MEETING MINUTES DAKOTA BROADBAND BOARD. SECOND ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING April 11, :00 PM. Dakota County CDA Boardroom

Transcription

1 MEETING MINUTES DAKOTA BROADBAND BOARD SECOND ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING April 11, :00 PM Dakota County CDA Boardroom Called to order 4:04 pm by Chair George Tourville. 1. INTRODUCTIONS AND ROLL CALL Board Members Roll Call Board Members in attendance John Bellows Bill Flatley Tina Folch (4:24pm) Dan Gustafson Mary Hamann-Roland Luke Hellier George Tourville Alternates in attendance Joel Paper Tom Egan Others in Attendance Jay Stassen Craig Ebeling Lisa Alfson Amy Roberts Amanda Duerr (5:02pm) Pete Skwira Jean Erickson Tom Venables Cheryl Jacobson Maggie Dykes Tom Lawell Mark McNeill Cathy Gieselman 1

2 2. REVIEW AND APPROVE MINUTES OF MARCH 7, 2018 MEETING George Tourville asked if everyone had seen the meeting minutes from last months meeting and if there were any questions/corrections. Mary Hamann-Roland stated that her last name was misspelled several times throughout the minutes. Tom Egan noted that he had been in attendance but was not listed as being in attendance. George Tourville said the typos and omission would be fixed. Minutes were then approved by all members. 3. REVIEW OF CONTENT OF SYSTEMS PLAN Craig Ebeling stated that at last month s meeting, the Board had indicated that a three page or so summary of the Systems Plan would be very helpful. He then went through the Systems Overview PowerPoint in detail. The main concept of the plan is to take all the infrastructure the government already owns and join it all together to make a more robust and redundant I-NET. Then with supplements the C-NET can come together. Craig Ebeling stated the C-NET would improve wholesale open access to Broadband. It would make it easier for new ISPs to join the market. The government would not provide retail business or residential services. Craig Ebeling then showed and explained the Diagram of a Modern Broadband Network. The core network will provide redundancy. He explained how fiber is used and said that Data Bank in Eagan would be a partner. He pointed out that the Dakota County I-NET Schematic has two redundant routes. Craig Ebeling noted the initial capital costs will be approximately $1.5 million. The CDA will fund the C-NET Gap Project. That will make it possible for each member of the DBB to implement the C-NET within its boundaries. The general rule of the Operational Costs is that if a member has a lot of assets, the costs will be higher, it is important to note that no member would have to pay for more than 2,000 feet of fiber. Costs will be recalculated on an annual basis. Craig Ebeling noted that Revenue is based on three concepts: 1. 45% goes to individual city members who sponsor C-NET % goes to members who make infrastructure possible. 3. The remaining 5%: 2/3 would go to non-county entity; 1/3 would go to the County. Craig Ebeling noted that the I-NET Gap Project will be less than what was originally thought since cities have been doing that work on their own. Another benefit of having a robust I-NET is that operations will be streamlined. At 4:25, the PowerPoint presentation was finished, and Craig Ebeling asked for any comments or questions. 2

3 Mary Hamann-Roland asked Craig Ebeling to spend some time with Tina Folch to explain the parts of the meeting that she missed. Craig stated that he would do that. George Tourville said that this would be a great time to introduce the two members who weren t present last month- Luke Hellier of Lakeville and Bill Flatley of South St. Paul. The rest of the Board introduced themselves as well. Craig Ebeling then stated that it s the goal of the executive committee to craft a scope of work and get to a service level agreement. Bill Flatley said it would be very important to have the scope of work be very detailed. George Tourville said it was important to have the Standing Operating Procedures spelled out. Craig Ebeling noted that the Executive Committee is chaired by Cheryl Jacobson and the vice chair is Marc Gade. Both bring significant expertise to the committee. 4. REVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS FROM EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Craig Ebeling stated that at the Executive Committee meeting, four recommendations were made: 1. Recommend that the interim organizational structure in Attachment D. be approved; to fill the Executive Director role at a later date. Seek out discussions with other vendors to see if more tasks can be consolidated or streamlined. 2. Discuss with Dakota County the County s role as financial and/or administrative agent. Formulate costs and scope of responsibilities. 3. There are concerns about getting the I-NET Gap Project done this summer (2018). The Executive Committee will talk to network operators and defer implementation if necessary. 4. Each member should pay their $500 Membership Fee ASAP in order for the Board to complete starting tasks, such as opening a checking account and taking out advertisements for future meetings. So far, all administrative support has come from the CDA, but that will end June 30 with the new fiscal year. Mary Hamann-Roland thanked the CDA staff for all of their work up to this point. She asked if $500 would really be a sufficient amount and suggested the cost of annual membership could be higher; $1,000 may be a more sufficient amount that would reflect the Board s commitment. Craig Ebeling stated that the $500 amount is the recommendation of the Executive Committee, but the Board can certainly vote to make it a higher amount. George Tourville suggested keeping the amount at $500 for the time being. Tom Egan asked if the costs can be incurred now. Jay Stassen replied that yes, the JPA has authorized that costs can now be incurred by the Dakota Broadband Board. 3

