Agenda packet — Vallejo City Council, May 17, 2022

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CALL AND NOTICE OF

SPECIAL MEETING
AT 6:00 PM

OF THE VALLEJO CITY COUNCIL
MAY 17, 2022

COUNCIL CHAMBERS
555 Santa Clara Street, Vallejo, California
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City Hall and the Council Chambers will be open to members of the public 30 minutes prior to the start of the meeting.

PUBLIC COMMENT: Members of the Public may provide public comments during the City Council Meeting in person or via ZOOM (https://ZoomRegular.Cityofvallejo.net), or via phone, by dialing (669) 900-6833.

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VIEW THE MEETING:

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In Person
Watch Vallejo local channel 28
Stream from the City website: www.cityofvallejo.net/Streaming Join the Zoom webinar: https://ZoomRegular.Cityofvallejo.net TO THE MEMBERS OF THE VALLEJO CITY COUNCIL:

You are hereby notified that I do hereby call the Vallejo City Council in special session to consider only the matters stated on the agenda listed below.

NOTICE: Members of the public shall have the opportunity to address the City Council concerning any item listed on the agenda before or during consideration of that item. No other items may be discussed at this special meeting.

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

3. ROLL CALL

4. ACTION CALENDAR
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REQUEST
Recommendation: Receive presentation and request from First 5 Solano Children and Families to assist with $500,000 in funding to establish the Early Learning Center at Beverly Hills Elementary School site in South Vallejo. Provide direction to:

1. Confirm the previously allocated $160,000 in the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Youth Initiative budget, to be used toward the Project; and

2. Return to Council with a future action item to appropriate an additional $240,000 of funding by the future allocation of ARPA funding, provided such funding is received, and contingent upon Vallejo Early Learning Center procuring the balance $3.5 mil required for the project.

Contact: Natalie Peterson, Interim Assistant to the City Manager (707) 649- 3415
[email protected]
B. INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE PROHIBITING THE POSSESSION OF

CATALYTIC CONVERTERS
Recommendation: Introduce an Ordinance adding Chapter 7.72 to the City of Vallejo Municipal Code, "Prohibiting Possession of Catalytic Converters." Contact: Jason Potts, Captain of Police (707) 651-7105
[email protected]
C. ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION APPROVING THE VALLEJO BROADBAND MASTER PLAN & DIGITAL EQUITY STRATEGY 2022
Recommendation: Adopt Resolution approving the 2022 City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan and Digital Equity Strategy, making broadband accessibility more equitable.

Contact: Naveed Ashraf, Chief Innovation Officer & IT Director (707) 648-5200 [email protected]

5. INFORMATION CALENDAR
A. PROGRESS REPORT ON POLICE REFORM/OIR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Recommendation: Receive and comment on this report and presentation covering: Progress and activities associated with implementing the OIR independent assessment report recommendations – Implementation Plan (IP) and Collaborative Reform Agreement with the Department of Justice.

Contact: Shawny K. Williams, Chief of Police (707) 648-4540 [email protected]
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6. ADJOURNMENT
Dated: Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Robert H. McConnell, Mayor
I, Dawn Abrahamson, City Clerk, do herby certify that I have caused a true copy of the above notice and agenda to be delivered to each of the members of the Vallejo City Council, at the time and in the manner prescribed by law and that this agenda was posted at City Hall, 555 Santa Clara Street, CA at 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 11, 2022.

Dated: Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Dawn G. Abrahamson, City Clerk

ACTION ITEM 4.A.

DATE: May 17, 2022
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Mike Malone, City Manager
SUBJECT: VALLEJO EARLY LEARNING CENTER PRESENTATION AND FUNDING REQUEST

RECOMMENDATION
Receive presentation and request from First 5 Solano Children and Families to assist with $500,000 in funding to establish the Early Learning Center at Beverly Hills Elementary School site in South Vallejo. Provide direction to:

1. Confirm the previously allocated $160,000 in the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Youth Initiative budget, to be used toward the Project; and

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION
First 5 Solano Children and Families has approached the City of Vallejo requesting to allocate $500,000 toward the establishment of an Early Learning Center in the City of Vallejo.

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
First 5 Solano Children and Families Commission (First 5 Solano) is working in partnership with the Vallejo City Unified School District, the Solano Office of Education, Child Start, Inc. and other early care and education providers to establish an Early Learning Center (ELC) at the Beverly Hills Elementary school site in Vallejo. First 5 Solano is requesting $500,000 from the City of Vallejo to go toward the total project budget of $4 million.

The ELC is a dual-pronged approach providing high quality learning opportunities for children, as well as safe and consistent child care for working families. The ELC would provide a variety of early care and education opportunities for infants through preschoolers and families of all income levels will be served. The current site will be renovated to meet the needs of young children and their families.

First 5 Solano is requesting $500,000 from the City of Vallejo to support the renovation of the Early Learning Center. Specifically, the City’s resources would help support the upgrade of the outside of the school facility.

The project proposal and request is in the attachment (Vallejo Early Learning Center Proposal). The City Council previously allocated funds in Fiscal Year 2021-2022 budget towards Youth Initiative which Council can confirm $160,000 toward this project. If the Council desires to provide additional funding up to the requested $500,000, the remaining $240,000 will require additional appropriation from City Council. Staff has identified a funding source for the remaining funding request to come from the second tranche American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Staff is requesting direction from the Council relating to such funding. If the Council provides direction to bring back the remaining $240,000 of funding as part of the second tranche of ARPA funds, staff will include an appropriation at that time. Staff recommends that all funding from City be contingent on Vallejo

Date: May 17, 2022
Subject: VALLEJO EARLY LEARNING CENTER PRESENTATION AND FUNDING REQUEST

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Early Learning Center procuring the balance $3.5 mil required for the project.

First 5 Solano has a once in a lifetime opportunity to create an Early Learning Center in Vallejo which has the ability to transform the lives of young children and their families for years to come. A one-time investment from the City of Vallejo can be used to create a sustainable solution to adding much needed child care slots to a fragile system.

FISCAL IMPACT
If approved, the $160,000 will be paid out of the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Youth Initiative budget.

The remaining $240,000 will require additional appropriation from City Council. Staff has identified funding to come from the second tranche American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. All funding from City will be contingent on Vallejo Early Learning Center procuring the balance $3.5 mil required for the project.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378.

ATTACHMENTS

1. Vallejo Early Learning Center Proposal

CONTACT
Natalie Peterson, Interim Assistant to the City Manager (707) 649-3415 [email protected]

Vallejo Early Learning Center
Proposal to the City of Vallejo
Updated May 3, 2022

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Table of Contents

Summary/Introduction Page 2
Background Page 2
Project Description Page 3
Funding Request Page 5
Partners Page 6
Timeline Page 6
Project Budget Page 7
Due Diligence Page 8
Conclusion Page 9
Attachment A – Letter of Support Vallejo City Unified School District Page 10

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Summary/Introduction
In partnership with the Vallejo City Unified School District, the Solano Office of Education, Child Start, Inc., and other early care and education providers, the First 5 Solano Children and Families Commission (First 5 Solano) is working towards establishing an Early Learning Center (ELC) at the Beverly Hills Elementary school site in Vallejo and is requesting $500,000 from the City of Vallejo toward the total project budget of $3.17 million.

The ELC is a dual-pronged approach—providing high quality early learning opportunities for children, as well as safe and consistent child care for working families. The ELC would provide a variety of early care and education opportunities for infants through preschoolers and families of all income levels will be served. The site will be renovated to meet the needs of young children and their families.

The ELC meets multiple community needs that have been identified both prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic:
• Expands facilities for early care and education for infants through transitional kindergarten for a total capacity of 298 slots directly addressing facilities as a primary barrier to expansion for child care providers.
• Transitions two Child Start preschool classrooms on the Virginia street site to a new location, freeing up a county building on a congested campus; and allows Child Start to expand to provide two Early Head Start classrooms in addition to the two preschool classrooms, providing much needed infant and toddler care for low-income families. • Provides a continuum of care and early educational opportunities for young children from infants through age 5, as well as a continuum for families of all income levels.

