did not require approval from the council;
• dissolved Library Advisory Board. Hagler said the board has been inactive, and since there is a Friends of the Library group, it will carry the advisory role;
• appointed Pam Ellis, president of Peoples State Bank, as an advisor to the Economic Development Council; and
• approved an Economic Development Agreement with VIA Real Estate LLC for a Tractor Supply store to be built in the city.