By JOHN EBY
Edwardsburg Argus

CASSOPOLIS – County Administrator Terry Proctor, Grants and Projects Manager and Maintenance Supervisor David Dickey were apparently energized by their participation last week in a “Webinar” regarding projects that could be undertaken with federal stimulus money to achieve efficiencies.

“Dave is preparing a prioritized list of different energy things which could be done with our county facilities,” Proctor reported to the Cass County Board of Commissioners.
“Then Sandy is going to prepare a grant application for energy efficiency projects. Some possible projects are solar collectors that could be used for hot water. Windmills which could be purchased and installed to generate electricity. Another one is LED lights – Light-Emitting Diode – that maybe we would put in parking lots. Along those lines, Dave Dickey has been looking at motor vehicles for the board’s enjoyment in two weeks. Before the board meeting (Aug. 20), he has arranged for one of the vendors to have it outside for us to inspect and observe an electric truck that could be used for the maintenance department.”

Proctor also discussed rural residential areas such as Cass County lagging behind in broadband for high-speed Internet access.

“We are woefully underserved,” Proctor said. “Midwest Energy planned to deliver broadband over power lines, but an update I received indicated they are experiencing delays. They’re also exploring other technologies to bring broadband to the county,” such as a fiber optic loop.