2020-01-21 - Wireless Authority Meeting Notes

by Neil Richard

The Wireless Authority began their last meeting at 6:29pm.

There were no amendments to the Agenda.

There was no Public Comment.

Jeff Stonehill had no report.

Jeff Bueche began to give his Supervisor's report before once again realizing that meeting had not started yet.

Annie Cupka, Richard Granger, and Cathy Binder all had no report.

The County Attorney pro tempore, Eric Gregory, had no report however he was next on the Agenda and gave the Board a brief overview of the request from both the Wireless Authority and the Board of Supervisors to dissolve the Wireless Authority. Due to that request, he had drafted dissolution paperwork that would result in the Wireless Authority disbanding and all of the remaining funds, almost $40,000, to revert to the County's General Fund. Gregory said the next step after both groups approved of the measure was that he and Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, would file the dissolution paperwork with the state and, when approved by the state, the process would conclude.

Bueche asked about any remaining assets and Gregory said the County had already taken over the antiquated equipment some time ago.

With that, the Board approved of the dissolution and the meeting adjourned at 6:34pm.

Meeting Attendees:
Cathy Binder (Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Annie Cupka (Vice Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Stonehill (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)

Meeting Agenda

Next Meeting:
This was the last Wireless Authority meeting.

Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Wireless Authority Meeting.

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2020-01-07 - Wireless Authority Meeting Notes

by Neil Richard

The King George County Wireless Authority Board of Directors began their first meeting of 2020 at 6:54pm.

In a brief ten minutes, the Board, comprised of the Board of Supervisors, voted to have Cathy Binder serve as Chair, to have Annie Cupka serve as Vice Chair, and to have Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, serve as the Board's Secretary and Treasurer. They also adopted a meeting calendar to meet quarterly, the norm for this Board, but would later amend that based on Eric Gregory's advice. Gregory, the County Attorney pro tempore, advised the Board that if they wish to continue to work towards dissolving the Board, the documents necessary should be ready by the next January meeting of the Supervisors and therefore should convene a Wireless Authority meeting then. The Board concurred and made the necessary change.

2020 Board of Supervisors, Service Authority, and Wireless Authority Meeting Dates

Listed below are the regular meeting dates for the King George County Board of Supervisors and Service Authority Board of Directors for the remainder of 2020. Regular Service Authority meetings will be held at 5:30 p.m., and Board of Supervisors meetings will begin at approximately 6:30 p.m. All meetings will be held in the Board Room of the Revercomb Building, 10459 Courthouse Drive, King George, VA 22485, unless otherwise advertised. [EDITOR'S NOTE: The biggest change from the 2019 calendar is the start time for each meeting and the addition of the July 14, 2020 meeting.]

2019-10-01 - Wireless Authority Meeting Notes

by Neil Richard

The Wireless Authority Board of Directors held their quarterly meeting on October 1, 2019. They opened their meeting at 7:48pm.

There were no amendments to the Agenda.

There was no Public Comment.

John Jenkins thanked everyone for coming out to speak and then realized it was the Wireless Authority meeting. He then said he had no report.

Richard Granger and Cathy Binder had no report.

Ruby Brabo asked for consensus to have Eric Gregory, County Attorney, look at dissolving the Wireless Authority and rolling everything into the responsibility of the Board of Supervisors. Brabo's colleagues agreed and Gregory said he could do that. Bueche added that he didn't see why there's a Board that meets but does nothing.

The was no Consent Agenda.

The meeting adjourned at 7:50pm.

2019-06-18 - Wireless Authority Meeting Notes

by Neil Richard

The Wireless Authority Board of Directors opened their quarterly meeting at 8:19pm.

There were no amendments to the Agenda.

There was no Public Comment.

John Jenkins, Richard Granger, and Cathy Binder had no report.

Ruby Brabo said that since their last meeting in April,  KGI Communications won the FCC auction for the "white space" frequency and was moving forward.

Jeff Bueche reported that at a previous Supervisor meeting, he mentioned a grant process that closed in May and would like to entertain the idea of a Request For Proposal (RFP) for a state grant that closes in September instead of December. He wasn't sure if the Supervisors should handle that action or the Wireless Board. Brabo asked if the grant was something that required an RFP and Neiman Young, County Administrator, said yes and that staff was working on an RFP.

The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.

There was no Closed Session.

The meeting adjourned at 8:22pm.

Meeting Attendees:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)

Meeting Agenda

Next Meeting:
The Wireless Authority will next meet on October 1, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.

Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Wireless Authority Meeting.

2019-04-02 - Wireless Authority Meeting Notes

by Neil Richard

The Wireless Authority opened their quarterly meeting at 8:07pm.

There were no amendments to the Agenda.

There was no Public Comment.

John Jenkins and Richard Granger had no report.

Cathy Binder said she has struggled with wireless issues and understands the pain experienced by residents. She said with her job and her business, she needs that connection to put everything online.

Ruby Brabo shared an update that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had teams of employees dedicated to helping service providers but only one employee to help with rural areas in the entire country. She said that because of this staffing shortfall, the local internet provider, KGI Communications, has been waiting nine months since winning the auction for the white space to provide services. She also asked that residents download and use the TestIT app to help provide a better source of data on internet speeds.

