Statewide Broadband Task Force

Statewide Broadband Task Force Tuesday, November 13, 2012, 1:30pm-5:00pm Alaska Pacific University

In Attendance: Michael Baker, BG Mike Bridges, Chris Brown, Joseph Davis, Rich Gazaway, Dave Goggins, Robbie Graham, Renee Johnson, Karl Kowalski, Maureen Moore, Bill Popp, Mike Todd, Jeff Tucker, Bob Whicker

By Teleconference: John Boucher, Stephanie Morton

Excused: Brad DeMontfort, Representative Herron, Jim Kohler, Myron Naneng, Senator Paskvan, Mike Robinson

Guests: Katie Paglini/Connect Alaska, Michael Burke/Burke Watson, Inc., Christine O’Connor/MTA, Heather Hudson/ISER and UAA, Rich Greenfield/UA, Andy Varner/SWAMC, Sue Sherif/Alaska State Library Guests by Teleconference: Kimberly VanWyhe/Sen. Paskvan’s office, Rob Earl/ Rep. Herron’s office Chairman’s Opening Comments: The meeting was called to order at 1:36pm. Chairman Popp welcomed everyone to the meeting. The roll of members was called.

Public Introductions: The Chair invited the public attendees to introduce themselves to the task force before the meeting began.

Meeting Minutes: Chairman Popp asked if there were any issues or changes with the minutes from the October 15, 2012 meeting. No changes were recommended. Jeff Tucker moved to approve the minutes without any proposed changes and BG Mike Bridges seconded. Hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.

Public Presentations: A brief update on past and future public presentations was given. Bill Popp and Robbie Graham made a presentation to the Association of Alaska School Boards. The presentation was well received and there was a lively Q & A session that followed. The response from those who attended was that broadband is essential in their communities. Although the plan and recommendations focus on return on investment, there are many intangible things that broadband access will address, such as social and ethnic issues.

Future presentations include: . November 14, 2012 – Anchorage Economic Development Corporation Board Meeting . November 15, 2012 – Alaska Municipal League Annual Conference . (Not yet scheduled) – Alaska Federation of Natives’ Board of Directors As new presentations are added, notice of date, time, and location will be passed on to the Task Force.

1 Task Force Recommendations: The Chair opened the floor to discussion, changes, and questions. Jeff Tucker, seconded by Robbie Graham, moved to accept the three page document as the Recommendations. Hearing no objection, the Recommendations were approved.

There were two additional recommendations. The first bullet was placed in the Funding Options under the heading Grant Programs. The second bullet was a recommendation that was omitted but approved in the meeting on October 15, 2012 and was added back in.

After initial adoption of the Recommendations document, Karl Kowalski made a motion, seconded by Chris Brown, to add a sub-bullet to Recommendation 5 to read: “Establish such policies, procedures, and/or advisory boards as necessary to ensure adequate deployment and collaboration with stakeholders.”

With no objections, (5g.) was added to Recommendations.

BG Mike Bridges moved, and it was seconded, that (5b.) be edited to read “Educate community leaders and key stakeholders about adoption of broadband, its economic sustainability, and its positive effects on communities.”

Hearing no objections, (5b.) was changed.

The Chair asked for any objections to adopting the Recommendations document with the changes. Hearing none, the Recommendations document was adopted.

Funding Options: The Chair opened the floor to discussion, changes, and questions. There was extensive discussion, under the heading Loan Programs, regarding Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) and the process that AIDEA uses to fund projects. This led to some discussion of ownership. The concern was that the competitive process might be diminished but after discussion and clarification, the discussion was tabled until a later meeting. There were some technical changes and an edit brought over from the document “New Recommendations”. That bullet was placed under the heading of Grant Programs.

The Chair called for objections to the Funding Options with the technical edits. Seeing none, the Funding Options document was adopted.

Guiding Principles: The Chair first called for any changes, concerns, needs in the current Guiding Principles. Robbie Graham pointed out that much of the document has been reformatted and bulleted for ease of reading.

