Broadband Committee

JOINT EXECUTIVE AND BROADBAND COMMITTEE Monday, August 10, 2026 TASO Room, Courthouse Members Present: Jim Metz, Scott Mildbrand, Chuck Zenner, Mike Bub, Sue Swiantek, Ken Ceaglske, Rollie Thums. Other Attendees: Courtney Graff, Grant Bub, Tracy Hartwig and Andria Farrand. Other attendees via Zoom: Nicole Hager. Call Meeting to Order: Metz called the meeting to order at 1:03 p.m. Approve Agenda: Motion by Zenner, seconded by Thums, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. The Executive and Broadband Committees will go into Closed Session at approximately 1:05 p.m. pursuant to Section 19.85(1)(e), Wisconsin State Statutes, for the purpose of negotiations and contract strategies with legal counsel related to broadband. The Cl osed Session is expected to last for approximately 30 minutes. A roll call vote will be taken. Motion by Zenner, seconded by Mildbrand, to go into closed session at 1:05 p.m. A unanimous roll call vote cast, the motion carried. The meeting will reconvene into Open Session pursuant to Section 19.83, Wisconsin State Statutes, to address actions stemming from the Closed Session. Motion by Thums, seconded by Zenner, to reconvene into open session at 2:32 p.m. Motion carried. Bug Tussel update: Grant Bub provided an update on Bug Tussel and stated they are requesting a third round of borrowing for $19 million. They have completed their middle mile and need additional money for fiber to the home to improve densification of service in the county. At this point, no county is interested in being the lead. There are concerns raised by our auditors with the fact that Bug Tussel’s 2024 financial audit has not been completed and they lack liquidity. Bug Tussel is now up to 198 customers in Taylor County. BEAD update: Grant Bub also provided a BEAD grant update and said that Bug Tussel and the PSC are still in communication. There are 777 customers that Bug Tussel needs to run fiber to the home and they must complete this to get paid. Future agenda items and meeting date: The next meeting will be September 14, 2026. Adjourn: Motion by Thums, seconded by Zenner, to adjourn at 2:57 p.m. Motion carried. Andria Farrand Taylor County Clerk BROADBAND COMMITTEE May 12, 2026 TASO Room Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Mike Bub called the meeting to order at 9:30 am. Members Present: Mike Bub, Rollie Thums, Sue Swiantek, Chuck Zenner Members Present via Zoom: Members absent: Kenny Ceaglske Other Attendees: Michele Grimm, and Grant Bub Other attendees via Zoom: Katie, Mark Leonard, Stanley Schmidt, Jesse Lane, Dennis Hinderliter Approve the agenda: • Motion by Rollie Thums, seconded by Chuck Zenner to approve the agenda with 7 items. Motion carried. Approve the minutes of April 14, 2026 meetings: Motion by Sue Swiantek, seconded by Rollie Thums, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Bug Tussel Update: • Bug Tussel Update o Take rates is the focus o Fiber • 1139 BSL passed • 39 customers o Fixed Wireless • 100 customers • Other Items o Actively making connections and of those being connected the general response has been very positive. o BEAD agreement Paperwork sent from PSC to Bug Tussel on 5/11/26. 60 days for Bug Tussel to Complete Broadband Manager Report: • Changes to the Broadband Committee. Current Members: o Chair: Michael Bub o Members: Charles Zenner; Susan Swiantek; Rollie Thums; Kenneth Ceaglske o Ex officio: Michelle Grimm; Grant Bub • Gilman and Fair Grounds o Gilman Access Point issues • Replacement arrived working on getting it installed o Fair Grounds hardwired connections down • After some time, a reboot seems to have fixed it • County Tower Updates o College St. Adding Country Wireless Fixed Wireless Equipment o Camp Forest Springs increased land rent • Will be reaching out to carriers to cultivate interest • Will need a survey done – Possibly something may have been done with the Radio Project • Community Events o WTA meeting attended with Jesse from Bug Tussel • Towers o Jump River tower is live o Future discussions on other towers • Other Items o PSC sent grant agreement 5/11/26 ▪ 60 days for bug tussel • SpaceX o Paperwork not signed yet o Submitting documents and proceeding forward • Country wireless o Their awards are not distributed out yet • PSC Website o Bead award summary updated excel sheet • Remanding funds o No announcements of where the funds will go. • Universal service funds o United Way • Moving forward work with town halls to document of yes or no for County Equipment o An agreement stating whether they want it or not o Equipment that was given • Who maintains the equipment • Property maintenance and access o ISP’s making sure they have permission if they are on private property • Heartland Maintenance • WI DOT updating connection o GNSS Receiver to switch from frontier to our fiber Other items for the committee: Adjourn: Motion by Chuck Zenner, seconded by Rollie Thums to adjourn. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:21 a.m. Next Meeting: 06/08/26 @ 9:30 Grant Bub BROADBAND COMMITTEE April 14, 2026 3rd Floor Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Mike Bub called the meeting to order at 9:33 am. Members Present: Mike Bub, Rollie Thums, Gene Knoll, Sue Swiantek Members Present via Zoom: James Stokes Members absent: Kenny Ceaglske, Chuck Zenner Other Attendees: Michele Grimm, Grant Bub, Candice Grunseth Other attendees via Zoom: Katie Zenner, Mark Leonard, Stanley Schmidt, Josh Klingbeil and Bob Judnic Approve the agenda: • Motion by Rollie Thums, seconded by Sue Swiantek to approve the agenda with 7 items. Motion carried. Approve the minutes of March 10, 2026 meetings: Motion by Sue Swiantek, seconded by Rollie Thums, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Bug Tussel Update: • Bug Tussel Update o No Updates this time o Work is progressing • Connections are being made in multiple areas across the county o Additional update requested and will be forwarded to the committee • Bug Tussel and County Meetings o We had a phone call with Bug Tussel discussing the past expectations and current status of the projects in Taylor County o Discussions on communication, future plans, current negotiations, and what expectations are going forward • Other Items Broadband Manager Report: • County Primary Endorsement o Currently the county does not have a specific ISP to endorse county wide o We will continue this discussion and decide if it is appropriate to endorse one specific ISP • New Home Builds – First Choice ISP ▪ Wanting to find ways to make sure internet is available for new home builds • Community Events o Gilman June dairy days o WTA meetings • Advertising o What is most effective and how to prevent misunderstandings • Towers o Jump River tower is live o Future discussions on other towers • Other Items o BEAD • Grant agreements are being set with ISPs and the PSC • Non for Taylor as of yet • Country Wireless • Waiting on country wireless for documents • Not participating in the county any longer through BEAD • Cannot renew those awards • Broadband Expansion Grant (Bug Tussel) • Expand their network in the county and went beyond original milage Other items for the committee: • Libraries looking to use county network as ISP Adjourn: Motion by Rollie Thums, seconded by Sue Swiantek to adjourn. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:38 a.m. Next Meeting: 05/12/26 @ 9:30 Grant Bub Taylor County Broadband Committee Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. Attendance Mike Bub, Rollie Thums, Chuck Zenner, Sue Swiantek, Jim Metz, Steve Deml, Joe Liegl, Nicole Hager, Tracy (online), James Stokes, Stanley Schmit, Bob Judnic, Russel Berg, Mark Lenord, Jessie Lang, Chris Halverson, and Michelle Grimm. 1. Call Meeting to Order Chair Bub called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. 2. Approve the Agenda Motion by Thums, second by Swiantek. Motion carried. 3. Approve Minutes of the January 13, 2026 Broadband Committee Meeting Motion by Swiantek, second by Zenner. Motion carried. 