4 John Bellows asked Jay Stassen what the structure for the annual fees would be. Mr. Stassen replied that costs for administrative tasks would still need to be figured out. Bill Flatley asked how operating costs were determined in the Cost/Revenue Sharing spreadsheet. Craig Ebeling answered that they are estimates from Design 9 s report. Luke Hellier stated that based on the information known as of today, $500 is an amount he s feel comfortable with going back to the rest of City Council for approval. Tina Folch asked when the cities would incur the costs. Craig Ebeling replied that the rates will be due on a monthly basis after contract is signed. Tina Folch asked about the fiscal year starting on July 1. Craig Ebeling clarified that July is when the CDA begins their fiscal year, so that is when the Board will no longer have the CDA for administrative purposes. The Dakota Broadband Board s fiscal year will be a calendar year. Craig Ebeling said that the Board is in business now. Cities can budget for these monthly costs now. George Tourville stated that cities know the amount is $500; the Board can move on to the Attachments on the Agenda. Tina Folch then asked for a timeline to give to the cities. Craig Ebeling replied that it should be very soon. Tom Egan stated that each member should be invoiced for more than $500 for seed money. Possibly each member can pay $5,000 up front. Craig Ebeling replied that a percentage could work better- 10% of annual operating cost estimates, for example. Tom Egan motioned; Mary Hamann-Roland seconded. Luke Hellier stated that the numbers are out of this air as of today, maybe at the next meeting more concrete numbers would emerge. Bill Flatley agreed, stating that more concrete numbers are needed before paying any more than the initially agreed upon $500. John Bellows stated that at Council Meetings, approving bills where the amounts weren t necessarily known beforehand is a common occurrence. George Tourville reiterated that the bigger items on the Agenda are easier to address. Tina Folch stated that the members do not know their expenditures at the moment. George Tourville said that a budget will be forthcoming. Tom Egan stated that he would like to set up the amount right now. Luke Hellier stated that he still supports $500. George Tourville motioned to approve the $500 amount; Bill Flatley seconded. Luke Hellier then motioned to adopt Attachment D: Interim Organizational Structure Recommended by the Executive Committee ; Mary Hamann-Roland seconded. Jay Stassen recommended that the Board decide on a financial agent (Dakota County) as a motion at the next meeting. Jean Erickson stated that the County will come to that meeting with a 4

5 proposal. Craig Ebeling added that the issue of naming a financial agent will be agreed upon and a document will be given at the next meeting. 5. ESTABLISH NEXT BOARD MEETING DATE AND TIME George Tourville motioned for the next meeting to be Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 4:00pm at the CDA Boardroom. Dan Gustafson seconded, all approved. 6. INFORMATION-ONLY ITEMS COMMENTS BY INCUMBENT PROVIDERS AND DESIGN NINE RESPONSES Craig Ebeling explained that there were two previous meetings with incumbent service providers. The incumbent service providers had concerns that the C-NET is not a good idea. George Tourville suggested that the Board note that the feedback from the incumbent providers was received. Motioned by Mary Hamann-Roland, seconded by Luke Hellier. Luke Hellier asked who Design 9 is. Craig Ebeling explained their role in the initial formation of the Broadband initiative. They authored two significant reports: The Feasibility Report and the Systems Plan. Their contract is wrapping up. Luke Hellier stated that he had strong opinions on the tone taken by Design 9, that he felt the businesses were not treated with respect. George Tourville asked if any representatives of incumbent service providers wished to speak. Amy Roberts of Comcast addressed the Board. She did not agree with Craig s assessment that the incumbent service providers thought the Board was a bad idea. She said they understand the Board wanting to strengthen the I-NET but where they have a concern is the C-NET. Comcast sees this as competition. Amanda Duerr of Charter stated that she agreed with Amy Roberts. George Tourville stated that providers are welcome to continue to respond and the dialog can continue. 7. OTHER ITEMS Tina Folch asked for more concise instructions on the Agenda going forward - to state more clearly exactly what will require approval. Craig explained that the actions required are listed in the agenda. John Bellows suggested putting Action Items in bold font. Jay Stassen stated that future agendas, meetings, specific actions, and draft resolutions all be the attached packets for future meetings. Joel Paper motioned for adjournment at 5:22 pm; Mary Hamann-Roland seconded. 5