Jim Wells County Community Network History & Objectives

History
The Jim Wells County Community Network (Network) is an organization of 25 local education, healthcare, library, government, business, and community organizations that was established in June 2001 in order to prepare an application to the Texas Telecommunication Infrastructure Fund Board (TIF) for a $525,000 grant to plan and implement the Network. The initial grant application was sponsored by the Alice & Jim Wells Economic Development Council (EDC). Coastal Bend College  Alice Center served as the fiscal agent for the Network, and was responsible for the administration of the grant. In August 2001, TIF announced that Jim Wells County had been awarded the community network grant along with 60 other communities in the state.

The grant included $25,000 for planning and $500,000 for implementation of the Network Plan. At the completion of the planning phase, the Network Plan was submitted to TIF on February 2002. In March 2002, TIF announced that the Network Plan and budget had been approved; with the plan to be implemented by April 2003. Both the planning and implementation grants required a 10 percent local funding match. Southwestern Bell awarded a $2,500 Economic Excellence Grant to the EDC to provide matching funds for the planning phase. The implementation phase required a $50,000 local funding match, which was provided through contributions from the CHRISTUS Health ($25,000), City of Alice ($10,000), Jim Wells County ($5,000), Workforce Network, Inc. ($7,000 in-kind), Alice Housing Authority ($2,000), and Alice Regional Hospital ($1,000).

The Governing Board, Planning Committee, and three task forces met several times during the planning phase to develop the Network Plan. DRC Consultants, an Alice consulting firm, assisted in the preparation of the plan. The firm will also provide project management services during the implementation phase. A needs assessment survey of county residents was conducted in November, distributed through member organizations, local newspapers, and local retailers. Over 1,000 residents responded, with 24 percent of the respondents indicating that they did not have access to a computer at home, work or school and 57 percent indicating that they did not have access to the Internet. To help publicize the project and encourage participation, several articles ran in local newspapers.

One of the Network's primary objectives is to install 65 public access computers throughout the county, and provide free Internet access and training to residents who do not currently have access to these resources. Host sites have been designated at several locations, including libraries, schools, Senior Service Centers, hospitals, public housing projects, churches, and other locations. All five school districts in the county have committed to participate in the Network, and computers will be located in various communities throughout the county, including Alice, Premont, Orange Grove, Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco, and La Gloria.

A second major objective was to develop and maintain a community network web site to help provide residents and people from outside of the county access to valuable information about local community organizations, governments, schools, healthcare providers, social service providers, and other resources. Assistance and funding was also provided to help local governments develop web sites and e-government services. As a third major objective, the Network will partner with local hospitals, healthcare organizations, and social service providers to promote the Healthy Communities Initiative and help improve the health and quality of life for county residents.

The State of Texas established the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund with taxes collected from mobile phone users. The funds are used for a variety of different types of grants to educational and health institutions. The Community Network grant program emphasizes building telecommunications resources for the general public and connecting the public to existing or new resources. In 1999-2000, TIF approved the first round of grants under this program. This was the second round. While area educational institutions and libraries have received funding through other TIF programs, the Jim Wells County Community Network was the first network funded by the agency in the Coastal Bend. Over 400 communities competed for this round of Community Network funding, 61 communities were awarded planning grants, and 53 community network plans were approved for full funding.

• Increase the number of public access computers and locations and extend the hours of service to evenings and weekends.
• Provide basic computer/internet access training for local users, trainers and support staff.
• Develop a plan for maintaining the computers and the network.
• Develop a county-wide internet presence which increases coordination and links between existing networks and the web sites of community resource organizations and local government.
• Support health, business and community enhancement initiatives, such as the Healthy Communities Initiative.
• Develop a strategy for marketing the enhanced services and community network to residents, organizations and businesses.
• Provide greater public awareness of, and access to, programs for job opportunities, training and adult education.
• Establish a program for measuring the results of our endeavors and using them as guidance for improving future operations.
• Identify sources of funding to provide for sustainability into the future.