T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK The Belmont County commissioners and WesBanco announce Wednesday they will be investing in Belmont County GIG’s project to expand internet access using fiber optic lines. The county port authority will act as intermediary for the county’s loan. Pictured from left are Commissioner Josh Meyer, Port Authority Board Chairman Marty Gould, member David Jones and port authority Director Larry Merry, Commissioner Jerry Echemann, WesBanco Vice President Michael J. Mistovich, Marketing President David M. Klick and Commissioner J.P. Dutton.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Belmont County is making its first major investment of American Rescue Plan coronavirus relief dollars in the form of a loan to Belmont County GIG, which is in the process of installing underground fiber optic lines for internet access in the county.

The commissioners noted that broadband is one of the prescribed uses for the funding.

Commissioner J.P. Dutton said greater internet access has long been a priority of the commissioners.

He mentioned the county’s work with Agile Network in allowing the company use of the county’s vertical assets to expand services over the air, but success was limited compared to the life cycle and reliability of underground fiber optic lines.

“We were very excited when a new company entered Belmont County,” Dutton said.

The commissioners agreed to make a low-interest loan of $2 million. The port authority will act as the intermediary, handling the loan funds and reporting on the project’s progress.

Port authority Director Larry Merry said this will be a 10-year loan with 1-percent interest and no interest the first two years.

At the conclusion of the loan, the fund could be up to $15.5 million. Merry said he is excited for the future.

“You could have spent this money a long time ago and burned through it,” he said. “You’ve taken a lot of time to plan and get the most bang for the buck.”

Also present were two representatives from WesBanco. Senior Vice President Michael J. Mistovich and Market President David Klick assisted in “vetting” Ohio GIG, and WesBanco is in the process of making a loan of $1 million to the fiber optic project.

“We owe it to our shareholders to maximize profits, but we owe it to our communities to reinvest back into the community, and that’s really what this deal was about,” Klick said. “I personally could not think of a better use of your dollars than broadband. … We do business with a lot of those schools and we realize that when you’re an ‘internet desert’ and when you’re doing work from home and school from home in a lot of these functions, broadband is a necessity. … We’re probably a month away from funding the loan.”

“This project wouldn’t have happened without WesBanco,” Dutton said.

Dutton said this investment will hopefully expedite Belmont County GIG’s work.

“At the end of the day, it’s really going to be a fantastic project. We’re going to see a company hopefully start to speed up their work,” he said. “They’re trying to expand to as much of Belmont County as possible.”

Commissioner Jerry Echemann agreed this is an investment in the future.

“It’s a good use for the money,” he said. “It’ll be put to good use.”

Commissioner Josh Meyer added that the board was very methodical in deciding on the best use of the ARPA money.

Dutton added the commissioners would continue to seek out more state and federal resources for internet access.

Afterward Tim Berelsman, CEO of Ohio GIG, said this investment would likely mean an acceleration of the project, currently building around Belmont College and expanding. A facility has also been constructed at Barnesville, and the company aims to connect the sites and continue to bring internet to the Harry’s Ridge Road area in Barnesville, which he said is in need of service.

“That’s what those funds are going to help us do, to really get to those people that have been unserved or highly underserved to date,” he said, adding this aspect of the project may be complete by the end of 2023 and work will accelerate further in the spring.

“This is a significant step forward in terms of the community involvement,” he said. “This shows significant strength and just shows the goodwill that we’ve built working with the county and the county has shown us in return. It’s a great, mutually beneficial relationship.”

He added that the company will continue to work with Belmont County. He said new fiber optics have been run to the Belmont County Fairgrounds auction barn and arena and will be in use during the fair in September.