Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents urge faster action, ask for interim cabinets and warn of shift to satellite service
Summary
Multiple residents told the board the county risks losing customers to satellite providers if fiber activation stalls; speakers urged installing cabinets or local hotspots as interim relief and asked the board to consider moving grant match or awards if needed to accelerate builds.
During an extended public‑comment period, multiple residents and some supervisors urged the board and providers to accelerate on‑the‑ground work or provide interim options while full fiber builds are staged.
A resident identified as Terry (public comment) and others questioned whether grant timelines (ARPA/2223 and BEAD corrective deadlines) would be met and asked whether the county should consider moving projects to other providers if delivery slips. "We need that broadband as bad as anywhere else does," one resident said, adding concern that repeated optimistic timelines have not produced customer activations.
Several commenters recommended installing cabinets and local Wi‑Fi hotspots on county property to provide interim coverage while longer builds and permitting proceed. A board member pressed providers on why a simple cabinet has not been placed and offered county assistance to expedite leases or legal paperwork. A resident in the Groundhog Mountain/Willis Gap area urged officials not to forget far‑western neighborhoods that still lack service and cautioned that conditional project closeouts may make it harder to restart pending parkway‑permit locations.
Multiple speakers voiced a preference for permanent fiber over satellite fallback, while acknowledging that satellite awards (SpaceX/Starlink, Kuiper) cover some extremely remote addresses. David Stanley urged keeping funds for fiber: "I would rather get real infrastructure in here," he said.
The chair closed public comment and set the meeting to adjourn until Monday, June 8.