Background
A large body of research has demonstrated a multitude of short -term and long-term benefits of quality early learning programs for children; however, a primary barr ier to expanding child care is the lack of physical locations to provide early childhood education and child care.

Providers struggle to find suitable buildings with classrooms equipped to serve young children (e.g., small bathrooms, outdoor play space, and safe places for parents to pick up and drop off their children); the cost of renovating facilities in addition to the high cost of real estate is prohibitive for most providers. Due to the
lack of facilities and other challenges, many
children are left out of a quality early care
and education experience.

The COVID -19 pandemic has highlighted
the importance of having adequate child
care to support working parents. While the
number of open licensed child care
providers has returned to pre -pandemic
levels, many of them are operating at
reduced capacity, limiting the number of
children that are served. Prior to the
COVID-19 pandemic, only one out of four

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children in Solano County who needed child care had access to a licensed child care slot (2019 California Resources and Referral Network Child Care Portfolio) and less than half of 3 to 4 -year-olds had a preschool experience (US Census, American Community Survey, 2015-2019 5-Year Estimates), so with an already limited child care system in Solano, it is imperative that systemic changes are made to increase capacity of child care for working parents.

In addition to the overall challenge of facilities for early care and education, the opening of an ELC in Vallejo resolves a longstanding challenge at Solano County’s Vallejo Campus. Child Start, Inc has been operating two Head Start preschool classrooms in a county owned facility on Virginia St in Vallejo. The facility is i n need of major renovations and is located on a crowded campus. The County has requested that Child Start relocate, but Child Start has not been able to identify an alternate location to provide services in Vallejo despite looking for the past 6 years. When seeking a location for the Vallejo First 5 Center, First 5 Solano partnered with Child Start to seek a location that would meet both agency’s needs. While the search for a co-located site was not fruitful, First 5 Solano continued to explore alternate sites for Child Start as they arose.

After many conversations with local stakeholders, the closed Beverly Hills Elementary School has been identified as a site that could be used as an Early Learning Center. The site would not only relocate the two Head Start preschool classrooms but expand to add two additional Early Head Start classrooms as well as multiple private providers for ages 0-5 and transitional kindergarten.

Project Description
The Beverly Hills Elementary School is an elementary school that was closed in 2020 and consists of 18 permanent classrooms, 4 portable classrooms, a multipurpose room, kitchen, and outdoor play areas that could accommodate multiple early learning and care programs.

The site is located in Southeast Vallejo, adjacent to
multiple freeways. In school year 2019 -20 (the last year the site was utilized as an elementary school), 91% of kids who attended qualified for free and reduced lunch
indicating a high need i n the community for options for low-income families.

The site would support parent choice in early care and
education programs as well as provide services for
families of different income-levels, options including:
• Head
Start and Early Head Start for infants/
toddlers (ages 0-2) and Pre-K (ages 3-5) (including relocating the 2 Head Start Pre-K classrooms currently on Virginia Street in Vallejo)
• Private child care and early learning opportunities for infants/toddlers (ages 0- 2) and Pre-K (ages 3- 5), utilizing a variety of curriculums, including Montessori, and taking both private pay families and families who are receiving a voucher to subsidize t he cost of child care
• Transitional kindergarten through the Vallejo City Unified School District • Solano Office of Education Quality Counts coaching staff supporting child care providers in quality early childhood education

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The facility has many assets including:
• 18 permanent clas srooms.

Each classroom is
approximately 900 sf with
access to water. One
classroom is set up as a
preschool classroom and
includes bathrooms.
• 4 portable classrooms
• 4 shared bathrooms
• 1 multipurpose room with
adjacent kitchen
• 3 play structures
• Large blacktop area
• Large grass area
• Staff parking
• Easy drop-off/pick up zone

Renovations are needed to refresh the site and convert the site from an elementary school to an age-appropriate site for early learning.

Highlights of the renovations include:
• Minor cosmetic updates to permanent classrooms, including paint, refinish floors, replace window coverings, lower sinks, etc.
• Increase access to bathroom facilities for preschool classrooms. Depending on the location of the toilets to specific classrooms , this includes creating a doorway from existing bathrooms to classrooms or creating additional bathrooms within classrooms. • Replace play structures to age -appropriate structures that meet current safety guidelines.
• Seal/repair blacktop and repositioning fencing for appropriate outdoor play and safety. • Update shared spaces, such as the kitchen, to meet the needs of multiple early learning providers.
• Replace portable classrooms which are nearing the end of their useful life. • Ensure site meets compliance with ADA and other appropriate code as indicated.

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Funding Request
The First 5 Solano Children and Families Commission is requesting $500,000 from the City of Vallejo to support the renovation of the Early Learning Center. Specifically, City of Vallejo resources would help support the upgrade of the outside of the school facilit y. The proposed contribution to this project is detailed in the line item budget below:

Item Unit Cost Number
Needed Total
Classroom updates 10,000 18 180,000
Play structure replacement 100,000 2 200,000 200,000
Bathroom renovation 45,000 4 180,000
Bathroom in classroom 150,000 11 1,650,000
Door from bathroom to
classroom 20,000 3 60,000
Shared kitchen 75,000
Laundry 25,000
Multipurpose room 25,000
Blacktop--replacement 25,000 25,000
Blacktop--sealing 40,000 35,000
Grading/Surfacing 25,000
Shade Structure 200,000 25,000
Paint--exterior 60,000 60,000
Paint--interior 25,000
Fencing 70,000 70,000
Staff room 15,000
ADA updates 250,000
Construction
Subtotal 3,105,000 415,000
Contingency (10% of
construction) 310,000 41,500
Architect 250,000 13,600
Project management 50,000 4,900
Permitting/DSA Approval 35,000
Furniture, fixtures,
equipment 150,000
IT/AV 50,000
Signage 50,000 25,000
TOTAL EXPENDITURE $4,000,000 500,000

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Partners
Several partners have a long- term commitment to ensuring the success of the ELC. These partners and their roles are as follows.
• Vallejo City Unified School District – Agreed to lease the facility for the purpose of creating an ELC. Will lead coordination of renovations uti lizing School District contractors. May provide transitional kindergarten classrooms to create a continuum of care options for birth-TK. (See letter of Support-Attachment A) • Child Start, Inc. – Will be the primary leaseholder and sublease to other early care and education providers. Will occupy 5 classrooms, including moving 2 preschool classrooms from Virginia St. All children served by Child Start will be provided care free of charge and must meet income eligibility requirements. • First 5 Solano – Will secure funding for tenant improvements and work with VCUSD to implement the renovations. In partnership with Child Start, will provide coordination for the partners at the Early Learning Center Site.
• Solano County Office of Education – Will provide quality supports for providers, including coaching, professional development, child behavioral/mental health support, etc.
• Private Child C are and Early Learning Providers – Approximately four child care and early learning providers will occupy the remaining classrooms providing a variety of care options for infants through preschool age children. Providers will accept private pay or vouchers for families receiving subsidies.

Timeline
The current plan and timeline include a phased approach:

Phase 1: Make improvements to 2 classrooms and a play structure to allow Child Start to relocate its Virginia Street classrooms as quickly as possible. This is targeted for fall/winter 2022 completion.

Phase 2: Make improvements to the remainder of the school, i ncluding 16 permanent classrooms, 4 portable classrooms, shared multipurpose room/kitchen, and the remaining outdoor space. This is targeted for fall 2023 completion.

Meeting the timelines for both phases is dependent upon multiple factors, including securing adequate funding, the timelines for the approval process for Division of the State Architect (required for improvements to school sites), and the availability of construction contractors and materials which is currently significantly impacted nationally. Should these or other factors impact plans, the timeline will be adjusted accordingly.

