For cable project: Port of Garfield seeks assist from port here

The Port of Garfield has requested interlocal agreements with the Port of Whitman.

The Port of Garfield has received a little more than $500,000 of funding from the Community Economics Revitalization Board (CERB) Jan. 17 for a "Fiber to the Home" project in Pomeroy.

“They've been working with us, talking about the fiber system, what we do here and their growth down there,” said Kara Riebold, Port of Whitman's Chief Operating Officer. “They don't have any experience with fiber and would like to benefit from the Port of Whitman's experience.”

The Port of Garfield has asked the Port of Whitman to manage their fiber system, similar to how Whitman manages fiber for the Ports of Clarkston, Lewiston and Skagit. The Port of Garfield is also interested in Whitman doing some of the management of their project.

Riebold feels this is an opportunity for the fiber which is already running from Clarkston down to Walla Walla to be taken out to other communities along the way.

Unlike in Clarkston and Lewiston, which have small additional builds regularly, the build to Pomeroy is to be a fiber to the home model. After the initial build there shouldn't be a lot of additions.

“There will be one big push of a lot going on, but it won't be a lot of new builds, or a lot of new construction,” Riebold explained.

The Port of Garfield teamed up with PocketiNet as a committed provider for the CERB application.

The first of these interlocal agreement drafts between the Port of Garfield and the Port of Whitman would be for Whitman to manage Garfield's fiber system. Garfield would pay for the installation, and Whitman would do the billing.

In a separate second agreement, Whitman would offer project management services.

“They will get someone to do a design for them, but there is no one in their office who has the background experience in fiber to look at that design critically and make sure it's in the ports best interest,” said Riebold.

“We're just looking at it and saying, 'the way you have it designed, is how we're doing it. It fits in well with your legislative authority,'” explained Joe Poiré, the Port of Whitman's executive director.

Riebold reported CERB likes to see that the Port of Whitman is there and hear that some of these ports are "asking for our expertise.”

“The board recognizes that we have a lot of proven track record and model and they're excited to see how that's helping other areas grow,” she continued.

“I think the Port of Garfield is a little bit concerned that they may not even know what questions to ask, and this is a new thing for them,” said the Port Attorney, Bruce Ensley. “If they had several of these under their belt, we probably wouldn't be able to offer them much.”

The port commissioners agreed to enter into discussions with the Port of Garfield.