Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Broadband topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Jackson County approves letters of support for broadband grant applicants, adds Brightspeed after debate
Summary
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners voted 6-3 to authorize letters of support to the state for multiple broadband grant applicants and to add Brightspeed to the list after a last-minute request and a failed attempt to table the decision.
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners voted 6-3 on Tuesday to authorize letters of support to the state for several broadband grant applicants, including Comcast, MEC, 123net, Frontier, DMCI and Brightspeed.
Vice Chairman Corey Kennedy moved to add Brightspeed to the list of providers for which the board would send letters of support, saying the change was intended to be fair to all applicants. The board then discussed whether to delay action so the broadband ad hoc committee could review Brightspeed’s proposal.
An unnamed county IT director told commissioners Brightspeed has “a presence in Jackson County” because it acquired the local CenturyLink business and that staff had no objection to including the company along with other applicants. Commissioner Bair asked that the matter be tabled until the ad hoc committee had time to evaluate Brightspeed’s plan. The request to table lacked support and failed; the main motion to authorize the letters with Brightspeed added then passed on a roll-call vote, 6-3.
Commissioners who voted yes were Commissioner Corey Kennedy; Commissioner Pulaski; Commissioner Willis; Commissioner Williams; Commissioner Walls; and Chairman Shotwell. Commissioners who voted no were Commissioner Duckham; Commissioner Snell; and Commissioner Bair. (Roll-call names were read aloud during the meeting.)
Commissioner Bair said the ad hoc committee had not received Brightspeed’s materials and questioned whether it was fair to add a company that committee members had not reviewed. Commissioner Kennedy and the IT director said Brightspeed’s local presence justified inclusion at this stage; commissioners opposed said they wanted the ad hoc committee’s review before the board provided letters of support.
The board’s letters are intended for the state MIHI office and, under the grant scoring rules described during the meeting, can affect applicants’ points when counties where proposed projects touch are asked to provide a supporting letter. Commissioners did not adopt any conditions on the letters, nor did the board direct staff to withhold letters pending further review.
The board’s authorization will allow staff to prepare and send the requested letters of support for the named applicants. No grant awards were made by the board at the meeting.
