| | | | | | | | Spotsylvania County
Board of Supervisors Agenda
Executive Summary |
| | | | | | | | Meeting Date:
| August 13, 2019 |
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| | | | | | | | Title:
| Request to Submit an Application to Partner with Comcast for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development's 2020 Virginia Telecommunication Initiative Grant |
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| | | | | | | | Agenda Title:
| Request to Submit an Application to Partner with Comcast for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development's 2020 Virginia Telecommunication Initiative Grant |
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| | | | | | | | Recommendation:
| Staff recommends that the Board of Supervisors approve a request to apply for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development's 2020 Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) grant. Spotsylvania County would like to enter into an agreement to partner with Comcast to provide last-mile broadband service to a designated unserved area in Spotsylvania County. Comcast is currently reviewing the Monrovia Road, Livingston District as a potential location. |
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| | | | | | | | Non-Staff Name and Title of Presenters:
| The Department of Information Services recommends that the Board of Supervisors approve a request to apply for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development's 2020 VATI grant. Spotsylvania County would like to enter into an agreement to partner with Comcast to provide last-mile broadband service to a designated unserved area in Spotsylvania County. |
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| | | | | | | | Summary:
| The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will be awarding a total of $19 million as part of its VATI program to eligible applicants to provide last-mile broadband services to unserved areas of the state. The goal of this state funded program is to build, utilize and capitalize on broadband telecommunications infrastructure for underserved, rural areas. Telecommunication infrastructure is essential to modern economic and community development and there are still areas in the county that do not have broadband internet access. To be eligible for the VATI program, the proposed area needs to be unserved which is defined as an area with speeds of 10 Megabits per second (Mbps) download and 1 Mbps upload or less and with less than 10 percent service overlap within the project area. Spotsylvania County would like to enter into an agreement to partner with Comcast to build, utilize and capitalize on broadband telecommunications infrastructure for underserved, rural areas. Comcast is currently reviewing the Monrovia Road, Livingston District as a potential location. The County is also currently looking at identifying other areas that qualify as underserved and have presented them to Comcast for their consideration. |
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| | | | | | | | Financial Impact:
| None at this time as this is a request to submit a grant application. However, the County will only provide in-kind services for this project if it is awarded. |
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| | | | | | | | Staff Contacts:
| Jane Reeve, Director, Information Services
Annette D' Alessandro, Grants Manager
Katy Da Silva, Administrative Assistant, Information Services |
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| | | | | | | | Additional Background/Other Considerations:
| N/A |
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| | | | | | | | Consequence of Denial/Inaction:
| Failure to apply for this grant opportunity will mean that the County will be unable to enter into an agreement to partner with Comcast to build, utilize and capitalize on broadband telecommunications infrastructure for underserved, rural areas that is offered through the VATI state funding program. The program would aid in the construction of continued last-mile broadband service to another unserved area in the County. |
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| | | | | | | | Talking Points:
| The Department of Information Services recommends that the Board of Supervisors approve a request to apply for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development's 2020 VATI grant. Spotsylvania County would like to enter into an agreement to partner with Comcast to provide last-mile broadband service to a designated unserved area in Spotsylvania County. |
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