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Project Budget
One-time Renovations
First 5 Solano has estimated the full cost of the project renovation at $4,000,000. This project budget is intended to be blended via a variety of potential funding sources, including but not limited to:
• Solano County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
• Vallejo City Unified School District
• City of Vallejo
• Child Start, Inc., the local Head Start Operator
• Solano County Office of Education
• First 5 Solano Children and Families Commission
• State of California Child Care Major Renovation Resources.

The current tenant improvement budget is as follows:

Item Unit Cost Number
Needed
Total
Classroom updates 10,000 18 180,000
Play structure replacement 100,000 2 200,000
Bathroom renovation 45,000 4 180,000
Bathroom in classroom 150,000 11 1,650,000
Door from bathroom to classroom 20,000 3 60,000
Shared kitchen 75,000
Laundry 25,000
Multipurpose room 25,000
Blacktop--replacement 25,000
Blacktop--sealing 40,000
Grading/Surfacing 25,000
Shade Structure 200,000
Paint--exterior 60,000
Paint--interior 25,000
Fencing 70,000
Staff room 15,000
ADA updates 250,000
Construction Subtotal 3,105,000
Contingency (10% of construction) 310,000
Architect 250,000
Project management 50,000
Permitting/DSA Approval 35,000
Furniture, fixtures, equipment 150,000
IT/AV 50,000
Signage 50,000
TOTAL EXPENDITURE $4,000,000

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On-Going Operations
The ELC will have 22 classrooms which will be occupied by up to six early care and education providers. The providers will share the cost of ongoing operations based on the number of classrooms each provider occupies. The initial operating budget is estimated using actual costs provided by the Vallejo Unified School District based on the last full year of school operation and projected out:

ITEM Annual Cost
Utilities (water, sewer, garbage) 85,000
Landscaping 15,000
Custodial 30,000
Front office/reception 50,000
Minor repairs/ongoing site improvements 40,000
Insurance 20,000
TOTAL $240,000
As the providers occupying the space will share the cost of operations, there is no ongoing cost burden. Responsibility for major and minor repairs/ maintenance will be negotiated and defined in the contract for ongoing use of the site.

Due Diligence
First 5 Solano has worked with the following partners to review the project and ensure the project meets requirements for feasibility to move forward, as well as recommendations for future action.
• Vallejo City Unified School District has done a full review of their school locations and the impacts of transitioning the Beverly Hills Elementary School into an ELC. The Superintendent has committed his full support and has provided a Letter of Support for the project (Attachment A).
• Solano County General Services has completed a site visit and due diligence review of the site. General Services has provided a letter of review which states “With appropriate renovations, the Beverly Hills School can be a viable facility for implementation of an Early Learning Center providing childcare and early learning opportunities for young children in Vallejo and Solano County.”

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Conclusion
We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to create an Early Learning Center in Vallejo which has the ability to transform the lives of young children and their families for years to come. A one-time investment from the City of Vallejo can be used to create a sustainable solution to adding much needed child care slots to a fragile system.

William Spalding, Superintendent

GOVERNING BOARD: DR. TONY UBALDE, JR. – PRESIDENT; R. TONY GROSS – VICE PRESIDENT; JOHN FOX – TRUSTEE; CHRISTY GARDNER – TRUSTEE; DR. LATYNA YOUNG – TRUSTEE

December 21, 2021

Submitted via email to Michele Harris, First 5 Solano Children and Families Commission

Re: Early Learning Center at Beverly Hills Elementary School Site in South Vallejo Dear Ms. Harris:

On behalf of the Vallejo City Unified School District, I strongly support the effort to secure funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) through Solano County to convert the Beverly Hills Elementary School Site in South Vallejo to an Early Learning Center (ELC).

This concept for an ELC came to our District through a partnership between the First 5 Solano Children and Families Commission, the Solano County Office of Education and Child Start, Inc. the local Head Start provider. This collaborative has been looking for appropriate space to offer early childhood services and reached out to our District. The group cited the longstanding barrier to childcare expansion in Solano County, which is the lack of facilities to expand childcare and early learning services.

We know that a child’s brain develops 95% by age five, providing a critical window of opportunity to support strong beginnings. Research shows that challenges children face early in life can lead to life -long negative outcomes and high- community cost, including school drop- out, incarceration, chronic he alth problems, and isolation within the community. We see the beginnings of these results in our K-12 system.

A recent Issue Brief on The Impact of High-Quality Pre-K on K-12 Education reported, “In looking at dozens of high-quality programs across the US, researchers have identified three primary benefits to K-12 systems based on children’s participation in pre-k: reduced need for special education services, reduced grade repetition and better performance and fewer behavioral problems in school.”
This ELC will provide programs and services that can support these outcomes by laying a strong foundation to develop lifelong learners.

From our District’ s perspective, the conversion of one of our unused facilities to an early learning site makes a lot of sense for several reasons that span beyond the reasons above:

1. Location: The site is located in an area of South Vallejo with a high need for services and supports.

2. Access: The site is easily accessible, with on/off access to Highway 80, supporting those families that commute out of county to access convenient childcare and early learning opportunities for their young children. An Adult Education Center is also only three blocks away from the school site, providing resources for those parents that also need support.

Vallejo City Unified School District • 665 Walnut Avenue • Vallejo, CA 94592 • (707) 556-8921

www. vallejo.k 12.ca. us

3. Enrollment: Establishing an ELC would not only support Vallejo’s children, but would provide positive experiences at a school site for incoming students, thereby potentially increasing enrollment in the District.

4. Exploration: The ELC could be used as a way to explore which model of service delivery best aligns with our local learners as we begin to plan for the implementation of Universal Transitional Kindergarten, such as the Head Start model, Montessori early learning, etc. This also aligns with and supports parents in choosing what style of learning they want for their child.

5. Best Use: While the District did consider the sale of this property to support the payback of its loan to the State of California, this investment in early learning is the best pathway to success that supports our student population and helps to spark excitement in our incoming student body.

6. Long-Term Viability: Through discussions of terms, the partners to this ELC have identified an accountability structure that supports the long- term use of this facility as an ELC that requires minimal investment from VCUSD to keep the site owned by the District.

For these re asons, the ELC is a great investment in the long -term health of Solano County. This multi - pronged approach of service delivery become a model for other districts, thereby improving their outcomes as well.

While the ongoing cost for the space and operation expenses is fully covered by the providers occupying classrooms at the site, funding is needed to support the tenant improvements necessary to convert the K-12 site to an early learning site and make the space child friendly for our youngest constituents. I appreciate you giving this request your consideration. If I can answer any questions or provide further information, please let me know.

As the Superintendent of the Vallejo City Unified School District, I am in full support of the conversion of the Beverly Hills Elementary Site to an Early Learning Center and will continue to partner with these agencies to ensure this facility provides safe, high -quality early learning and childcare services to the children and families in our community. I can also say that our district Board of Trustees are also very excited about this project and this partnership for the reasons stated above. If I can answer any questions or provide additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

William Spalding
Superintendent
Vallejo City Unified School District

William Spalding (Dec 9, 2021 12:34 PST)
ACTION ITEM 4.B.

DATE: May 17, 2022
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Shawny K. Williams, Chief of Police
SUBJECT: INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE PROHIBITING THE POSSESSION OF CATALYTIC

CONVERTERS

RECOMMENDATION
Introduce an Ordinance adding Chapter 7.72 to the City of Vallejo Municipal Code, "Prohibiting Possession of Catalytic Converters."

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION
This ordinance will help address the emerging increase of catalytic converter theft in Vallejo. The Ordinance will prohibit and make it unlawful to possess a catalytic converter that is not attached to a vehicle unless the possessor has valid documentation or other proof of lawful possession within the City of Vallejo.

