Central Sierra Connect Steering Committee

Conference Call, 10/9/2013

Attending: Shelly Hance, Kathleen Haff, Darrell Slocum, Connie Williams, Daniel Richardson, Howard Stohlman, Mary Sawicki

Summary of California Connects Program and what CSC is doing to replace it with something else

●Shelly is searching for funding to replace California Connect, and extend computer training to all five counties.

●Please let us know if you have heard of any digital literacy resources in our region.

Recap of recent broadband legislation and what it might mean to us locally

●SB740 (CASF funding) passed!

○CSC will encourage local telecoms to apply to fund smaller projects, as well as the major region-wide build-out attempts.

○Nothing prevents large companies from applying, but they haven’t in the past.

●AB1299 also passed, providing connectivity to subsidized housing in urban areas.

Mapping going to a national program rather than a CPUC responsibility

●Broadband map is going national.

●CSC needs to identify unserved and underserved. **Are we sending people to the state crowdsourcing attempt? Ours is not currently on our site, but could be (

●We can only help with infrastructure if we can provide accurate information.

Amador presentation to the Board of Supervisors

●Darrell talked up Volcano Communications

○Public wifi hotspots throughout Amador County

●Updated the Board of Supervisors on CSC activities

Goal setting for final grant year - what would the steering committee like to see?

●Final grant year is March 2014-February 2015

●More involvement with broadband policy work in the region

●Revised workplan reflects the elimination of funding for digital literacy classes

●Work with local government, service clubs, community, etc

●Continue to promote broadband programs for low-income residents

●Continue to utilize centralsierraconnect.org for outreach, education, and news

●Wifi hotspots in downtown areas?

○CSC can liaise between municipalities and providers, but there remains questions of both how providers benefit, and how a robust connection can be provided for so many people.

○CSC funding is focused on connecting residential households and businesses to broadband connectivity.

●Adoption of currently available services

●Build out infrastructure

●Implement multiple methods to find and report accurate information re: broadband availability

CSC Regional Broadband Summit - Discussion on "Save the Date" for Thursday, April 24, 2014 at the Elks Lodge in Sonora - and outline of the emerging plans

●Any known conflicts on April 24?

●Morning/afternoon sessions

○Morning: information and updates

○Afternoon: training sessions for business, education, and municipal/county communities

Fall Newsletter - What topics would the steering committee like to see covered?

●Let us know!

Q&A and wrap up

●Any follow up for emergency/disaster 211?

○211 providers are discussing the possibility of a per minute charge for temporary 211 service.

●Rim Fire communications

○More robust wireless service would be helpful; cell booster worked great.

○Citizen-manned phone line is currently implemented to take pressure off 911. 211 would be easier, but local information is paramount, and would be much more difficult if the folks answering the phone were not local.

Next CSC Steering Committee Meeting, suggested date: Wednesday, January 8th at 10 am?

●We will send out a Doodle to confirm/establish the date.