Broadband authority vets candidates, plans to recommend two appointments to supervisors

Lancaster County Broadband Authority members reviewed applications for open board seats Tuesday and agreed on three candidates to prioritize for appointment by the Board of Supervisors, with plans to submit at least two names for immediate appointment and keep a third on a short list.

Why it matters: The authority currently has difficulty achieving an in-person quorum and operating with only three active members; adding vetted directors would restore a five-member board and give the authority more capacity to review BEAD outcomes and manage local broadband planning.

The authority discussed about a dozen applicants and focused on five finalists. Members described the qualities they were seeking — a mix of technical knowledge, planning experience and financial acumen — and briefly reviewed resumes during the public meeting. The candidates the group elevated were: Russell Fleischer (health-care and telemedicine background), Carolyn Puglisi Barker (planning and IT planning experience), and David Larrabee (finance/portfolio management). The authority agreed to ask the Board of Supervisors to appoint two members promptly so new members could be sworn in and attend the authority’s February meeting; the third candidate will be listed as a next available appointment.

The board reviewed the statutory limits on authority board size and agreed to leave the authority’s bylaws at five members for now. During the meeting a board member read a state statute provision saying an authority board may contain five or seven members or, at the option of the governing board, a number equal to the board of supervisors; members said a change to seven would require supervisor approval and likely articles-of-incorporation amendments.

Members discussed logistics including meeting dates (to ensure new members can attend) and the need to collect names, addresses and contact information to forward to the supervisors for appointment. The authority also discussed alternate ways to reduce quorum problems in the near term, including asking some members to be available by phone while ensuring at least three are physically present.

Administrative actions recorded during the meeting included approval of the August minutes and later adjournment. The authority’s chair asked staff to provide candidate contact information and to coordinate dates for interviews or swearing-in in February.

Ending: The authority said it will forward the recommended names, contact information and resumes to the Board of Supervisors for formal appointment and will return to any further vetting or replacement decisions after supervisors act.