Over the last year, the theft of catalytic converters has increased significantly in the City of Vallejo, the State of California, and nationwide. In an effort to combat the theft, transportation, and recycling of illegally obtained catalytic converters in the City of Vallejo, the Department is proposing a new ordinance that will make it unlawful to possess a catalytic converter that is not attached to a vehicle unless the possessor has valid documentation or other proof of lawful possession.

The number and frequency of catalytic converter thefts has risen dramatically over the last year in the City of Vallejo and around the nation. In the year of 2021, there were 487 catalytic converter thefts reported to the Vallejo Police Department, or a 426% increase from 2019. This is also a significant increase from the 200 reported thefts during the same time period in 2020 and the 38 reported thefts during the same period in 2019.

Of course, this only considers reported theft, with the actual numbers likely to be much higher.

Approval of this action is necessary to assist in deterring the emerging growth of catalytic converter theft, and to further effective law enforcement efforts and to provide the City with reasonable measures to address quality of life concerns surrounding catalytic converter theft.

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The rise in catalytic converter thefts can be attributed to the increase in the value of precious metals. Catalytic converters contain metals such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium, which makes catalytic converters an attractive target for criminal offenders. A catalytic converter is easily removed from a vehicle with the use of a reciprocating saw, which does not require criminal sophistication on the part of offenders. Once the catalytic converter is removed, offenders transport it to a scrap metal dealer and sell it for cash. Thieves are stealing converters from all types of vehicles and will make between US$50-US$875 per converter, depending on the type and the precious metals content. Many lower emission/hybrid vehicles contain higher amounts of precious metals that are currently trading at all-time high prices, which is the catalyst for the increase in this crime. Some larger vehicles have multiple catalytic converters which make them additionally vulnerable to theft. The cost for the vehicle’s owner to repair can be several thousand dollars.

The scrap metal dealer then extracts the precious metals for a high profit.

Date: May 17, 2022
Subject: INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE PROHIBITING THE POSSESSION OF

CATALYTIC CONVERTERS

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Catalytic converter thefts are challenging for law enforcement agencies to investigate due to the lack of serial numbers or other identifying markers on or within each unit. Currently under California law, a police officer who encounters an individual in possession of a catalytic converter under suspicious circumstances must locate the rightful owner before making an arrest for theft or possession of stolen property. If the officer is unable to locate the rightful owner, the person in possession of the catalytic converter may be released absent additional evidence of criminal activity.

There is currently no City, State, or Federal legislation applicable within the City of Vallejo to define and punish catalytic converter thefts absent an identifiable victim, which is a challenge for law enforcement in enforcing catalytic converter thefts. Additionally, there is currently no City, State, or Federal legislation applicable within the City of Vallejo to define and punish the recycling or sale of unlawfully obtained catalytic converters, thus incentivizing criminal enterprise of catalytic converter thefts.

Furthermore, there is currently no city, state, or Federal legislation applicable within the City of Vallejo requiring individuals to provide proof to law enforcement as to how they obtained catalytic converters, thus limiting law enforcement’s ability to protect the public by preventing catalytic converter thefts and preventing law enforcement from seizing suspected stolen catalytic converters when no victim is present. Vallejo Police Officers have encountered this situation on a more frequent basis and need this ordinance to effectively protect the citizens of Vallejo.

Due to lack of legislation defining and prosecuting these thefts, well over 90% of all catalytic converter theft cases in the City of Vallejo have gone unsolved.

Due to the challenges in addressing this type of crime, the citizens of Vallejo and the Vallejo Police Department are in need of this ordinance for multiple reasons including, but not limited to:

1. deterrence by establishing zero-tolerance for stolen catalytic converter thefts

2. sanctions for possessing stolen catalytic converters, and

3. potentially preventing offenders from profiting from the sale and recycling of stolen catalytic converters

This ordinance will provide the Vallejo Police Department with clearly established legal authority to protect the public and deter this criminal activity. Over time, the impact of this ordinance should reduce the number of catalytic converter thefts within the City of Vallejo. Over the years, alternative policing strategies have been employed to address these crimes to no avail, which is only exacerbated by much lower staffing levels.

Additional legislation has been researched and findings revealed no alternative legislation to address this rising issue.

https://www.iaati.org/news/entry/combat-catalytic-converter-theft-prevention-marking

FISCAL IMPACT
This ordinance has the potential to have a positive fiscal impact if enforcement reduces catalytic converter theft.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably Date: May 17, 2022
Subject: INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE PROHIBITING THE POSSESSION OF

CATALYTIC CONVERTERS

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foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378.

ATTACHMENTS

1. Ordinance PROHIBITING THE UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF USED CATALYTIC CONVERTERS_CAO Stamp

CONTACT
Jason Potts, Captain of Police (707) 651-7105
[email protected]
ORDINANCE NO. _____

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VALLEJO ADDING CHAPTER 7.72 TO THE VALLEJO MUNICIPAL CODE PROHIBITING THE

UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF CATALYTIC CONVERTERS IN THE CITY WHEREAS, the citizens of Vallejo have been plagued with hundreds of catalytic converter thefts from automobiles over the past several years; and
WHEREAS, catalytic converter thefts are the number one property crime in Vallejo in terms of increase over last year, including a 426% increase from 2020 to 2021, bringing the total to over 687 reported incidents of theft since the beginning of 2020; and WHEREAS, there is currently no City, State, or Federal legislation applicable within the City of Vallejo to define and punish catalytic converter thefts absent an identifiable victim; and WHEREAS, there is currently no City, State, or Federal legislation applicable within the City of Vallejo requiring individuals to provide proof to law enforcement as to how they obtained catalytic converters, thus limiting law enforcement’s ability to protect the public by preventing catalytic converter thefts and preventing law enforcement from seizing suspected stolen catalytic converters when no victim is present; and
WHEREAS, catalytic converter thefts are on the rise because individuals are incentivized to commit catalytic converter thefts for multiple reasons including, but not limited to: (1) the ease and undetectable nature of committing the thefts in a matter of seconds using common tools such as a reciprocating saw, (2) the ability to recycle catalytic converters at scrap metal yards for high dollar returns ranging from $200 to $1,200 per catalytic converter, and (3) loopholes in legislation protecting criminals from prosecution unless a victim can be identified; and WHEREAS, finding a victim of these crimes is nearly impossible due to the undetectable nature of the catalytic converter thefts and catalytic converters being untraceable to link back to a victim (no identifying markers on the catalytic converters); and
WHEREAS, due to lack of legislation defining and prosecuting these thefts, 99% of all catalytic converter theft cases in the City of Vallejo have gone unsolved, which is fundamentally unacceptable for the citizens of the City of Vallejo; and

2 WHEREAS, the citizens of Vallejo and the Vallejo Police Department are in need of legislation for multiple reasons including, but not limited to: (1) deterring criminals by establishing zero- tolerance for catalytic converter thefts, (2) punishing the possession of stolen catalytic converters, (3) preventing criminals from profiting from the sale and recycling of stolen catalytic converters, (4) providing justice to the victims of catalytic converters whose cases would otherwise go unsolved, (5) reducing Part I crime statistics which have been substantially negatively impacted by catalytic converter thefts, and (6) minimizing the fiscal and personnel impact on the City of Vallejo invested in deterring and investigating catalytic converter thefts; and WHEREAS, individuals who are in possession of stolen catalytic converters recycle them for substantial profit while victims of these thefts suffer tremendous consequences of paying thousands of dollars in repairs, the inconvenience of repairing their vehicles, and feeling unsafe in the community; and
WHEREAS, this Ordinance is necessary to provide the City of Vallejo Police Department clearly established legal authority to protect the public and deter this criminal activity.