Jeff Bueche had no report.

The was no Consent Agenda.

The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.

The County Administrator, Dr. Neiman Young, had no report.

The meeting adjourned at 8:12pm.


Meeting Attendees:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)

Meeting Agenda

Next Meeting:
The Wireless Authority will next meet on June 18, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.

Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Wireless Authority Meeting.

2019-01-09 - Meeting Schedules Public Notice

2018-11-13 - Wireless Authority Meeting Notes

by Neil Richard

The King George Wireless Authority held their quarterly meeting on November 13th. It began at 6:59pm and adjourned two minutes later.

Within that short time, there were no amendments to the Agenda, no Public Comment, and no report from the County Attorney, Eric Gregory. The only Supervisor to give a report was Ruby Brabo who stated that on November 5th she attended an event to mark the deployment of LTE service by KGI Communications.

Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, also gave the Board an update on the funds available, $39,269, as well as the presence of equipment owned by Virginia Broadband that is in storage. Dr. Young said the equipment would eventually be disposed of due to lack of contact from Virginia Broadband. Brabo asked that the Board could issue a final notice with a deadline before disposal. Dr. Young agreed.

With that, the meeting adjourned at 7:01pm.

Meeting Attendees:

John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)

Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)

Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)

Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)

Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)

Neiman Young (County Administrator)

Eric Gregory (County Attorney)

Meeting Agenda

Next Meeting:

The Wireless Authority will next meet on January 8, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.

Previous Meeting:

Read about the previous Wireless Authority Meeting.

2018-04-03 - Wireless Authority Meeting Notes

The second quarterly meeting of the Wireless Authority met on April 3, 2018. The meeting began at 8:27pm.

There was no public comment.

John Jenkins, Jeff Bueche, Cathy Binder, and Richard Granger had nothing to report.

Ruby Brabo had nothing to report but did ask the County Administrator, Neiman Young, for an update on the Widos and KGI Communications and their plan to lease space from the Service Authority. Dr. Young stated that the County was waiting for KGI to return the contract after they consulted their legal counsel. He also said he has asked Ryan Gandy, Director of Economic Development, to reach out to them for an update.

With Eric Gregory, County Attorney, being absent, his proxy had nothing to report.

Ryan Gandy then presented his findings from the Broadband Survey. He said participation was fantastic and a late surge from high school students helped. Gandy said that with the help of Dee Strauss and the DECA students at the high school, participation jumped six percent in the final two weeks. He said that student participation was important as it showed the needs of those still in school, especially their ability to do homework. He said based on almost 9,000 households in the County, just over 2,000 responded with many of them having students or a home-based business. Gandy said the home-based business reflects a change in the market that businesses are not just store-fronts anymore and that there's a greater need to have high speed internet at homes now.

Gandy also shared data regarding in-commuters (those living outside of King George and working in King George) and out-commuters (those living in King George and working outside of King George). He said there was a net of about 3,000 that worked outside of King George and said that broadband coverage could help reduce this number. He also said there are currently no plans to expand or improve DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) coverage in the County. Brabo interrupted briefly and said that if a homeowner had DSL and sold their house, the buyer was no longer allowed to connect to DSL. In other words, she said, "it truly is going away."

Gandy continued by sharing the next steps in the process by stating the Board should adopt goals for broadband based on local needs. He also said the County's role should be defined in regards to any Public Private Partnership (P3) for future development. He said that there is also a chance to develop incentives for developers and broadband providers and that some policy changes may be necessary.

Granger asked if Gandy wanted a work session to help settle the details and Gandy said yes. Brabo asked the County Attorney's proxy if incentives should be discussed by the Board of Supervisors or the Wireless Authority and he stated the Supervisors should be the ones making the decision.

With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:42pm.

Meeting Attendees:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
unnamed (proxy for County Attorney)

Absent:
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)

Meeting Agenda

Next Meeting:
The Wireless Authority will next meet on August 7, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.

Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Wireless Authority Meeting.

Public Notices - Week of January 15, 2018

The following are Public Notices issued by King George County.

2018-01-09 - Wireless Authority Meeting Notes

As with the Service Authority meeting that just adjourned, the Wireless Authority Board of Directors had to wait for their Board to be appointed by the Board of Supervisors before opening their meeting at 7:03pm, on the heels of the just adjourned Service Authority Board meeting.

This meeting was the shortest of the night ending just four minutes after it opened. In that span of time, Richard Granger was chosen as Chairman, Jeff Bueche was chosen as Vice-Chair, and the Secretary/Treasurer will be Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator.

The meeting calendar would be just four times a year with the next meeting being April 3 followed by meetings in August and November. The Bylaws were adopted and there was no public comment. None of the Board of Directors had any updates, there was no Consent Agenda, and the County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.

At 7:07pm, the meeting adjourned.

Meeting Attendees:
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)

Absent:

Meeting Agenda

Next Meeting:
The Wireless Authority will next meet on April 3, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.

Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Wireless Authority Meeting.