Firefly seeks lease of Yancey Community Center site for fiber communications hut; board to advertise Dec. 11 and hold public hearing Jan. 15

Firefly has requested a lease of a portion of county-owned property near the Yancey Community Center to install a small fiber communications hut, authority staff told the Albemarle County Broadband Authority.

Staff described the proposed structure as a small, windowless enclosure with air conditioning, a generator, backup batteries and utility power to serve fiber equipment. Because the property is county-owned, the lease requires Board of Supervisors approval; staff said the board will consider an item to authorize advertisement on Dec. 11 and then hold a public hearing on Jan. 15 where members of the public may comment.

Staff said the site will likely require a site plan review through the county’s planning department, surveying and ground-level work including tree clearing and concrete pads. Authority members raised several technical and land-use concerns that staff said they will seek to answer before the January hearing: the exact size and location of the building, the size and makeup of the generator and fuel storage, and the design and siting of the battery energy storage system. Members noted that leases involving fuel tanks or large energy storage systems may trigger setback requirements or special exceptions that could require lease renegotiation.

Authority members also noted the Yancey Community Center itself had a recent unplanned Internet outage reported to Brightspeed, a point that members said made local service at the center important. Staff said the community center could be an early customer of the installed equipment and that lease terms could include service arrangements for the center, though no lease language was presented at the meeting.

The authority agreed it would be useful for broadband authority members to weigh in on the proposal but also noted the possibility of a conflict because some supervisors sit on both boards. Staff and members asked that Firefly and county staff provide site plans and details about generator and fuel storage sizing, battery system specifications, and exact siting so the authority can consider the proposal at its December meeting and prepare comments for the Board of Supervisors’ advertised hearing.

Next steps: the county executive will be asked to place two items on the Board of Supervisors calendar — authorization to advertise on Dec. 11 and the public hearing on Jan. 15. Authority staff will reach out to county utilities and the property manager (Mr. Wood and his team) to request detailed technical and site-plan information for discussion at the authority’s December meeting.