Evening News and Tribune

Jeffersonville agrees to free Wi-Fi

Hotspot will cover Spring Street between Warder Park and River Stage

By DAVID A. MANN
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JEFFERSONVILLE — Boot up your Blackberry, activate your iPad and fire up that five-year-old Dell of yours: There’s soon to be free Wi-Fi downtown.

The network is supposed to be up and running in about 60 to 90 days, said Dave Shahroudi, account manager with New Albany-based Boice.net. The company will design, configure and monitor the system.

It's being paid for by a number of city agencies. The Jeffersonville Redevelopment Commission approved $73,864 to cover start up costs during a Wednesday night meeting. That approval was the final OK needed to get the project started.

On Tuesday night the Jeffersonville City Council voted to fund the annual cost – approving a total of $50,400 split up over three years. Jeffersonville Urban Enterprise Association also anteed up $25,020 to cover maintenance costs.

The hotspot will generally cover Spring Street between Warder Park and RiverStage. The riverfront and what’s called Restaurant Row on Riverside Drive will also be covered, though there might be a dead spot between the two areas.

“We see this as a tool in the whole scheme of getting companies to look at the city of Jeffersonville,” said Clarence Hulse, economic development director for the city.

“You won’t be guinea pigs on this project,” said Shahroudi, noting that Seattle, Austin, Tex. and Louisville are among cities with free public Wi-Fi.

He said the main benefit is that it supports small businesses, saying that commerce has increased as a result of such hot spots in other cities.

Downtown residents will also benefit by being able to log on from their homes. And the city’s website will see an increase in hits thanks to a hyperlink to it.

Initially, there will be seven access points — dictionary-sized boxes — mounted atop buildings and on utility poles in the area.

“They work together as a part of a mesh system to give you full coverage,” Shahroudi said.

Commission member Jamie Lake said the city should definitely consider an access point in Warder Park.

Shahroudi said that would likely cost an additional $8,000 but noted that the system is being built with scalability in mind, meaning that if it wants to add onto it, it can do so.

Commission member Derick Spence said the nearby Jeffersonville Township Public Library branch should be contacted as a potential partner if access could be extended there.

Business owners contacted about the project said they were excited about it. Perkfection owner Carol Vissing said her coffee shop already offers Wi-Fi to its customers but having the city pay for it will save her between $50 and $75 per month.

“[I’m] just very grateful that the city is helping out local business owners,” she said.

She notes that many walks of life use the Wi-Fi there on a regular basis. Students use it for homework, attorneys prepare for court cases early in the morning, she said, “and people who just want to put their feet up and enjoy some coffee.”

Linda Williams, owner of the Old Bridge Inn on Chestnut Street, said many want Wi-Fi while on the road.

“That is such ‘now’ thinking for our city,” she said when told about the project. “This is something all traveling people want. They want to be connected to home, to work, to here.”

Boice.net officials are still negotiating with internet service providers on the project. A meeting is set for Friday to develop a scope of work and the hotspot should be done by the end of the year.

“It’ll be a Christmas gift to the community,” Shahroudi said. “Light up Spring Street with more than just Christmas lights.”

In other business:

• The commission approved tax abatements for Sphere One Inc. The company is considering locating a facility — which will process industrial silicates for use in a variety of applications such as adhesives, coatings, cultured marble, epoxy, sealants and more — on Port Road in Jeffersonville.

Whether or not the company builds here is contingent on the Jeffersonville City Council approving the  abatement and it'll have to decide to accept an incentives package by the State of Indiana.

The company will expand and improve an existing facility at the site, which will include a total capital investment of about $5.7 million in real estate improvements, new machinery, and other enhancements. Sphere One is planning to add 25 to 50 new full-time positions through 2013 with a projected hourly wage of $14.

"We are extremely pleased Sphere One is considering the Port of Indiana - Jeffersonville as the location for their expansion," Mayor Tom Galligan said in a press release. “This is not only a victory in business attraction for the City of Jeffersonville; it is an opportunity to fill a vacant building with commerce and jobs."

Sphere One's President John R. Kish said he appreciates all of the help and support from the community.

“This help and support is essential in our consideration to relocate our silicate operations to this area of Indiana."

The abatements and incentives package is expected to be finalized in the next 15 days, he said.

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