A plan to get better internet for eastern Chautauqua County, Cattaraugus County and Allegany County took a step closer to fruition at the latest Chautauqua County Planning Board, when the board approved the use of county funding for the project.

The POWER grant comes from the Appalachian Region Commission (ARC) through Southern Tier West Development, according to Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello, who spoke about the grant opportunity at the meeting.

“The whole grant is for $1.3 million to be divided up between the three counties,” Borrello noted at the August board meeting. “Our (Chautauqua County’s) share is $150,000. … DFT plans to kick in $80,000 for the local share, plus maintenance, which will be done in kind service.”

The program, expected to offer better broadband service and fiber optic internet in some areas, features LTE coverage that is also software upgradeable. “The grant will bring high speed Internet to over 4,100 addresses, homes and businesses throughout the three counties,” Borrello also commented. “It won’t be 100% coverage, but will cover most of eastern Chautauqua County, as well as a large portion of Cattaraugus County.”

The new infrastructure has already been mapped out by DFT and with the grant expected to be official by September/October, the Internet services could be up and running as early as next year.

When asked why the coverage was primarily eastern Chautauqua County, Borrello responded, “Western Chautauqua County is not covered in this plan because of a lack of infrastructure and greater demand in eastern Chautauqua County.”

In other news, the board approved a proposal from Chautauqua Shores in the town of Chautauqua for a new local law to create a new residential district. “Chautauqua Shores is just south of the Chautauqua Institution,” said Junior Planner Matt Bourke of the matter. “They’re proposing to basically adopt a new zoning district there that’s nearly identical to the current one, just some changes to setback and height requirements.”

The next meeting of the Chautauqua County Planning Board will be Sept. 10 from 4-6 p.m. at the Chautauqua County Jail, 15 E. Chautauqua Street, in Mayville.