Civil Municipal Magazine Aug 2023

106 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 8 friendly nature of its residents. “We cherish the history of agriculture and county fairs and the opportunities that are presented by that demographic, living spread out a little bit, but the opportunity to get together for some of these festivals,” Belding depicts. “Having said that, I think everybody realizes that the opportunity to communicate, through broadband installation and so forth, opens up the opportunity for other people to live here and experience the things that we value.” These technology advancements also have a significant impact on various industries, including healthcare. “We don’t want to be left behind as far as available technology, and the standard of living amenities that we are trying to put in. But we still want to maintain that valued small county, small community feeling,” he relays. This forward-thinking attitude has shown Greene County as a leader in rural broadband development, with the momentous goal of 100% gigabyte access by 2025. They have invested $30 million in fiber optic cable