The Board, sitting as trustees for Calhoun County Drainage, approved Utility Drainage Crossing Permit C-19U-2026 for Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association for installation of buried fiber optics 5 miles north of Lake City. Earlier in the meeting, the Board also approved Underground Construction Permit 6-2026 to Webster-Calhoun for telecommunications fiber installation, indicating ongoing private broadband build‑out across the county. These permits themselves are not county procurements, but they show active fiber deployment that may require coordination with county facilities, road crossings, and drainage infrastructure.Engineering and construction firms that support broadband builds, as well as equipment vendors, can see this as evidence of an active rural fiber expansion environment, potentially creating subcontracting or coordination work with Webster-Calhoun or future county‑led broadband initiatives.

The county’s role is regulatory via permits, but the fiber expansion could intersect with county facilities or future public broadband efforts.