NOW THEREFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VALLEJO DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. A new Chapter 7.72 is hereby enacted to read as follows:

Chapter 7.72

PROHIBITING THE UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF USED CATALYTIC CONVERTERS Section 7.72.010 Unlawful Possession of a Used Catalytic Converter.

A. It shall be unlawful to possess any used catalytic converter that is not attached to a vehicle unless the possessor has valid documentation or other proof to verify, they are in lawful possession of the catalytic converter.

B. A used catalytic converter is any catalytic converter that has at any point been installed in a vehicle.

C. For purposes of this section, a lawful possession includes being the lawful owner of the catalytic converter or in possession of the catalytic converter with the lawful owner’s written consent. It is not required to prove the catalytic converter was stolen to establish the possession is not a lawful possession.

D. For purposes of this section, documentation or other proof means (i) a certificate of title or certificate of registration showing the possessor’s legal interest in the vehicle from which the catalytic converter was detached that matches the vehicle identification number permanently marked on the catalytic converter; (ii) written authorization, 3 including the vehicle identification number, from the person or entity that holds the certificate of title or certificate of registration of the vehicle from which the catalytic converter was detached; or (iii) evidence the catalytic converter was acquired in a lawful transaction pursuant to the requirements of Section 21610 of the Business and Professions Code.

Section 7.72.020 Violations; Penalty.

A. Each and every violation of this section shall constitute a separate violation and shall be subject to all remedies and enforcement measures authorized by the Vallejo Municipal Code. Each and every catalytic converter unlawfully possessed is a separate violation of this section.

B. Violations of any provisions of this chapter shall constitute a misdemeanor.

SECTION 2. Severability.

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed and adopted this Ordinance, and each and all provisions hereof, irrespective of the fact one or more provisions may be declared invalid.

SECTION 3. Effective Date.

This Ordinance shall take effect and be in full force and effect from and after thirty (30) days after its final passage.

PASSED and ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Vallejo at a regular meeting held on the 25th day of April 2022.

CONSENT CALENDAR 4.C.

DATE: May 17, 2022
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Naveed Ashraf, Chief Innovation Officer & IT Director SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION APPROVING THE VALLEJO BROADBAND MASTER PLAN & DIGITAL EQUITY STRATEGY 2022

RECOMMENDATION
Adopt Resolution approving the 2022 City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan and Digital Equity Strategy, making broadband accessibility more equitable.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION
CTC Technology & Energy have developed a new Broadband Master Plan & Digital Equity Strategy to refocus the City’s efforts beyond infrastructure to include digital inclusion considerations to match new Federal legislation. An updated Broadband Master Plan is necessary as the city aggressively pursues future dollars allocated by the State of California and the Federal Government towards the improvement of broadband. The City of Vallejo is a community with many low-investment areas that could greatly benefit from an infusion of major capital and programmatic funding to narrow the digital divide and improve access to future-proof high- speed telecommunications services.

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
On April 26, 2022 the City Council received a DRAFT copy of the Broadband Master Plan & Digital Equity Strategy 2022. After council and public input, a final report is being brought for adoption.

Highlights of the Broadband Master Plan & Digital Equity Strategy:
Deploy infrastructure in priority areas in partnership with a private provider to serve areas of low investment (areas that lack investment in fiber infrastructure) Utilize public funding from ARPA or the IIJA for last-mile connections Complete a fiber ring for the municipal dark fiber network Connect City facilities that are currently utilizing air fiber to direct fiber Provide free WiFi in certain public locations such as downtown and Waterfront Park Implement a Dig Once Ordinance
Consider requiring the installation of a conduit from new residential or commercial facilities to the nearest public street
Map all telecommunications permits into GIS; update the City’s GIS system to include current historical information about utilities and other infrastructure to improve strategic planning. Partner with community-based and national organizations to promote digital literacy Promote enrollment in existing low-cost broadband services (such as Comcast Internet Essentials) and the Affordable Connectivity Program

FISCAL IMPACT

Date: May 17, 2022
Subject: ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION APPROVING THE VALLEJO BROADBAND MASTER PLAN & DIGITAL EQUITY STRATEGY 2022

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There is no fiscal impact associated with the Broadband Master Plan & Digital Equity Strategy 2022.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378, because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.

ATTACHMENTS

1. 05-17-2022-Broadband Master Plan and Digital Equity Strategy-FINAL

2. 05-17-2022-COV Resolution Adopting 2022 Broadband Master Plan-CAO-STAMPED

CONTACT
Naveed Ashraf, Chief Innovation Officer & IT Director (707) 648-5200 [email protected]

Broadband Master Plan & Digital Equity Strategy
Prepared for the City of Vallejo, California
April 29, 2022

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 ii
Contents
1 Executive summary 1

1.1 Project goals and objectives 1

1.2 State and federal funding opportunities 2

1.3 Recommendations on infrastructure, policy, and programs 4

1.4 Implementation status of previous recommendations 5

1.4.1 Complete backbone loops 5

1.4.2 Build network extensions to high-value facilities and interconnect with outside networks 5

1.4.3 Develop pilot projects 6

1.4.4 Continue discussions with potential partners 6

1.4.5 Develop a joint trench rights-of-way management ordinance 6

1.4.6 Previously recommended partnerships 7
2 What is digital equity? 8
3 Assessment of local broadband environment 10

3.1 Residential broadband assessment 10

3.1.1 Fiber availability and pricing 11

3.1.2 Cable availability and pricing 14

3.1.3 DSL availability and pricing 17

3.1.4 Fixed wireless availability and pricing 22

3.2 Market assessment 24
4 Inventory of City’s conduit and fiber 30
5 Public-private partnership models 33

5.1 Model 1: Smart City model 34

5.2 Model 1A: Limited Smart City model 34

5.3 Model 2 (Recommended): Citywide Commitment model 34

5.4 Model 3: Neighborhood model 35

5.5 Model 4: Subsidy model 35
6 System-level design and cost estimate for extending the City’s fiber network 37 City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 iii

6.1 Expanding the City’s fiber network to create a resilient ring would cost approximately $700,000 37

6.2 Connecting key City locations to fiber would cost approximately $461,400 38

6.3 Connecting certain anchor institutions and businesses to the City’s fiber would cost an estimated $650,500 41

6.4 Constructing a pilot fiber-to-the-premises network could deliver benefits while demonstrating the feasibility of a full citywide build 43

6.4.1 Network architecture 44

6.4.2 Assumptions and criteria 47

6.4.3 Deployment costs for a citywide network 50

6.5 Deploying public Wi-Fi in key parts of Vallejo would cost $79,000 53 7 Policy and process recommendations 61

7.1 Dig Once ordinance 61

7.2 Permitting process and fees 62

7.3 GIS integration 63

7.4 Engagement with the private sector 64

7.5 Interconnections with neighboring cities and regional efforts 65 8 Programmatic recommendations 66

8.1 Digital literacy 66

8.1.1 Senior Planet 67

8.1.2 Ability Now Bay Area 67

8.1.3 EveryoneOn 67

8.1.4 Digital Literacy Rocks! 67

8.1.5 Tech Exchange 67

8.1.6 Human-i-t 67

8.1.7 Internet for All Now 67

8.1.8 Workforce Development Board of Solano County 68

8.1.9 Solano County Library 68

8.2 Broadband affordability 68

8.2.1 Service provider affordability programs 68

8.2.2 California LifeLine Program 70
City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 iv

8.2.3 Federal Affordable Connectivity Program Outreach Funding 72

8.3 Broadband speed testing 73
9 Federal and State funding opportunities 74

9.1 Federal funding 74

9.1.1 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 74

9.1.2 American Rescue Plan Act 80

9.2 State of California funding 83

9.2.1 California Advanced Services Fund (Public Utilities Code Section 281) 83

9.2.2 Other CPUC programs 87
Appendix A: Small business broadband products 89
Appendix B: Model Dig Once ordinance 91
Appendix C: Shadow conduit specifications 98