There was discussion surrounding item (1ii), which stated that “Public funding support should be available to augment private capital, on a segment by segment basis.” There was discussion of removing the bullet but one concern was that public funding is an option and should not be eliminated completely.

2 Rich Gazaway, seconded by Michael Baker, moved to change the wording of (1ii) to read: “If public network ownership is pursued, ensure a competitive bid process for private entities to utilize the network and ensure non-discriminatory access for other providers.”

Hearing no objection to the new wording, it was adopted as the new bullet (1ii).

The Chair then asked for objections to adopting the Guiding Principles with the edit. Hearing none, the Guiding Principles document was adopted.

Break: 2:58 pm Meeting Resumed: 3:12 pm

Draft Sequence for Build-Out: Robbie Graham had some recommendations for sequence N0. 7. Jeff Tucker believed some additional items should be mentioned and he asked that it be tabled so that he could put together something to recommend. Chris Brown agreed. He then added that we do not have to create a design master but instead let the private sector build to minimize the drain on public funding acknowledging that any design may need to change to address concerns. Chris Brown moved, seconded by BG Mike Bridges, to eliminate sequence No. 2.

There was much discussion on this removal. It was offered that sequence No. 2 be reworded to use as an evaluation tool in the competitive bidding process. The build-out will be in phases so what is current at the beginning, maybe obsolete later in the project. Robbie Graham made the offered as a friendly amendment, seconded by Michael Baker, that sequence No. 2 be consolidated as a sub-bullet of sequence No. 5. There was objection to the friendly amendment but there was none on the original motion to remove sequence No. 2.

As a side, it was approved that sequence five would be edited to include the spirit of the sequence two that was just pulled.

Satellite Utilization – Scenario for Discussion: Robbie Graham and Chris Brown brought to provide some more detail surrounding the use of satellite technology as an option for utilization. The Chair asked that this document be adopted and included in the plan as an option for utilization. Chris Brown noted that it was written with a preface and footnotes to be consistent with the revised satellite availability.

Draft Condensed Plan: Robbie Graham moved (seconded by Mike Tucker) that, due to circumstances, the Task Force shall create an editing group to produce a “pared-down” version of what the final plan will be. This Executive Summary will consist of three sections. 1. Define the problem 2. Provide Solutions 3. Define the cost

3 The purpose of this draft is so that the original deadline for submission to the Commissioner of The State of Alaska’s Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development can be met. The final plan will be submitted in January. There was discussion of how the problem would be defined. Robbie offered that it would include the problem, where are Alaskans underserved/not served, and possible economic impacts of not serving these Alaskan communities. Bob Whicker pointed out that the benefits for many are needs and the recommendations should not only be economically driven. Rich Gazaway also noted that the condensed version will be geared toward the Commissioner.

The Chair noted that, for those who want to make sure that something is addressed in the draft that is important to them, they present it to Robbie Graham.

The Chair asked for objections. Hearing none, the drafting of the condensed plan will begin immediately. Robbie Graham explained that the draft condensed plan will be distributed by Wednesday December 5th so that the Task Force has time to review and will be prepared to discuss at the next full meeting.

Old Business No old business

New Business: No new business

Next Meeting Dates: The next full meeting is scheduled for December 13, 2012. The time is to be determined and the meeting space will need to be reserved but will, most likely, be the Veco Boardroom on the APU Campus.

Closing Remarks: There were comments around the room that the plan is coming together as a whole and all are encouraged by that. Robbie Graham asked that any recommendations for public presentations be sent to her directly. Bob Whicker noted that he would send an email with a link to the presentation given by Bill Popp and Robbie Graham to the Association of Alaska School Boards.

Chair Closing Remarks: The Chair stated his appreciation for the good work, productive discussion, and he is honored to work with such a strong group.

Adjourned: Meeting was adjourned at 4:01pm