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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBC 2025-02-21Town of Dryden Broadband Committee Meeting Friday, February 21, 2025 – Via Zoom Approved Minutes Attendees Graham Dobson – Broadband Committee Tony Salerno – Broadband Committee Mark Wilson – Broadband Committee Joel Cisne – Broadband Committee Arthur Sommer – Broadband Committee Dan Lamb – Town Board Mark Witmer – Town of Caroline Supervisor Kathleen Kelley-Mackenzie – Town of Caroline Councilmember Tracy Monell – Gleamon Technology Jeff Smith – Municipal Solutions Shawn Scorzelli – Syracuse Utilities Eric Beckhorn – Clarity Connect Dave Makar – Executive Director Amanda Anderson – Director of Finance and Personnel Cassie Byrnes – Confidential Secretary to the Town Supervisor Ray Burger – Planning Director Doug Schneider – Cortland Standard Chuck Bartosch – Resident Rick Cicciarelli – Resident Dave Makar called the meeting to order at 10:35am Introductions – Dave Makar G Dobson read the Dryden Fiber Mission Statement aloud: “Our mission is to provide reliable, affordable, high-speed, fiber-based internet access. We offer state-of-the-art technology and unmatched customer service.” • As a Dryden Fiber customer, G Dobson enjoys how reliable, solid, and fast the service is, and has received good feedback from neighbors who are also using Dryden Fiber • D Lamb shared that the Town Board appreciates the updates from D Makar, and are pleased with what the project is doing; He also shared that several guests were in the audience at the Town Board meeting last night, and one guest expressed that they were impressed with what Dryden Fiber is doing, and impressed with the scope of what the Town is working on Approval of Monthly Minutes – Dave Makar The draft meeting minutes of November 1, 2024, and November 15, 2024, have been provided by C Byrnes, and she requested their approval Motion: M Wilson made a motion to approve the meeting minutes as recorded for November 1, 2024, and November 15, 2024 Second: G Dobson With no discussion, opposition, or abstention, the meeting minutes of November 1, 2024, and November 15, 2024, were approved The draft meeting minutes of October 4, 2024, and October 18, 2024, have been provided by C Byrnes, and she requested their approval Motion: M Wilson made a motion to approve the meeting minutes as recorded for October 4, 2024, and October 18, 2024 Second: G Dobson With no discussion, opposition, or abstention, the meeting minutes of October 4, 2024, and October 18, 2024, were approved Map: Q1 Updates and Construction Projections for 2025 with Map on Website – Dave Makar We have received many files from Hunt in the last 36 hours, which we will be using to pick up where they are leaving the project, and hand them over to Vantage Vantage has an ArcGIS account, and will be able to take the map file and plug it into their account, do some formatting, and repopulate a new link that we can add to the drydenfiber.com website The committee discussed the current interactive map on the website, and keeping static images of the map as a backup in case the interactive map goes down while we’re in a transition period with engineering firms D Makar explained that the last 18 months of map projections from Hunt have been missed by 6 to 18 months; D Makar asked Hunt for their plan, and at the end of January, they had presented no plan • The current map displayed on the website is still the map from around July 1, 2024 • The committee discussed that the map shows areas that were supposed to be done, but are still not complete (many yellow areas were supposed to be complete by the end of 2024) • D Makar expressed his confidence in the experience of the new engineering firm, Vantage, and their capabilities to complete the project by the deadline of December 31, 2026 • Goal: In the next 45 to 60 days, we will have a new map with projections for 2025 and 2026 • T Salerno would like to see the blank areas on the map filled in with projections as well Meetings and Working Sessions – Dave Makar D Makar discussed the following meetings and working sessions with the committee and explained what each would be for: • 2/21, 12pm – Construction Weekly (Syracuse Utilities, Lightspeed, Clarity, Gleamon) – this is a new weekly construction meeting separate from operations • 2/21, 1pm – LaBella & Vantage Transition Kick-Off (permitting) • 2/21, 2pm – Vantage Point Pre-Trip Kick-Off (D Makar, Vantage) • 2/24, 1pm – CAO Permit Update Session • 2/24, 2:30pm – CAO Marketing Planning Session • 2/25, 9am – Rail Trail Repair and Fiber Location Site Visit • 2/25, 10am – Point Broadband Visit (discuss agreement regarding the use of their fiber as part of Dryden Fiber’s backbone) • 2/25, 1pm – Weekly Touchpoint with CAO for MIP (Dryden, Caroline, Vantage) • 2/26, 10am-2pm – ARC Visit with Thomas Becker from USDA (discuss original reimbursable grant written for the backbone of Dryden Fiber to see if we are eligible for the reimbursement) • 2/26, 10:30am-11:30am – Operations Sync (construction and installation teams) • 2/26, 3pm – Dryden NYSEG/RGE Status Call (permitting) • 2/27, all day – Vantage Visit • 2/28, all day – Vantage Visit New York Affordable Broadband Act – Dave Makar The NY Affordable Broadband Act requires ISPs to provide service for $15 per month (for 25 Mbps or less) or $20 per month (for greater than 25 Mbps); Dryden Fiber’s service is greater than 25 Mbps, so we would have to offer our service to qualified subscribers for $20 per month • We have submitted a waiver request to the Attorney General’s Office, as we are under the 20,000-household requirement • The NY Affordable Broadband Act would likely reduce our monthly income by about 13% if we were to offer this (based on rough estimates of population and current revenue) • The committee discussed the implications, with members agreeing that while the intentions are good, it might be better to revisit the issue when the network is further built out • The committee discussed the number of people that may qualify for this program, noting that it could have many factors, including income, government assistance programs, and the free school lunch program (this would increase the number of people who would qualify for the program); They also discussed the installation costs of those who would qualify for the program • The committee discussed developing their own program to serve lower-income households once they become cash flow positive, and potential ways to serve the community beyond the Affordable Broadband Act o Providing free Wi-Fi in public spaces (parks) and municipal buildings Next Meeting – Friday, March 7, 2025, at 10:30am The meeting adjourned at 11:47am Respectfully submitted, Cassie Byrnes Confidential Secretary to the Town Supervisor