COLONY — The Colony Town Council received an update on the Cullman Electric Cooperative’s internet subsidiary, Sprout, and received a proposal from the company to provide internet and telephone service to the town hall.

Bonnie Baty told the council that Phase I of the Sprout fiber rollout includes the portion of Colony where the town hall and education complex are located. She said Sprout could provide the town hall with high speed internet and a voice over internet phone (VOIP) line for a total of $97.48 per month. That includes a 25% government discount for the internet service, she said.

Last summer, the Electric Cooperative began running fiber lines to upgrade the power side of the business, but the board realized they could also make high speed internet available to co-op members along the way. About 12,000 of the cooperative’s 45,000 members will be able to connect to Sprout fiber once Phase 1 has been completed, said Baty. An announcement about the next phase is expected to come this fall.

Baty showed the council where the lines in Phase 1 are going in Colony, noting that about three-fourths of the town is not going to be included in the first phase. “The hardest part about explaining Phase 1 is that it follows the path of power,” she said. Neighbors may discover that while one is able to get Sprout, the other is not, said Baty. 

Residents at Tuesday night’s meeting expressed interest in the town getting the service, with one noting that most of Colony does not have internet service. “We really, really need internet in Colony,” she said.

Baty said that while Sprout is applying for grants to help pay for the cost of setting up internet service, the town can also apply for grants that can be used with any provider to expand internet services within a municipality. She cited the town of Berlin, which is using a grant to expand internet service within the town limits.

The council didn’t take any action on the proposal at the meeting.

Councilwoman Jasmin Cole said about 400 people showed up for Colony Day last week, and the town raised more than $3,500 in tent sales from the event. She said the next town-wide event will be on Oct. 23 when they will host a Black and White formal party for adults 25 and over. The event costs $10 per person and will include an “all you can eat” dinner. A Halloween event is also being planned for families in the community, and she is looking at purchasing a movie screen so the town can host movie nights once a month. Cole said the movie nights would be held outdoors in the warmer months and inside the town gym in the winter months.

In other business:

Councilman Michael Johnson thanked the Cullman Economic Development Agency for the $12,000 grant the town received recently for repairs to the community center

Clerk Gwendolyn Purifoy shared information on the county’s new emergency notification system

The council had the first reading of a resolution to adopt its annual transportation plan in compliance with Alabama House Bill 2.

Editor Amy Henderson can be reached at 256-734-2131 ext. 216.