AGENDA DATE: 4/15/2020
TITLE:
Title
Albemarle Broadband Authority Quarterly Report
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Albemarle Broadband Authority Quarterly Report
ITEM TYPE: Consent Information Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Henry, Culp, Fritz
PRESENTER (S): Mike Culp, Bucky Walsh
LEGAL REVIEW: Not Required
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B Richardson
BACKGROUND: The Albemarle Broadband Authority (ABBA) was incorporated on August 21, 2017. This report is being provided as information on ABBA's work January through March 2020.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Infrastructure Investment: Prioritize, plan and invest in critical infrastructure that responds to past and future changes and improves the capacity to serve community needs. Educational Opportunities: Provide lifelong learning opportunities for all our citizens. Quality Government Operations: Ensure County government's ability to provide high quality service that achieves community priorities.
DISCUSSION: ABBA has held two public meetings in 2020. The ABBA agendas and meeting minutes are posted for public review on the County's website.
Beginning in January and through March 2020, ABBA collected broadband input from citizens throughout the County. The broadband input documented the areas of the County where broadband service is lacking. The broadband input became documentation included in a draft Request For Information (RFI) scheduled to be released either the last week of March or first week of April 2020.
An ABBA application for a Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) 2020 Grant was submitted in September 2019. CenturyLink partnered with ABBA to submit the application and in January; VATI offered ABBA and CenturyLink a grant award of $291,300. The application commits another $291,300 as ABBA "match", and with CenturyLink committing $1,359,400; results in a total project cost of $1,942,000. This VATI 2020 project will provide fiber broadband service options (1gigabit speeds) to 837 locations ...
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