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COUNTY OWNED SITES: There are several County owned sites suitable for potential <br />tower site development and collocation of wireless facilities to address communication needs <br />for various County departments and provide necessary coverage for rural residents who live in <br />areas with little to no existing broadband service. <br />Maps, contained within Attachment One, detail the under- and un-served portions of rural <br />Orange County. These maps, prepared by the North Carolina Broadband Service Inventory <br />and developed for Orange County and the State of North Carolina by Connect Nation in June of <br />2009, show that Orange County may be eligible for the BIP and BTIP funding programs. You <br />will note that there is an area, most notably along the Alamance/Caswell County border, that is <br />currently un-served. The blue area, depicted on one of the maps, are areas of the County <br />where wireless and broadband may be available but service is not guaranteed (i.e. under- <br />served). <br />The mapped coverage areas have been questioned and the definition of what constitutes an <br />underserved area is still under review. There is a website, maintained by Connect North <br />Carolina, with more information on this topic at www.connectnorthcarolina.org. <br />PROPOSAL: Staff is suggesting the following process that would allow the County to <br />potentially take advantage of funding opportunities detailed within the aforementioned grant <br />programs: <br />A. The BOCC determines that the identified public sites are suitable for possible location <br />of telecommunication facilities and/or collocation, <br />B. The BOCC formally adds these various sites to the Master Telecommunication Plan <br />(MTP) designating them as suitable sites for telecommunication development, <br />C. The BOCC authorizes staff to apply for ARRA grants in the next cycle, and <br />D. The BOCC encourages staff to engage in negotiations with a .`partner' for this process <br />with the understanding that any contract resulting from this process returning to the <br />BOCC for approval. <br />The County has sent out a Request for Proposals (RFP) to telecommunication organizations <br />and groups for the purpose of soliciting interest in forming public/private partnerships to create a <br />telecommunication network for the under- and un-served portions of rural Orange County. This <br />program could be partially funded through the ARRA grant programs. Consultant selection for <br />this partnership is on-going at this time. Staff has also initiated contact with the Triangle J COG, <br />specifically with Mr. Bob Sepe who is serving as a consultant with the COG on <br />telecommunication issues, who will be asked to assist staff with this process. <br />As part of this process there needs to be formal recognition and pre-enrollment of these public <br />sites into the MTP and a concomitant decision indicating that a proposed wireless facility <br />location would be a public necessity to the County. A resolution has been created <br />(Attachment Three) identifying specific County owned lands that could be utilized for this <br />purpose. <br />This will allow the County to begin discussions of the aforementioned public/private <br />partnerships to extend wireless service to the under- and un-served areas of the County and to <br />