Governor Kaine Announces $1,000,000 in Recovery Funds for Northampton County
– Funds to Expand Availability of Broadband in Rural Communities on Eastern Shore –

RICHMOND–Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced an additional $1,000,000 grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund Phase IV of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Broadband Buildout. The project is projected to create 20 jobs and will be financed by the Community Development Block Grant – Recovery (CDBG-R) program. The Buildout had previously been identified as an alternate project, but funding was made available after portions of the first round of grants went unused.

"Today we are announcing an important project on Virginia's Eastern Shore that will not only bring critical broadband infrastructure to the area, but will also create 20 new jobs as a result of the Recovery Act," said Governor Kaine. "Broadband access is an important tool in the development and recruitment of business and I am confident that this grant will pay dividends in the short term and for years to come."

The broadband project will create a broadband network to serve the towns of Nassawadox, Exmore, Willis Wharf and Belle Haven. It will allow for new and enhanced medical service through increased connectivity to major health care facilities such as the Shore Memorial Hospital, Shore Cancer Center, Eastern Shore Rural Health, Eastern Shore Community Services Board, and a large number of physicians groups.

Projects funded by the CDBG-R program must meet CDBG requirements in addition to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) objectives such as timeliness and readiness; recovery act objectives; maximizing job creation and economic development benefit; and demonstration of a regional or statewide significance of the project.

"Projects funded through the CDBG-R must not only meet standard CDBG requirements, they must also assist those impacted by recession, invest in projects with long-range economic development benefits, and foster energy independence," said DHCD Director Bill Shelton. "By providing broadband access to residents of the Eastern Shore, this project meets all of those goals and more."

Governor Kaine has made the expansion of affordable broadband access a key part of his economic development efforts because of its transformative potential, especially in rural Virginia. Under Governor Kaine, the Commonwealth convened the Broadband Roundtable to develop a "last-mile" telecommunications blueprint for advancing his goal of ensuring broadband access for every Virginia business. During his term the Commonwealth also released the state's first broadband availability map to give policy makers, local government leaders, and service providers a more detailed picture of broadband coverage in Virginia as they work to provide "last-mile" broadband in their communities.

For more information, visit: www.dhcd.virginia.gov.

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