Hello and happy New Year! Can you believe that it has been nearly 6 months since IMAGINE Berks was launched? We’ve been working hard on the implementation of Year 1 goals and have a number of updates to share.
One of the biggest updates is the allocation of $5 Million to the IMAGINE Berks Infrastructure Fund. With our partner, the Berks County Industrial Development Authority, (BerksIDA), the specific program requirements will be discussed in 2023 and the fund will launch in 2024. With the completion of the Broadband study – which was still underway when the IMAGINE Berks plan was adopted, we identified the opportunity to support broadband infrastructure. The County allocated $5.7 Million to implement the results of the Broadband Feasibility Study in addition to another $600,000 for Digital Literacy Programming and support. With the addition of these two allocations, the total amount of implementation dollars has eclipsed $20 Million.
As we look ahead to what 2023 has in store, we will be reporting out to the Berks County Commissioners on February 28th, 2023 at 9:30 AM during the Berks County Operations Meeting. We welcome you to attend virtually or in-person. The update will also be shared via newsletter.