Photo: View of Loma Prieta where Cruzio is installing new Tarana wireless technology. This, along with a second installation on Mount Tomita, will potentially serve 1,000 households in the Summit Rd and Corralitos areas with high-speed internet.
AT&T's External Affairs Vice President for California and Nevada will give a presentation on AT&T’s position regarding its obligations as the current Carrier of Last Resort (COLR), its application for COLR relief, and provide information to the community on what is happening around AT&T’s landline services. The Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) obligation legally requires at least one telephone company in an area to provide access to phone service to anyone in its service territory who requests it. This ensures everyone in California has access to reliable phone service.
This presentation is an opportunity for the public to learn more and share feedback with AT&T directly. The Board of Supervisors already voted to send a letter to the CPUC in opposition to AT&T’s request at its February 13th meeting.
In June 2022, the County began working to develop a long-term comprehensive Broadband Strategic Plan to fulfill needs for high-speed internet access. The goals of the strategic plan are as follows:
Determine the best use of federal and state funding to deliver high-speed internet service in the county;
Understand broadband “gaps” for unserved and underserved areas; and
Create a long-term plan for broadband expansion using private-public partnerships, as well as current county assets and anchor institutions.
This master plan will be presented to the Board of Supervisors, along with some notable recent developments that include:
Local Allocation of ARPA Money to Broadband Expansion - In 2021, the Board of Supervisors decided to invest some of the County's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) pandemic recovery funds towards expanding internet access. In 2022 after a competitive process, the County made a $500,000 award to Cruzio Internet to fulfill this goal. So far, sixteen sites have been completed to serve approximately 3,000 households with low-cost, high-speed internet. Three additional sites will be completed as part of the project: 495 Rancho Soquel Dr, capable of serving 200 households, and two that will include the installation of the Tarana technology on Mount Loma Prieta and Mount Tomita, which will potentially serve 1,000 households in the Summit Rd and Corralitos areas.
Federal Funding Account Grant
The County of Santa Cruz was allocated $10.3 million that could be applied to the installation of last-mile fiber or cable broadband in the county under the Federal Funding Account (FFA) allocation for Broadband expansion. Two ISPs, AT&T and Surfnet, have applied for FFA grants and focus on expanding fiber, mainly in areas south of Highway 17. CPUC staff is analyzing the applications and working with local stakeholders to select those to be funded.
State Middle-Mile
In July 2021, Governor Newson signed SB156 to create an open-access middle-mile network to provide a backbone for last-mile high-speed broadband service to households, businesses, and anchor institutions. The middle-mile in Santa Cruz County will run along Highways 9, 17, and Highway 1 from Davenport to the Santa Cruz / Monterey County border. All construction on this project must be completed by December 2026. The middle-mile network will be open access for any ISP or government network.
This report is in response to an item Supervisor Hernandez and I brought to the Board in December. I was particularly motivated by the numerous delays we have seen in the construction of the Live Oak Library Annex and a desire to screen out low-bidding contractors that we have reason to believe won't perform.
In addition, the County has successfully used Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) in the past to ensure quality construction that is completed in a timely manner. The Sheriff's Center at 5200 Soquel Ave is an example. The December item requested that staff research ways we could use PLAs going forward.
The report provides a summary of how bidders are evaluated for “responsibility” within the meaning of the County’s current project bidding process, the Santa Cruz County Code, and the California Public Contract Code, and provides an initial analysis of what implementation of a PLA pilot program for the County could look like. This analysis includes a summary of Project Labor Agreements, including the perceived advantages and disadvantages, current outreach and research, recommended terms to be considered for negotiation in a potential PLA, and a proposed three-year PLA pilot program.
This resolution reaffirms the County’s commitment to the UN treaty that combats gender discrimination. It also directs the Womens Commission to identify what departmental data will be the most useful in tracking the County’s progress on this important issue. Santa Cruz County has made great strides in using data effectively, and I want to ensure that we have the disaggregated data needed to show where our community is or is not making progress toward gender equality.
Throughout the 2023 Winter Storms, nonprofits provided critical support to the County of Santa Cruz. However, no formal agreements were in place for what tasks each organization should accomplish or whether they would be compensated. With the number of disasters increasing, it’s important to formalize each organization’s role. These contracts accomplish that and include the following:
- Community Action Board: multilingual disaster communications and outreach, operation of a bilingual/Indigenous language disaster hotline, translation services, and advocacy for non-English speakers in shelters
- Community Bridges: bilingual emergency communications, transportation services for mobility-challenged individuals during evacuations, translation and counseling at shelters
- Second Harvest Food Bank: provision of meals and supplies to shelters, food transport, and staff to assist with outreach.
These agreements improve the County’s ability to budget for and respond to disasters. They will also better position the County to seek reimbursement from FEMA for these expenses.
Full agenda: 2024/02/27 09:00 AM Board of Supervisors Regular Meeting - Web Outline - Santa Cruz County, CA (iqm2.com)
