Mineola is moving ahead with a partnership with Peoples Telephone to bring fiber-optic internet service to the entire community.

The Mineola Economic Development Corporation voted Thursday to spend $460,000 on the project over the next four years.

The city council followed suit on Monday for a matching amount for a total of $920,000.

Each entity will pay $115,000 per year as a total 25% share of the estimated $3.8 million project.

That estimate is the amount of the actual installation (labor and materials) and does not include any of Peoples’ operational costs, said Jason Slagle, chief business development officer.

The company is setting a target of converting 30% of the 1,925 available customers.

New customers will not have any installations costs, and Slagle said the pricing will be competitive.

The project will be installed in six phases around the city over an estimated 18-month period.

Slagle said the company already has the framework in place to reach the entire city and has already completed the design work on how the project will proceed.

He detailed the steps of installing fiber-optic lines for a joint meeting of the MEDC and city council last Thursday.

It will be a catalyst for economic growth and will last for decades, Slagle said.

“It’s a big endeavor,” he said, “It will set up the city for decades to come from a technology standpoint.”

The MEDC approved the plan last Thursday and the council did the same on Monday.

Slagle said in addition to bringing a new competitor to town, the project will “future-proof” technology for Mineola.

The council approved three street closures for upcoming events, one a benefit for a local restaurateur.

Georgianna Steward, known as Gigi, was involved in a serious traffic crash on March 8, and friends and fellow Mineola downtown merchants are rallying to assist the Stewards with their medical expenses but also to try to keep their business going, Dizzy Daqs on W. Broad St. It has been shuttered since the wreck.

Holly Riley requested closing Commerce St. from the gazebo at S. Johnson to Line St. on Saturday, April 20 for the event, with plans for music, silent auction, beer garden, jelly ball obstacle course and more.

Riley said it will be a family-friendly event.

Also approved was a Mineola Summer Bash on Saturday, June 15 put on by Texan Hall by Jorgie’s (formerly The Line).

The event was held last year at the Mineola Country Club, but the club is under reconstruction following a fire last August.

It will include a car/motorcycle show, corn hole tournament and bands. Proceeds will benefit the They Got Your 6 Foundation benefiting veterans and first responders.

The chamber of commerce also received approval for street closures downtown on May 3 and 4 for the annual May Fiesta.

The council approved $128,719 in repairs to the water well of U.S. Hwy. 80 West.

New software for a variety of city services was approved at $244,889. The recurring annual operating costs will be $72,795 with Tyler Technologies.

The current software will no longer be serviced after 2026.

The council approved a special use permit to locate a manufactured home at 609 Wells St.

Criteria, guidelines and locations for the city’s tax abatement reinvestment zones were updated.

Zones must be approved every 10 years while the criteri are updated every two years.