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1 <br />1 <br />Attachment 3 <br />2 <br />3 <br />DRAFT MINUTES <br />4 <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />5 <br />SPECIAL MEETING <br />6 <br />March 6, 2015 <br />7 <br />2:00 P.M. <br />8 <br />9 <br />The Orange County Board of Commissioners met with State elected officialsfor a <br />10 <br />discussion on Rural Internet Accesson Friday, March 6, 2015at 2:00 p.m. at the West Campus <br />11 <br />Office,inHillsborough, N.C. <br />12 <br />13 <br />COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: <br />Chair Earl McKee and CommissionersBarry Jacobs, <br />14 <br />Renee Price and Penny Rich <br />15 <br />COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: <br />Commissioners Mia Burroughs, Mark Dorosin and <br />16 <br />Bernadette Pelissier <br />17 <br />COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: <br />John Roberts <br />18 <br />COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: <br />County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, CIO Jim Northrupand <br />19 <br />Deputy Clerk to the Board David Hunt (All other staff members will be identified appropriately <br />20 <br />below) <br />21 <br />OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALSPRESENT: <br />Representative Graig Meyer, Representative Verla <br />22 <br />Insko, Senator Valerie Foushee <br />23 <br />STATE STAFF: <br />Keith E. Conover(Technical Analyst, Office of Digital Infrastructure –OITS) <br />24 <br />25 <br />(Around a dozen members of the public also attended the meeting.) <br />26 <br />27 <br />Chair McKee called the meeting to order at 2:03 p.m. <br />28 <br />29 <br />Chair McKee asked for short introductions of all present, including the members of the public. <br />30 <br />Introductions followed. <br />31 <br />32 <br />County Manager Bonnie Hammersley gave a brief descriptionabout the history of requests for <br />33 <br />improved Internet access by rural residents. <br />34 <br />35 <br />Jim Northrup provided additional technical details on actions taken to date by Orange County, <br />36 <br />including establishing pre-approved tower sites. He also referenced limitations due to State and <br />37 <br />Federal regulations. <br />38 <br />39 <br />Representative Insko emphasized the correlation of the availability of network access and <br />40 <br />economic development. <br />41 <br />42 <br />Senator Foushee said a huge amount of attention has recently been placed onInternet access <br />43 <br />in the rural areas. <br />44 <br />45 <br />Keith Conover with the Office of Digital Infrastructure (with the State of North Carolina) saidthe <br />46 <br />County could help with showing a potential for return on investment for smaller <br />47 <br />telecommunications companies who may be interested in filling the gap left by major service <br />48 <br />providers such as Time Warner Cable andAT&T. Some counties have created broadband <br />49 <br />committees to help guide additional coverage options. <br />50 <br />51 <br />Jim Northrup saidthere are already local meetingsin progressto identify potential customers. <br />52 <br />53 <br />CommissionerJacobs said that there was a difference between providing service and providing <br />54 <br />adequate service. <br /> <br />