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.
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.
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