Douglas County Commissioners on Monday approved an upgrade to computer fiber network lines to several satellite offices and the fairgrounds.

County leaders wanted to give the public works shop and the South Lawrence satellite office, 2108 W. 27th St., faster access to the county’s data stored downtown to help staff members. The county also wants to use the Dreher Building at the Douglas County Fairgrounds as a backup or disaster recovery site, so the site needs more network connectivity.

Commissioners Bob Johnson and Charles Jones agreed to a five-year agreement with Sunflower Broadband – which is owned by the same parent company as the Journal-World – to do the upgrade. The bid was $2,000 for installation and a $33,144 annual increase to what the county already pays for line costs. AT&T submitted a bid for $68,425 for installation and an annual $56,179 increase in line costs, according to a staff memo.

Funds were available in the 2009 budget to cover the expense. Commissioner Jere McElhaney was not at the meeting.