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 v
Figures
Figure 1: Fiber Coverage (AT&T) .......................................................................................................................... 12 Figure 2: Residential cable providers in Vallejo .................................................................................................... 15 Figure 3: Residential DSL services in Vallejo ......................................................................................................... 18 Figure 4: Advertised DSL download speeds .......................................................................................................... 21 Figure 5: Residential fixed wireless coverage (T-Mobile) ..................................................................................... 23 Figure 6: Low-investment areas ........................................................................................................................... 25 Figure 7: Low-investment areas and poverty levels in Vallejo .............................................................................. 26 Figure 8: Percentage of population with a computer ........................................................................................... 28 Figure 9: Total enrolled households in the Emergency Broadband Benefit program ............................................ 29 Figure 10: Existing fiber and conduit routes ......................................................................................................... 32 Figure 11: Candidate backbone fiber segments.................................................................................................... 38 Figure 12: Candidate City locations for fiber connections .................................................................................... 40 Figure 13: Candidate fiber connections to businesses and anchor institutions..................................................... 42 Figure 14: High-level fiber-to-the-premises architecture...................................................................................... 45 Figure 15: GPON fiber network with a buried service drop .................................................................................. 46 Figure 16: Conceptual design for the fiber-to-the-premises network ................................................................... 49 Figure 17: High-level fiber-to-the-premises architecture and components .......................................................... 50 Figure 18: Wi-Fi coverage for River Park .............................................................................................................. 55 Figure 19:Wi-Fi coverage for Vallejo Ferry terminal ............................................................................................. 56 Figure 20:Wi-Fi coverage for Mare Island Dry Dock ............................................................................................. 57 Figure 21:Wi-Fi access point coverage for downtown Vallejo .............................................................................. 58

Tables
Table 1: Fiber services offered by AT&T in Vallejo ............................................................................................... 13 Table 2: Cable services offered by Comcast in Vallejo .......................................................................................... 16 Table 3: DSL services offered by AT&T in Vallejo.................................................................................................. 19 Table 4: DSL services offered by Sonic in Vallejo .................................................................................................. 20 Table 5: Wireless services offered by T-Mobile in Vallejo .................................................................................... 22 Table 6: Estimated capital cost to build fiber to City-owned locations ................................................................. 39 Table 7: Estimated cost to connect facilities to fiber ............................................................................................ 41 Table 8: Estimated capital cost for deploying a fiber-to-the-premises network (excluding customer connections) ................................................................................................................................................................... 44 Table 9: Estimated make-ready costs ................................................................................................................... 48 Table 10: Estimated capital cost for citywide backbone and distribution plan (70 percent aerial, 30 percent underground construction) ......................................................................................................................... 52 Table 11: Estimated capital cost for citywide backbone and distribution plan (100 percent underground construction) .............................................................................................................................................. 53 Table 12: Access points needed for Wi-Fi deployment ......................................................................................... 59 Table 13: Estimated total capital cost for Wi-Fi network deployment .................................................................. 59 Table 14: Comcast small business internet packages ........................................................................................... 89 Table 15: AT&T small business internet packages ................................................................................................ 90

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 1 1 Executive summary
The City of Vallejo has actively sought to enhance high -speed broadband1 internet connectivity by using municipal dark fiber to serve local businesses downtown and on Mare Island. A five-year partnership with the telecommunications company Inyo Networks was a concrete effort to use this dark fiber in a targeted way to deliver general economic benefits to the community.

But the Covid-19 pandemic exposed a host of community needs beyond economic development that stem from a lack of access to reliable, affordable high-speed internet. Whether it was remote workers joining videoconferences or students trying to pa rticipate in online educational activities, the limitations of existing broadband infrastructure became more apparent. Notably, the impact of the pandemic and the intensified reliance on digital connectivity has been uneven within California, mostly falling along predictable socioeconomic and demographic lines.

Throughout the country, this digital divide manifests in many ways such as limited availability of broadband infrastructure, or lack of devices to connect to that infrastructure. Digital equity is not a single issue but rather a series of challenges. To surmount these challenges, State and federal policy makers have been working with renewed focus over the past two years (since the start of the Covid pandemic) to provide policy, definitions, and funding to enable localities to better serve their residents.

This update to the City of Vallejo ’s Broadband Master Plan (originally prepared in 2016 by the City’s independent broadband consultants, CTC Technology & Energy ) addresses broadband in the City of Vallejo through the lens of digital equity. To prepare this update , CTC analyzed the current state of reliable high -speed internet connections in the City in terms of access to infrastructure, affordability, access to devices, digital literacy, and training . Those data and insights informed the development of actionable recommendations , including identification of potential federal and State funding sources that might enable Vallejo to address its community’s needs.

1.1 Project goals and objectives
Based on input from City Council members, City staff, and local stakeholders , the overall goals for this project encompass the following:

1 The FCC has long defined a broadband internet connection as an always -on connection achieving speeds of at least 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload (25/3). The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act defines a location as “unserved” if it cannot access broadband service of at least 25/3 (Section 60102 – Grants for Broadband Deployment). The Digital Equity Act of 2021, which was part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, considers any speeds less than 100 Mbps download/20 Mbps upload as “underserved” (Section 60302 – Definitions). IIJA, https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf (accessed April 14, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 2 • Closing the digital divide: recommending opportunities to develop community resources to help all Vallejo residents connect to the internet via comparable, high- speed connections.
• Increasing competition: helping the City to utilize existing resources and encourage new partnerships to bring more internet service providers’ ( ISP) networks and services to the City.
• Maximizing the use of City assets: recognizing the work the City has already accomplished over the past five years and building on that work to ensure that City assets (e.g., data connections to municipal facilities, municipal fiber routes, and existing conduit) are part of a comprehensive connectivity strategy.

1.2 State and federal funding opportunities
Historically, most efforts by local governments to develop broadband infrastructure —including efforts by the City of Vallejo —have primarily focused on business opportunities and economic development with an eye toward General Fund revenues. The needs of the broader community were often secondary to these considerations because public agencies were largely dependent on investment by the private sector to build new broadband infrastructure: ISPs developed new projects based on their projected return on investment (within a truncated time horizon) rather than on community needs, and these considerations led to improved connectivity in areas where residents could afford the high costs of services necessary for such returns.

Recently, an emerging focus on public sector funding has enabled governments to consider broadband infrastructure projects in areas where residents’ needs are the greatest. For example, in early 2021, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)2 which, via the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) , will provide state and local governments with funding to develop or improve access to high-speed internet (among other functions).

In late 2021 Congress went a step further with passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)3 which specifically defines the problems encompassed by the digital divide along the following axes:
• Access

2 American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Public Law 117-2, Title IX, Subtitle M,§ 9901 (March 11, 2021) (adding State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds and Capital Projects Fund), https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ2/PLAW- 117publ2.pdf ( accessed April 13, 2022).
3 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Public Law 117-58, Division F – Broadband (November 15, 2021), https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf (accessed April 13, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 3 • Affordability
• Devices
• Digital literacy
• Training
The IIJA refers to efforts to surmount these obstacles as “digital inclusion” with the goal being “digital equity” throughout the community. While the City of Vallejo has had a Broadband Master Plan, the national broadband conversation has shifted since it was first adopted: Rather than focusing on General Fund revenues or economic development , it is now largely a conversation about digital equity for all residents.

The Digital Equity Act of 2021 (part of the IIJA) directly discusses the nuances of digital equity and equips jurisdictions to address their needs by funding digital skills training a nd data collection initiatives.4 In the IIJA, too, Congress established a series of funding programs to address equity through deployment of infrastructure to areas that are unserved or underserved .5 T hese programs include the Broadband Equity , Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which will invest an unprecedented $42 billion toward closing the digital divide .6 These new source s of funding are discussed in detail in Section 9.1.

