Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Jon Walton, Chief Information Officer
Subject: Authorization to Apply for and, if Granted, Accept Community Connect Grant Funds from the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution:
A) Authorizing and directing the Chief Information Officer, or the CIO's designee, to prepare and submit an application for funds from the Community Connect Grant Program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service, in response to its notice of funding opportunity to provide financial assistance for expanding broadband internet access to residents in rural and economically-challenged communities in an amount not to exceed $1,500,000; and
B) Authorizing and directing the Chief Information Officer, or the CIO's designee, to act on behalf of the County of San Mateo to accept grant funds in the event the application for funds is approved and to complete any and all documents required for the acceptance of the awarded funds and required compliance reports; and
C) Authorizing the use of an amount not to exceed $225,000 of the annual SMC Public Wi-Fi funds to support the ongoing operations of the project and to meet the Grant Program's fifteen percent matching contribution requirement.
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BACKGROUND:
The County of San Mateo has made significant investments in deploying public internet access to the underserved residents of San Mateo County in both the urban and rural areas. These improvements have resulted in over 1,000,000 hours of use per month by the public. Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the need for free, unlimited internet access for students to distance learn, and for families to access government and health care information, became even more critical. To address this need, the County of San Mateo Board of Supervisors allocated $6.3M in CARES fu...
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