Minutes 02-06-2018 - Laserfiche WebLink

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31 underserved areas in Orange County. This Request for Proposal was released in January of 2018. The intention is to find a vendor that can improve broadband speed and services in the rural areas of the county. • A larger initiative in terms of dollars, but at this time only tangentially related to broadband, is the County’s Fiber Project Phase 1. Currently, the County is partnering with the Town of Hillsborough in order to reduce costs for both parties. The County and Town are currently in the process of vendor section after successfully releasing an RFP in November of 2018. Phase 1 is currently funded in Fiscal Year 2017-18, and Phases 2 & 3 are planned in upcoming fiscal years. Once complete, this project will connect County buildings from Cedar Grove to Carrboro and have fiber running east-west along the Highway 70 corridor connecting from the Efland Cheeks Community Center to points close to the Durham County line. The excess dark fiber will be available to other organizations and individuals outside of Orange County Government for both broadband and economic development purposes. • Orange County Chief Information Officer (CIO) Jim Northrup has attended and presented at multiple community meetings. Most recently, Orange County IT presented at the Schley Grange along with Internet Service Providers and State representatives, including NC House Representative Graig Meyer. • Orange County Information Technologies has been acting as a clearinghouse for all resident broadband service issue concerns. Typically, the CIO responds to every Orange County resident email and call personally and tries to facilitate solutions between residents and ISPs while at the same time setting realistic expectations. Often this is simply a matter of connecting residents with the right person in the ISP’s organization and, after making introductions, checking back in to ensure that all parties are communicating effectively. Broadband Timeline of Relevant Events • June 2017 – $500k for broadband incentives approved in County budget • Late 2016 – County works with Representative Craig Meyer to set meeting with CenturyLink. This meeting paved the way for CenturyLink to provide budgetary numbers for improving broadband in its service area and those numbers were used as a base number for the FY 2017-18 $500,000 Broadband Incentive. • September - December 2016 – IT met with Federal Engineering and Emergency Services to discuss the positive impact proposed telecommunications towers may have on broadband services in rural Orange County. It was requested at that meeting that approximately 15’ of vertical strata be reserved for placement of 3rd party wireless broadband equipment on any new towers to be constructed by Orange County. Discussions also included how both the County’s telecommunication and fiber plans have synergies that may decrease long range costs and offer a more secure and reliable fiber connection to each proposed tower location. • July 2016 – Former Governor Pat McCrory released the NC broadband strategy report. No funding identified within this report for broadband improvements. • May 2016 – The County’s public network buildout was completed in downtown Hillsborough and all County-occupied buildings. • March 2016 – WiFi-to-Go pilot began via collaboration by IT and the County Library. • March 2016 – The State assisted Orange County with identifying vertical assets - understanding the location and availability of county-wide vertical assets is important to businesses that want to bring wireless internet services into Orange County. • December 2015 – An ISP meeting on State/County collaboration occurred.