Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Digital Infrastructure Broadband topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Broadband contractor change delays eastern-county project, board told
Summary
Mount Rogers Planning District’s broadband project for the county has been passed to Citizens Broadband (Citizens Co-op), which the board was told may face the same deadlines; the transfer could cause delays and the county raised concerns about past performance.
County officials told the Board of Supervisors on Aug. 12 that the broadband project for the eastern part of the county has been transferred from the Mount Rogers Planning District to Citizens Broadband (referred to as Citizens Co-op) after the planning district concluded it could not complete the work.
A board member said the change was unexpected and expressed displeasure, noting previous concerns about the performance of the original contractor. Officials said Citizens Broadband has applied to take over the work and that the county has been told Citizens would likely be held to the same DHCD deadlines. At the time of the meeting, staff had not received confirmation that Citizens’ paperwork had been approved by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development; as a result the project faces potential delay and risk because federal funding connected to the project has an extension deadline in 2026.
County officials said they had raised concerns directly with the contractor and that county staff expected follow-up. No formal county action was taken at the meeting; officials said they would seek updates from the regional entities and DHCD and report back to the board.
