PRAIRIE CITY — It’s hard to miss the newest location of Grant County CyberMill, with its intense lemon yellow fascia and modern logos situated among the sun-bleached wooden facades and wagon wheels that line Front Street in Prairie City. In a storefront that has been vacant for several years, there is now fresh paint, a gaggle of brand new computers and the makings of a very cozy meeting space.

The CyberMill will officially open to the public on Monday, Oct. 17, with an extended open house, running Monday and Tuesday from 4-7 p.m. Residents and curious passers-by can stop by 119 Front St. to see the facilities, meet the board members, enjoy food and drink from the neighboring El Cocinero restaurant, and sign up to become a member.

This will be the second location for the Grant County CyberMill project, an independent nonprofit established to provide computer access, high-speed internet, a welcoming public meeting space and a sense of community in Grant County. The first CyberMill opened in Seneca in November of last year, and there are plans for additional sites around the county. But for now all the focus is on getting this place in shape to open the doors.

Membership means you will get a keypad code that allows access to the space from 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., use of the public computers and meeting space, plus no-cost printing of up to 10 pages each month and the ability to sign up to use the meeting and teleconference room. All of this is free of charge and open to all.

On Monday, Oct. 10, board member Didgette McCracken was busy piecing together a coffee table between applying coats of paint on the conference room door. One week out from the grand opening and there were tools and paint cans scattered around the space, staged in empty boxes that recently carried flat-pack furniture. The photo mural and keypad should be coming by Wednesday, Oct. 12. The copier was somewhere, hopefully, in transit.

The CyberMill is an independent nonprofit, with a board of four volunteer members plus two part-time staff: a “technology guru” to keep all the machines up and running, and a local cleaning person to look after the space.

By keeping the space self-service, the budget is kept lean, down basically to the rent, utilities and a bit to cover upkeep on the computers. The total operating budget for the year is anticipated to be close to $20,000, although some expenses such as heating are unknowable until they’ve seen what it takes in a year of real-world operation.

The Blue Mountain Masonic Lodge has committed to funding the first year at the Prairie City location, and a combination of grants including funds from the city of Prairie City, the Prairie City School District, the Roundhouse Foundation, the Ford Family Foundation and Northwest Farm Credit Services covered the startup costs. The Seneca location already has a year’s operating budget in reserve.

The keypad entry allows the board to know who is using the space and how it is being used. “We know all those demographics, which is phenomenal for us, because that helps us tell our story,” McCracken explained. The goal is to keep the membership free by using those demographics to demonstrate the positive impact the project has on the local economy and residents, hopefully turning that into ongoing financial support from the community.

Traveling workers can stay connected with home; local residents without access to broadband can schedule distant medical visits with specialists; local veterans groups can hold meetings. McCracken said the board has been surprised by all the ways the Seneca space has been utilized, and that they are excited to see how it plays out in Prairie City.

“We knew we needed to be flexible. We needed to watch and learn,” said McCracken. “So you learn about things as simple as (having) a doormat and a coat rack. You learn about things as simple as rugs because rugs absorb sound. You learn about things as simple as a recycle bin for cans and (having an) outdoor garbage can and a picnic table. These are all things we did after we saw that use and and took people’s input.”

Observing, listening and adapting are a design philosophy of the CyberMill project. For example, after seeing how many members of the Seneca location were using the teleconference room to access distant medical and counseling appointments, the board went back and added more robust soundproofing to the room to ensure privacy. And that lesson carried forward to the design of the teleconference room in Prairie City.

McCracken explained some of the old-school outreach efforts that are necessary when specifically trying to reach people without internet access. “We try to get the word out as best we can, whether it’s locally at a minimart or on the radio station,” she said. “We put fliers at bed and breakfasts and hotels and at the Seneca and Prairie City RV parks.

“I’ve watched people in Seneca that don’t know each other come into the CyberMill,” McCracken added. “One is maybe on a stand-alone computer and one of them in the corner on a laptop, and pretty soon you’ll notice they’re all conversing and just getting to know each other. That piece of community we’re providing is something that’s difficult to measure but really rewarding to watch.”