The State of California has similarly address ed issues relating to broadband access by allocating a portion of the State’s share of SLFRF funding to support infrastructure development in areas of need. As part of the State’s 2021/22 spending plan, the administration and the Legislature agreed to spend $6 billion ($1.7 billion General Fund) over three fiscal years (starting in 2021) on broadband infrastructure. 7 This funding has been directed to support statewide investment in middle-mile and last-mile infrastructure.

To ensure that the benefits of this investment are effectively distributed to support unserved areas statewide, funding is being earmarked specifically for eligible last-mile broadband projects

4 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58, Division F, Title III §§ 60301 et seq., (Digital Equity Act of 2021), https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf (accessed April 13, 2022). 5 The Digital Equity Act of 2021 defines unserved communities as those with connections slower than the FCC standard of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload. Further, it defines underserved communities as those with connections slower than 100 Mbps download and 25 Mbps upload. 6 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Division F, Title I, §§ 60101-60105 (Broadband, Equity and Access Deployment program), 2021, https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf (accessed April 13, 2022).
7 California Legislative Analyst ’s Office, “ The 2021-22 Budget: Overview of the Spending Plan ,” August 2021, page 15, https://lao.ca.gov/reports/2021/4448/2021-Spending-Plan-102721.pdf (accessed March 30, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 4 in each county. 8 The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is currently considering draft rules to implement this statutory distribution and has proposed that it will distribute just over $17 million for projects in Solano County that meet the State’s criteria (see Section 9.2.1 for further discussion). 9 The City of Vallejo allocated $2.5 million of its initial SLFRF funding to broadband projects such as public Wi-Fi and various fiber projects.

This abundance of funding coincides with the expiration of the City’s contract with Inyo Networks to provide ent erprise internet services . The City will be initiating a request for proposals ( RFP) process to continue provision of services over the municipal network and to further new goals that reflect the progress made over the past six years. The RFP will also ref lect the new funding environment and the fundamental community value of widely accessible broadband. In addition to making recommendations based on best practices for process and programmatic improvements, this report makes recommendations for a project to be considered in the RFP.

1.3 Recommendations on infrastructure, policy, and programs This report makes the following recommendations based on the goals established by City officials and the data and analysis developed during this project. The recommendations relate to the following categories:
• Broadband infrastructure : The City should consider completing a fiber loop for redundancy and network stability; connect ing all municipal facilities to fiber; connecting anchor institutions and businesses to the City’s fiber; installing public Wi- Fi in select locations; and extending municipal fiber assets to new parts of the community, potentially including a limited fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network. These recommendations are discussed in detail in Section 6.
• Policy and process: The City should consider adopting a Dig Once ordinance and various permit process improvements to facilitate broadband infrastructure project development in the City. Additionally, the City should consider expanding collection of geospatial data related to current infrastructure assets and improving internal and external communication. See Section 7 for more details.
• Programs: Digital inclusion encompasses a host of efforts that are not directly related to infrastructure. The City should consider broadening its efforts to help residents who are

8 See, SB4, Chapter 671 (October 8, 2021), revising Pub. Util. Code Section 281, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PUC&sectionNum=281 (accessed March 31, 2022).
9 California Public Utilities Commission, Docket R.20-09-001, Proposed Decision of Commissioner Alice Reynolds Adopting Federal Funding Account Rules, issued March 2, 2022, https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M466/K763/466763362.PDF .

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 5 facing barriers to adopting broadband. These approaches include offering digital literacy training and enrolling eligible households in device or internet subscription subsidy programs. These programmatic recommendations would best be designed and implemented with community partners. See Section 8 for specific recommendations on programs and potential partners.

1.4 Implementation status of previous recommendations
The City’s 2016 Broadband Master Plan10 made a series of recommendations, including that the City consider using its existing traffic signal fiber network to deliver high -speed internet to promote economic development. That plan also included recommendations to improve network stability and to incorporate best practices into the City’s fiber management operations.

Following the delivery of that report, the City initiated an RFP process to identify a vendor that would deliver and expand service on the municipal dark fiber network ; the City subsequently entered into an agreement with Inyo Networks. While the City considered the other recommendations in the 2016 plan , no formal action was taken and most of those recommendations have not been implemented.

The following sections summarize the status of the 2016 plan’s recommendations.

1.4.1 Complete backbone loops
The 2016 Broadband Master Plan estimated that approximately 2.7 miles of conduit would be needed—at a total estimated cost of $470,000—to complete a fully diverse ring around the City.

Such rings would minimize single points of failure on the network. The City should consider completing diverse routes to increase reliability of City services and offer robust connectivity to potential institutional and enterprise users. The City has not implemented thi s project ; this recommendation is addressed in Section 5.

1.4.2 Build network e xtensions to h igh-value facilities and i nterconnect with o utside networks
The 2016 Broadband Master Plan recommended connecting to a few City locations that were not connected to fiber by extending the current City fiber network if justified by the business case.

Some of these sites appear to have been subsequently connected with what the City calls “ air fiber” (i.e., a point-to-point wireless connection supported by the municipal dark fiber).

As part of that prior process, t he City also identified several potential users and had discussions and received questionnaire responses. The City should consider connecting to institutions and

10 The 2016 Broadband Master Plan is available on the City’s website:
https://www.myvallejo.com/broadband/widgets/40763/documents (accessed April 13, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 6 enterprises that require services and that can provide funding to connect their locations to conduit and subscribe to a high -value service (1 Gbps symmetrical or greater). Our recommendation was that the City could potentially maintain and operate a small-scale network with an upgrade of its City Hall facility and by contracting out monitoring and repair to a network manager. We suggested an alternate approach that would have been to provide dark fiber to a private partner, which in turn would provide services. As discussed, the City has not expanded its fiber facilities, but it has worked with a private partner to use the infrastructure for its own service delivery.

1.4.3 Develop pilot projects
The 2016 Broadband Master Plan recommended the City consider pilot projects to demonstrate the feasibility of providing services to City agencies over fiber, as well as to other institutions, and to potential grant funders. Further, the plan recommended the City focus these efforts on the most enthusiastic potential customers.

Representatives of Touro University California, a private nonprofit graduate univ ersity on Mare Island in Vallejo, stated that the University would be interested in connecting immediately.

Although this connection was not provided, the University remains interested in a partnership .

However, they are currently contracted with another ISP and any future agreements would need to be discussed after the conclusion of that contract.

We further recommended continued discussions with Integra Telecom regarding the cost and terms of a connection through a PG&E substation and other potential connections to the internet backbone. The City has since connected to the i nternet backbone via a Zayo circuit, which resolved this gap in the network.

1.4.4 Continue discussions with potential partners
The 2016 Broadband Master Plan recommended continuing discussions with commercial ISPs (including Integra Telecom) to determine the cost and feasibility of connections within and outside of Valle jo and determining options for partnership and monetization of the conduit resources. We are unaware of these conversations having transpired.

The plan also recommended continuing discussions with Island Energy to gain access to conduit on Mare Island and commencing discussions with Lennar to gain access to its conduit on Mare Island. The City currently has an agreement with Mare Island Energy to utilize conduit on Mare Island for dark fiber.

1.4.5 Develop a joint trench rights-of-way management ordinance The 2016 Broadband Master Plan recommended the City modify its right- of-way ordinance to provide the City with the option of placing conduit on routes where utilities are performing excavation. We further recommended the ordinance include all excavators, including non - City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 7 communications and City utilities. To our knowledge the City has a policy in place to notify interested parties of upcoming righ t-of-way work, but a so-called Dig Once ordinance was not enacted. This recommendation is discussed further in Section 7.1.

1.4.6 Previously recommended partnerships
The 2016 Broadband Master Plan recommended the City engage with Integra Telecom and Sonic to explore the possibility of developing public -private partnerships. A subsequent RFP released by the City resulted in the selection of Inyo Networks, which proceeded under contract with the City to provide internet service to 72 businesses utilizing the City’s dark fiber network.

