Amy Achs, AP Erie Correspondent
With Ella Bright, Mark Armstrong, and Kathy Kuhnen leaving the Erie Board, there were new faces at the Village of Erie May board meeting Tuesday night. Quincy Poole, Tara Kapple, and Woody Besse were sworn in as newly elected trustees and Joe Froeliger was sworn in as an appointee to finish the term of Keith Morgan who resigned in April. Trustee Jeff Wirth was sworn in to continue serving, as well. Marcia Smith was sworn in as president and Gail Possley as clerk.
Strada Communications out of Rapids City presented information about their plans to provide 100% Fiber Internet services to Erie residents. The owner, Scott Searl, brought in the Strada team to share the benefits their company can provide to boost Internet speeds in Erie and the surrounding areas. Searl emphasized the benefits of being a locally owned and operated company as they are in their third year of providing Internet service to the Rapids City & Port Byron areas. Fiber Internet benefits include more reliable, faster service, with less interruptions. There are no data caps, no contracts, no sign-up fees, and a plan for everyone. Many Erie residents currently experience high traffic times of service where the Internet is slow or goes down, but Searl stated that will not happen with their fiber service. There are discounts for military and veterans, business plans, and a program through the schools for low-income families. Strada Communications plans to invest 2.9 million dollars over the next 6-8 months installing lines in Erie and neighboring areas with bigger plans to expand beyond that. All fiber conduit systems will be installed underground where it looks better, runs better, and is not affected by weather. They plan to meet with residents of Erie in a town hall meeting at 6:00 Thursday, May 13th in the Village Hall to provide more information.
Police Report: Chief Rollie Elder shared that the Village Management System is working well. They have 2 events planned in May –
May 25th CPR class taught by Brian Hawk from 6-8 PM.
May 26th Coffee with a Cop” at Harvest Bakery. Stop by from 8:00 – 10:00 AM to share a cup of coffee, get to know your law enforcement officers, and enjoy a sweet treat.
Elder announced Madison Howard was hired as a part-time officer.
Public Works Report:
Trevor Cobo was hired as a part-time temporary public works employee at $11.00/hour.
The next council meeting will be Tuesday, June 8th at 6 PM.
