The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) selected a new chair and vice chair on Tuesday while also moving forward on a $14 million rural broadband project and allocating $1 million to the development of Mill Creek Sink.
With last week’s election, incumbent commissioners Chuck Chestnut, Anna Prizzia and Mary Alford were sworn in for their next terms on Tuesday. At the start of the regular meeting, the BOCC unanimously approved Chestnut to serve as chair and Commissioner Ken Cornell to serve as vice chair.
Concerning the elections, the commissioners approved $100,000 for future litigation to enforce the results of the vote in favor of at-large districts. A judge ruled in October that the ballot language was illegal, preventing Alachua County from changing to at-large districts after the vote.
But Alachua County plans to appeal and will use the $100,000 in that process.
Cornell said he hopes state Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, will review the results of the referendum and drop the lawsuit. Cornell pointed to the results and said the community overwhelmingly approved the measure.
Perry and three other plaintiffs filed the suit. Now term limited, Perry will be replaced as the Senate District 9 representative by Stan McClain.
Rural broadband
The BOCC also directed staff to negotiate with broadband providers who submitted applications in response to a county bid.
Alachua County has $14 million dedicated to rural broadband. The county wants to leverage the funds to get affordable internet services to four key areas: East Waldo and Earleton, Island Grove, north of High Springs and South High Springs.
The funds came from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The top companies to respond were Windstream, COX and Pavlov Media. Assistant County Manager Tommy Crosby said Windstream came in below the county’s estimate.
Prizzia asked about the affordability component, saying neither Windstream nor Pavlov Media fully addressed that in their proposals. Crosby said county staff are aware and will talk through the affordability in the negotiations.
Prizzia also asked about reliability, especially using below ground utilities instead of power lines. Crosby said that reliability, like underground networks, comes at the expense of affordability for the customer.
“We’re trying to make sure that we maximum the use of our dollars, so there may be a balance there,” Crosby said.
He said the question might become increasing reliability by undergrounding the infrastructure but not being able to be in as many areas.
The negotiated proposals will return for BOCC approval, and Cornell said he won’t write any checks until he sees the plans and the affordability component. He said it does little good to put the fiber lines underground if the customers can’t pay for it.
A representative of Windstream spoke to say that the company’s plan already includes underground lines for 97% of the network.
Mill Creek Sink
The BOCC also approved $1 million that could be used for professional consultants, legal costs and possible litigation as hundreds of acres in the city of Alachua are planned for development.
The commissioners highlighted their opposition to the development at a special meeting in October and passed a 14-part motion. Tuesday’s backup documents noted that the county attorney and Environmental Protection Department are looking into the matter.
The development is located within the city of Alachua, taking away much of the county’s control of the situation. The Alachua City Commission has already approved preliminary steps for the development.