Broadband internet service for rural Warren County residents has moved from a back burner issue to a priority for Warren County Fiscal Court.

Responding to what Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon calls “a necessity,” the fiscal court’s six magistrates voted unanimously Friday to approve an ordinance creating a competitive franchise for the operation of cable and telecommunications systems in the unincorporated portions of the county.

“Every single one of you has been in discussions about competitively priced countywide broadband service,” Buchanon said in introducing the agenda item to the magistrates. “This gives us a roadmap to get to where we want to be. We’ll be able to take bids from anyone interested in providing broadband and cable service to Warren County.”

Friday’s action was the first reading of the ordinance. The second reading is scheduled Feb. 2, after which the county will advertise for bids from potential cable and broadband providers.

Buchanon explained the county and the city of Bowling Green are now operating under an expired franchise agreement with Spectrum to provide cable and broadband service.

Because of that expired agreement, Buchanon said this is an ideal time to open up the franchise to all interested cable providers.

“It has always been open to anybody, but in order for us to have a clean, fresh start and attract quality people, we’ve revised the franchise agreement in ways that we believe will entice providers to enter this market,” he said.

It’s a move that couldn’t come too soon, according to First District Magistrate Doug Gorman.

“Over the last 18 months or so we’ve been researching this,” Gorman said. “I’ve had so many constituents, especially in the northern part of the county, contact me about not having adequate broadband capabilities. People are still using dial-up.”

And that’s not acceptable in 2018, Buchanon said.

“High-speed broadband has become a necessity for modern living,” Buchanon said.

“Communications, business access, home security and entertainment all require high-speed internet access. Education, economic development and workforce attraction and retention are strengthened by business and residential internet access,” he said.

Although Buchanon said many current Spectrum customers feel as though they’re “overcharged and underserved,” he said he hopes the current provider will be among the bidders for the franchise.

He also expects North Central Communications Inc., a subsidiary of Lafayette, Tenn.-based cable company NCTC, to be among the bidders. NCTC, piggybacking on cable laid as part of the statewide Kentucky Wired initiative, plans to serve the new Drakes Ridge subdivision being developed in the Alvaton area.

“I would like every capable and qualified provider to respond with a bid,” Buchanon said. “Competition is always good for the consumer.”

While Friday’s action applies to the unincorporated portions of the county, City Attorney Gene Harmon said a similar advertising for bids could soon come from the city.

“We’re in the process of trying to work out a new franchise agreement with Spectrum,” Harmon said. “But the granting of a cable franchise is non-exclusive. Anybody else is welcome to provide cable service. Once we get the basic terms of an agreement with Spectrum, we will advertise for franchise agreement bids.”

While seeking bids from cable providers, fiscal court will also be looking for bids from companies that provide energy savings. The magistrates granted authority Friday to advertise for a request for proposal from companies that provide energy management services for governmental bodies.

Buchanon said the tight budgetary environment makes this an ideal time to look for savings. With the county paying nearly $1.5 million in utility bills throughout all departments during the past fiscal year, energy is an obvious target for cost-cutting.

“Energy has great potential for savings,” said Buchanon, who pointed out that the county realized considerable savings from an energy audit conducted more than 15 years ago. “We’ve started noticing how high our utility bills are.”

Buchanon said there are many companies involved in the energy-management business, and he hopes to receive bids from several of them.

“These companies will go through your bills, analyze equipment, utilization, lighting, everything that they can determine will be most helpful,” he said.

In other action Friday, the magistrates agreed to spend $17,700 for Scotty’s Contracting to pave the basketball courts at Phil Moore and Ephram White parks. Crossroads Paving was awarded the bid originally, but county Parks and Recreation Director Chris Kummer explained that Crossroads was unable to complete the work because of health issues.

The magistrates also approved spending $1,906.86 for work on the old jail to be done by Hale Construction and another $2,454.65 for repairs being done by Jim Johnson Nissan-Pontiac to the Basil Griffin Park manager’s truck.