FOR THE COUNCIL MEETING OF MAY 7, 2024
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
TO: City Council
FROM: Interim City Manager Alex Posada
SUBJECT: Adoption of a Resolution Approving an Amendment to Santa Barbara County Association of Governments Joint Powers Agreement
Description:
The City Council will consider adopting a Resolution approving an Amendment to Santa Barbara County Association of Governments Joint Powers Agreement.
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt a Resolution approving an amendment to the Joint Powers Authority Agreement for Santa Barbara County Association of Governments to add the role of coordination of broadband activities.
BACKGROUND:
During 2020, at the outset of the COVID -19 pandemic and increased stay-at-home activities, access to affordable , reliable, high -speed internet was exposed as needing much improvement. As such, legislative actions occurred at both the State and Federal levels. In June 2020, California Senate Bill 1462 was approved establishing the California Broadband Council to pr omote broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas as defined by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). In August 2020, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N -73-20 which required the development of a Broadband Action Plan for Calif ornia. Furthermore, in July 2021 California Senate Bill 156 authorized Joint Powers Authorities (JPAs) to issue revenue bonds for broadband infrastructure implementation under the Broadband Loan Loss Reserve Fund.
Building upon this momentum at a local level, in October 2021 the Broadband Alliance (Alliance) for Santa Barbara County was formed. The Alliance was comprised of membership for all member agencies of Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG), additionally including the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, the Broadband Consortium of the Pacific Coast , and regional economic development organizations. Contributions were made from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to develop a countywide Broadband Strategic Plan (BSP). Work on the BSP began in late 2021 and in December 2022, the SBCAG Board approved the BSP as a framework plan for which to initiate broadband implementation in the County. Prior to the adoption of the BSP, SBCAG received approvals from member agencies.
2 DISCUSSION:
The BSP included several recommendations, one of which was forming a Joint Power Authority (JPA) by member agencies for administering regional broadband to improve the broadband.s. To further explore options for development of the regional broadband, SBCAG and the County of Santa Barbara received grant funding from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) under the Local Agency Technical Assistance (LATA) program. Under the grant, SBCAG initiated work o n JPA options with an initial presentation to its board in October 2023. The SBCAG board approved an option that would have its counsel amend SBCAG’s JPA agreement to include broadband activities.
Members of SBCAG supported this as the simplest approach, not requiring the development of a new JPA, and maintaining local control for broadband implementation and permitting. Following the approval of the JPA amendment language by the SBCAG board, SBCAG counsel was directed to commence seeking input from the me mber agencies. That process has been completed and now the final language is ready for approval by each of the member agencies.
Alternative(s)
The City Council could choose not to adopt the Resolution approving the amendment. If the City Council decides n ot to adopt the Resolution, SBCAG will not be able to move forward with the addition of coordination of broadband activities.
Fiscal Considerations
There is no immediate or direct fiscal impact on the City.
Impact to the Community
The amendment is a positive impact on the community as it is the simplest , most beneficial approach to coordinating broadband activities within the community. It will include bringing in broadband to unserved and underserved residents in our community.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Second Amended and Restated Joint Powers Agreement for SBCAG Attachment B: Redlined – Second Amended and Restated Joint Powers Agreement for SBCAG