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Board approves Innovate mapping contract and small Sanborn license increase as NTIA BEAD guidance forces program changes
Summary
The board approved a maintenance contract with Innovate for broadband GIS mapping (not to exceed $999,450.98/year) and a $5,829 cap increase for the Sanborn Map Company license. Staff warned that an NTIA policy notice removed a fiber preference and requires states to rerun selection processes and shorten timelines, creating near-term compliance work.
Commerce staff recommended contracting with Innovate to maintain the state's broadband GIS map and to bring the product into the state's GIS infrastructure; the board approved the contract by voice vote.
Staff said the Innovate contract (RFP 2509) would not exceed $999,450.98 per year and would be funded from NTIA BEAD administrative allocations and the U.S. Treasury Capital Projects Fund. Brian (speaker 4) explained Innovate's role would be maintenance and compliance work—and that the Sanborn Map Company remains the original mapping vendor. Separately, the board approved a $5,829 increase to the Sanborn contract cap to continue hosting and licensing the current broadband map while staff implement required NTIA changes.
Brian told the board that the NTIA's June 6 policy notice requires states to rerun parts of their grantee selection process, shortens the deadline for final proposals (the state 'lost 1 month'), and "removed the preference for fiber optic networks," limiting the state's ability to set scoring for affordability, community engagement, labor protections and workforce development. Staff said this will require additional mapping and programmatic work, that deadlines are very compressed, and that the board should expect small, time-sensitive administrative asks to comply with the notice. The board discussed whether staff could act administratively on small dollar changes and asked staff to explore delegation options to avoid repeated special meetings.
No formal roll-call vote tally was included in the transcript; both the Innovate engagement and the Sanborn cap increase passed on voice votes.
