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November 13, 2012

Tracking opportunity: Development authority awarded grant to trace utilities

Princeton Times

PRINCETON — The Development Authority of Mercer County has received a Broadband Technical Assistance grant for Mercer County in the amount of $30,000 from the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey. The Development Authority is calling the project Map Mercer County.                                                                                                                                    The grant funding will allow the Authority to accurately map and record broadband and other utility infrastructure throughout Mercer County. The data collected will then be made available on the Authority’s website for the public to view and use. Mercer County is one of several recipients of the grant pool totaling $650,000. The objective of the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey grant is to encourage broadband adoption and use through innovative and technical assistance projects.

“Timely access to reliable data is critical to economic development efforts in the County. When existing businesses are making decisions on expansion or new businesses are looking to locate in Mercer County, timely access to reliable infrastructure and utility data is critical for decision making,” Frank Brady, chairman of the Authority, said.  

Executive Director Janet Bailey said the goal of this project is to organize Mercer County infrastructure and utility data through a private-public collaborative effort.  Bailey acknowledged that many local, state and federal agencies, as well as private-sector companies, collect, store and use this type of data for decision making.

However, in Mercer County this data is not currently stored in one location.

“This funding is certainly a step in the right direction, as it will allow us to better understand our broadband, electric, and water utility infrastructure and where it is currently located by working with both private and public partners in the process,” Bailey said.

The grant will have a wide community impact for business leaders, investors, citizens and government agencies because it will provide immediate access to critical data infrastructure previously unavailable.

“It is a win-win scenario for all of Mercer County,” Bailey said.

The Authority partnered with Cornerstone GIS, a professional Geographic Information Systems & Technology company to collect data and manage the project.  

“Having access to critical data infrastructure such as roads, electric, water, and broadband is a critical component of the decision making process for not only economic development authorities, but for all parties involved,” said company owner Candice Chastain. “We are very honored to be working with the Mercer County Development Authority on this project. We look forward to providing them with the data needed for what we call ‘geo-enabled decision making.’  

“If you know what you have and where it is, it allows for much easier and efficient decision making for the future,” Chastain says.

Bailey added that the grant is well in line with the Authority’s mission.

“Due to our relationship with these sources and the mission of the Development Authority, we feel that our office is best positioned in Mercer County to encourage data and information exchange on a county-wide basis and be successful at it.  We look forward to kicking off the mapMercerCounty project later this week,” she said.

Bailey encouraged any water, electric, or broadband company or any local, state and federal agency servicing Mercer County with this type of data to become active in the project as a partner by contacting her directly.

The project is scheduled to begin immediately and will conclude in June 2013.

For more information, contact Janet Bailey at the Development Authority of Mercer County at 304-431-8523.

 

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