4. Bug Tussel Update • Introduction • Jesse Lang introduced himself as the new primary contact for Bug Tussel. • He will attend future Taylor County meetings to provide updates. • Monthly Update (Presented by Chris Halverson) • Nine towers are currently live. • Three additional towers are built; Bug Tussel is determining feasibility for activation. • Leases for two potential tower sites expire in August. Bug Tussel is actively coordinating with landowners to determine whether to proceed with construction at those locations. • Customer & Service Updates • 63 customers are now on fiber. • 99 customers are on fixed wireless. • Jesse Lang is preparing an outreach strategy to inform Taylor County residents of live service areas. • Wanrack Transition • Bug Tussel has assumed billing responsibilities for former Wanrack customers. • They resolved three outages and added three new customers since the transition. • BEAD Program Update • Mark (State of Wisconsin PSC) reported that all service providers have passed NIST approval. • Providers must now secure NEPA compliance before beginning project work. 5. Broadband Manager Report • Rib Lake Fire Department connection is up and running. • Holy Rosary is now using the switch originally purchased by the City of Medford. Bug Tussel is coordinating with Grant Bub on next steps. • AT&T has purchased the Lumen circuit , which is the circuit Taylor County connects to in Thorp. 6. Other Committee Items • Michelle Grimm and Grant Bub hosted the first Tech Talk at the Rec Center. 7. Adjourn Motion to adjourn by Zenner, second by Thums. Meeting adjourned. BROADBAND COMMITTEE January 13, 2026 TASO Room, Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Mike Bub called the meeting to order at 9:31 am. Members Present: Mike Bub, Rollie Thums, Kenny Ceaglske, Chuck Zenner Members Present via Zoom: Gene Knoll, James Stokes Members absent: Sue Swiantek Other Attendees: Michele Grimm, Grant Bub, Denis Hinderliter, and Mandy Other attendees via Zoom: Russ Berg, Katie Zenner, Mark Leonard, Stanley Schmidt, and Bob Judnic Approve the agenda: • Motion by Rollie Thums, seconded by Chuck Zenner to approve the agenda with 7 items. Motion carried. Approve the minutes of December 09, 2025, meetings: Motion by Chuck Zenner, seconded by Rollie Thums, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Bug Tussel Update: • Written Update o Attached update provided by Melody from Bug Tussel • With areas going live residents should call to get connected where possible • WaNRack/Bug Tussel Network o No contract talks have been held o County Attorney and Bug Tussel Attorney have been in contact • Planning on having a meeting soon • Other Items • Richter Lake Addition (Q-Sunset) seems to be ready to make connections • Residents should call to get connected Broadband Manager Report: • BEAD Update o If residents are curious if in the low -cost pricing, please check if you are eligible through the national verifier • Starlink $80 • Bug Tussel $55 o Awardees are in the process of submitting their agreements with the PSC • Community Meetings • Held meetings at Rib Lake, Gilman, Jump River and Medford ▪ Most of the concerns came from the surrounding Medford areas and Jump River ▪ Concerns of some areas being overlooked along with frustration that Towers will not be built or used ▪ Frustration on the timeline o Topics covered • Maps, RDOF, ACAM, BEAD, • Bug Tussel and WaNRack • Types of Internet • Internet Service Providers within Taylor County • Website • Rib Lake Fire Department o HBS to complete installation Other items for the committee: o Computer classes for Seniors • To be held at the Rec (on Gibson) o Committee would like to hold events with residents as areas go live • Discuss how residents can utilize new broadband options o Gene suggested to review/audit Bug Tussel’s financials and asked for help from the Finance Committee o PSC upcoming Grants • PSC Nonprofit Access Grant o The project must assist low-income households or people with disabilities or customers in areas of the state that have relatively high costs of services in obtaining affordable access to a basic set essential telecommunications services. The Commission may award up to $500,000 in grants un der this program on a fiscal year basis. • PSC Lifeline Outreach Grant Program o $250,000 in grants under this program on a fiscal year basis. The Lifeline Outreach Grant Program is currently organized under two tracks: Outreach and Education, and Research and Resource. • PSC Telemedicine Grant o $500,000 may be available to purchase medical telecommunications equipment that will promote technologically advanced medical services, and/or enhance access to medical care in rural or underserved areas of the state, or to underserved populations or to persons with disabilities. Adjourn: Motion by Chuck Zenner, seconded by Rollie Thums to adjourn. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:37 a.m. Next Meeting: 02/09/26 @ 9:30 Grant Bub