Wyoming Business Council details steps for broadband subgrantees to secure first payments and meet reporting deadlines

Chad Bolley, broadband manager at the Wyoming Business Council, opened a recorded briefing for broadband subgrantees and introduced Mitch Herget, the meetings presenter, who walked attendees through the steps needed to reach Milestone One and begin receiving grant funds.

Mitch Herget said Milestone One is the project-plan deliverable that allows subgrantees to receive their initial payments. "That's how you get your first uh batch of money," he said, adding that Appendix B of the program guide contains the project-plan requirements and templates providers must use.

Why it matters: Milestone One establishes a shared, phased project timeline and the documentation the state needs to authorize disbursements. The state will perform a cursory completeness check on submissions, then meet with providers to align on details before routing packages to a review team.

What providers must prepare: Herget detailed a set of deliverables required for Milestone One, including an updated, phasing-aware location list that maps awarded broadband-serviceable locations to project phases; an EHP (environmental) questionnaire; preliminary project shapefiles showing routes and infrastructure; a permit-status summary identifying anticipated permitting authorities; and evidence-of-expense-tracking and match-obligation records. He said many deliverables are iterative and will be updated through design, construction and as-built phases.

On environmental review, Herget and Morgan (a staff member) urged providers to begin gathering environmental data and working with consultants as needed. "The sooner you get this to us the better," Herget said of the EHP questionnaire, noting the state must submit standardized information to the federal EHP portal and can help providers avoid 90-day rework cycles by validating submissions before they go to federal review. Morgan added the WBO will reshare an EHP guide and prepare a shorter summary for submitters.

Reporting and deadlines: The Office announced two reports are due July 14: a semiannual report that the state forwards to NTIA and a quarterly report for Wyoming Broadband Office project tracking. Morgan said the semiannual report requirement applies only to subgrantees with fully executed contracts. Attendees were told the first semiannual filings will likely be light because many contracts were signed recently.

Portal rollout and training: The state will use its grant-management portal (referred to at times in the briefing as Unigrant/UNIP and mentioned alongside Yuna/Amplifund) to collect milestone submissions and periodic reports. A live portal walkthrough is scheduled for June 29 at 9:00 a.m. Mountain time; speakers said the portal will be ready by that session and urged attendees to join. Presenters asked providers not to submit materials in the portal before the walkthrough, warning that early uploads may be rejected while the system is finalized.

Permitting and program risks: Herget stressed the importance of an accurate permit-status summary for NTIA reporting and to help the state coordinate with permitting entities (for example, ditch crossings, railroad permits and pole attachments). Early disclosure of permit needs is intended to reduce schedule risk and to create a record that the state and provider raised potential permitting obstacles well before construction.

Review and corrective process: Once providers submit milestone materials, the state will check for completeness and either route sufficiently complete packages to a review team or issue requests for curing (corrections) where documents are insufficient. Providers should expect a short alignment meeting after submission; occasional curing is part of standard review practice.

Next steps: The Wyoming Broadband Office will circulate the June 29 invitation and follow up with a replay and FAQ for questions not answered during the session. Chad Bolley encouraged providers to reach out to the WBO for technical assistance and office hours as environmental or permitting issues arise.

The meeting closed with thanks to providers for their work; presenters reiterated the June 29 portal walkthrough and the July 14 reporting deadlines as immediate next steps.