Herron Island Broadband Project Hearing Fills a Meeting Room

We factored in both environmental and fiscal elements in working with the county to develop a path that is financially feasible and has as limited an environmental impact as possible.”

Kevin Stamey, Astound VP of Operations

The Key Peninsula Advisory Commission met July 24 to review a critical step to bring high-speed broadband internet service to Herron Island. Forty people, including nine Herron Island residents and seven representatives from Astound and Pierce County, filled the meeting room at the Key Center fire station to offer public testimony.

The July hearing regarded permits for exploratory drilling to assess proposed sites for two towers, each supporting a radio dish and antenna. The dishes would provide point-to-point transmission of a microwave signal from the mainland to the island, which would then be carried to homes via fiber optic cable.

Astound finalized a partnership for this project with Pierce County in September 2024. Funding is from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act and must be completed by the end of 2026 (“Broadband Update: Comcast Connects Customers in KP North,” March 2025).

Kelsey Bean, associate planner for Pierce County Planning and Public Works, reviewed the plans. The commission could not make a formal recommendation because a quorum of KPAC commissioners was not present. Bean said at the meeting that she would take all public comments into consideration and move forward with a decision on the permit.

Upon further review, it was determined that a second KPAC meeting must be held to move forward with the permitting decision, said Jenny Burger, PPW public information specialist.

The site of the mainland tower is located in the public right-of-way on Isted Road NW. The Herron Island tower site is at the park on the north end of the island.

Current plans are for two 40-foot towers on an elevated platform about 12-by-12 feet. A battery will provide backup power. “As with many American-developed infrastructure projects, like roads, water and sewer, electricity, some people will be against any advancement by saying, ‘Not in my back yard,’” said Herron Island Board President Ken Grant. “However, that hasn’t stopped progress in the past and shouldn’t stop it now. All Americans deserve the choice to have access to high-speed internet.”

Grant said there are about 350 parcels on the island. About 150 residents are full-time, with an equal number of part-timers. He said internet access is increasingly important for school, work, and healthcare. Many students live on the island. Trees and topography make cellular and satellite access unreliable, and even for those who can afford satellite, the wait times for installation are long.

“This project is exactly (what) these grants are meant to fund; bringing infrastructure to rural communities where there might not otherwise be a business case,” said Herron Island Manager Kimberly Watts. “There is broad enthusiasm with optimism for this opportunity. It would be transformative.”

Residents from the mainland who spoke were unanimously opposed to the tower on the mainland. Although the county followed its protocol to post a sign about the permit near the site and to inform those in proximity to the towers by mail, many felt blindsided and learned about the July 24 meeting just days before it took place.

Gabriel Hinman, an attorney hired by several homeowners, said that the exact location of the mainland tower was ambiguous and that alternatives to transmission towers should be considered. He questioned the county’s position that the installation of the towers would be exempt from the Washington State Environmental Policy Act.

Several mainlanders said their internet access is no better for them than it is on Herron Island. They were concerned about the visual impact, stability of the tower during high winds and king tides, the effects on wildlife, and possible health issues.

“People made a decision to move to Herron Island to be removed from all the convenient stuff,” said Brian Nicholson, who owns nearby property. “I’m sorry. I get it. The internet is nice. But none of us who live on the KP have great internet.”

Chris Mason, a local resident, asked that everyone involved in the project visit the site to get a sense of the impact. “It is a beautiful slice of paradise,” he said.

Many asked about alternative sites for the mainland tower. Others wondered if a line could be laid underwater. Some noted that they would be impacted by the tower but would see no benefit; they wondered if the project could bring improved internet to the mainland area. Those who owned adjacent property wondered how close the towers could be to property lines.

Both county and Astound representatives had at least partial responses to the concerns at the time of the meeting. The 40-foot height should not affect ospreys or migratory birds, and there are no endangered species at either site. Laying an underground cable would be prohibitively expensive. The final plans will take flooding risk into account. The current project is limited to Herron Island and cannot be expanded to the mainland, but Astound would be open to considering other projects.

Following the meeting, KP News contacted Astound for clarification about the decision to use the microwave tower technology and about how the sites were selected.

“We factored in both environmental and fiscal elements in working with the county to develop a path that is financially feasible and has as limited an environmental impact as possible,” said Astound Broadband Washington vice president of operations Kevin Stamey.

Installing an underwater cable would be much more expensive, but Stamey said the required environmental impact studies would likely have taken more than two years, and the permit could still have been denied.

There were several sites they considered for the towers. “The type of link is highly directional and requires precise alignment and a completely unobstructed line of sight between both ends,” Stamey said. “That requirement drove the site selection process.”