Chair thanks IT director Bob Kelly for leading broadband expansion during COVID

The Chair used opening remarks to recognize Bob Kelly on his last day as the county's IT director and to describe Kelly's role in expanding broadband access during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chair credited Kelly with securing grant money and accelerating network connections for residents and schools.

Why it matters: Broadband availability affects schooling, telework and access to services. The Chair characterized the broadband effort as a major accomplishment for the county's technology infrastructure during an emergency period.

In his remarks the Chair said the county obtained grant funding that helped expand the network and characterized the effort as reaching nearly all residents. "We got some grant money, of course, and, he got on the network very quickly and expanded this. We got... almost I mean, got 98% of people connected or or available to connect if they want to," the Chair said, crediting Kelly's work during school closures.

The Chair thanked Kelly for years of service maintaining IT systems and for leading broadband expansion, and said the work helped students and residents in remote areas connect when schools closed. He noted that in some rural locations crews extended service down long driveways through woodland to reach individual households.

The meeting did not specify the total grant amounts, the precise technical measures used to extend service, or the county's definition of "connected" versus "available to connect." Those details were presented qualitatively in the Chair's remarks and were not accompanied by budget documents or a staff report in the transcript.

The meeting then proceeded to other matters.