1.4.6.1 Integra Telecom
The 2016 Broadband Master Plan recommended that pursuing a partnership with Integra should include an exploration of locations where a carrier distribution and aggregation PoP could be established (City Hall and the Emergency Operations Center were identified as possibilities). The plan also recommended the City discuss Integra’s regional plans with neighboring cities, and that CTC could work with the City to coordinate grant opportunities with CENIC and CA Telehealth as a potential cross -constituent demonstration project, given Kaiser Permanente’s interest . These recommendations were not pursued by the City.

1.4.6.2 Sonic
Sonic indicated in 2016 that the absence of extensive last- mile conduit to residential areas in Vallejo made it unlikely that Sonic would be interested in a partnership with the City. However, the 2016 Broadband Master Plan recommended that the City stay in contact with Sonic in the event that the company became interested in selling services to customers over Ci ty fiber, as it does currently over AT&T copper lines. To our knowledge these conversations did not occur , although CTC recognizes that the City’s subsequent contract with Inyo Networks may have impacted any opportunity to work with Sonic in this capacity.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 8 2 What is digital equity?
Digital equity is “the condition in which individuals and communities have the information technology capacity that is needed for full participation in the society and economy of the United States.”11 Broadly speaking, it means all residents have broadband services sufficient for their daily needs.

The Covid-19 pandemic—and particularly the need to adapt to remote education and, for many, online work—highlighted gaps in digital equity nationwide. Thes e gaps are often referred to as the “digital divide,” which is most pronounced among “households with low income, people living with disabilities, people in rural areas, and older adults.”12 Data and insights gathered during the preparation of this report (including input from City Council members, stakeholders, and community organizations) indicate that the City of Vallejo has a digital divide. The need for better access to high-speed internet has remained a prominent community concern in Vallejo.

The recent passage of the IIJA has codified a definition of digital equity, 13 giving it specific features
that can be used to evaluate communities and identify specific impediments . T his definition informs the recommendations discussed below. Further, the federal statute defines a path to digital equity, which includes the process and activities necessary to achieve digital equity.

Under the IIJA, digital inclusion encompasses the following features:14

1. Access: the availability of infrastructure capable of reliably delivering data sufficient for participation in common online activities such as bill paying and streaming video

2. Affordability: where infrastructure exists, ensuring that users can pay for the service

3. Devices: an internet-enabled device that meets the needs of the user

4. Digital literacy: skills necessary to navigate the internet successfully and safely

5. Training and t echnical support: technical training for using devices and support for maintaining those devices
The law further stipulates the populations that should be considered when developing strategies to achieve digital equity:

11 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Title III USC § 60301 et seq., 2021, https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf (accessed April 13, 2022). 12 National Digital Inclusion Alliance, “Definitions,” www.digitalinclusion.org/definitions (accessed April 13, 2022). 13 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Title III USC § 60301 et seq., 2021, https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf (accessed April 13, 2022). 14 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 9 • Seniors
• English language learners and individuals who struggle with literacy • People living with disabilities
• People living below 150 percent of the federal poverty level • Incarcerated individuals
• People living in predominantly rural areas
• Members of a racial or ethnic minority group
• Veterans
This Broadband Master Plan maps community needs along these axes and makes recommendations to achieve digital equity in the community —in part by aligning the City’s efforts with future funding opportunities. For example, the IIJA allocated more than $2 billion for states to develop and implement digital equity plans (see Section 9); by defining its needs and developing strategies for addressing those barriers, Vallejo will be better positioned to use those funds.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 10 3 Assessment of local broadband environment
As directed by the City, this report focuses on the residential broadband market. Due to the equity focus of both federal and S tate funding opportunities, this analysis is intended to direct the City’s efforts to improve access for the broader community based on unmet needs . A n additional overview of small business broadband services can be found in Appendix A.

3.1 Residential broadband assessment
This market assessment process involves several streams of data collection and analysis to understand where fiber, cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), and wireless networks exist ; what services and pricing are available to consumers ; and how th ose factors correlate with demographic patterns.

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Form 477 data is the foundation of the analysis of residential network footprints within the City —with the understanding that Form 477 data represent a best-case scenario. ISPs self-report to the FCC biannually. These data are presented at the census block level, and the FCC considers a census block served by broadband if just one of the premises in the block could be served. The data thus tend to overestimate ser vice availability, especially in less populated areas where one census block can span many square miles.

FCC service data are also inconsistent for unpopulated areas such as parks or wildlife reserves.

For example, if an ISP has extended service to a single visitors’ center or building, FCC data may show a large unserved area around that location as being served.

While the data’s flaws are significant, Form 477 represents the most comprehensive national data set for understanding broadband availability an d investment patterns. It is important to note, too, that the FCC recognizes these flaws and is in the process of updating its mapping methodologies.
15 F ederal broadband mapping should thus more closely reflect the “on -the- ground" situation within the next nine to 12 months.

In addition, to understand the current service offerings available to Vallejo residents, a market assessment was conducted between December 2021 and January 2022 . This p rocess of researching the service offerings of ISPs operating in Vallejo included online and phone conversations with representatives of ISPs to collect market data on residential broadband

15 See December 8, 2021, letter from FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel to Representative Spartz regarding implementation of the Broadband DATA Act, https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC -378743A1.pdf (accessed April 13, 2022); see also statements made by Chairwoman Rosenworcel at her November 17, 2021, Senate confirmation hearing acknowledging the work to be done to create more reliable mapping and data on served households, https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2021/11/executive-session-and-nominations-hearing (accessed April 13, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 11 pricing, availability, and level of competition in the area. Leaving aside satellite providers, which do not provide consistent or adequate residential broadband speeds or service quality, there are four main residential broadband ISPs in the City:
• AT&T offers DSL services through almost all of Vallejo, as well as fiber services in select areas.
• Comcast is the dominant cable provider and serves nearly the entire City. • Sonic provides DSL services in scattered areas of downtown Vallejo. • T-Mobile offers its wireless Home 5G service throughout some of the City.

CTC randomly selected residential addresses in respective providers’ service areas to determine available service offerings and advertised pricing and terms.

3.1.1 Fiber availability and pricing
Fiber cables have enormous bandwidth capacity, which enables operators to offer s ymmetrical download and upload speeds. Once a premise s is connected to fiber, there is no need for significant outside plant infrastructure investment for decades. If more bandwidth is needed, the operator need only upgrade the network electronics,
16 rather than having to replace the cables.

This makes fiber networks significantly more scalable and future -proof than alternative infrastructures.

The initial data showed three fiber providers in Vallejo: AT&T, Inyo Networks, and Valley Internet.

Valley Interne t customer service representatives stated that the company does not currently offer residential broadband services in Vallejo. Valley may have been represented in the Form 477 data because ISPs are asked to indicate areas where they do or could offer service. 17 This can
sometimes result in an ISP indicating a small area where they may have assets as “served,” despite not actively providing services. Form 477 data show that Inyo Networks has a small and scattered service area in Vallejo and serves enterprise customers rather than residents.

The remaining fiber provider is AT&T, which reports residential fiber services in significant areas of Vallejo, including a large portion of the southeastern part of the C ity and other scattered pockets. AT&T’s residential fiber service area can be seen in Figure 1.

16 Note that high-speed network electronics are already relatively affordable, and the prices continue to rapidly decrease.
17 Federal Communications Commission, “Fixed Broadband Deployment Data from FCC Form 477,” https://www.fcc.gov/general/broadband-deployment-data-fcc-form-477 (accessed January 6, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 12 Figure 1: Fiber Coverage (AT&T)

Research finds that AT&T offers three fiber broadband products in addition to Access from AT&T, its low-cost program that is only open to qualifying customers and may be either a fiber or DSL service depending on the customer’s location.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 13 For its typical plans, AT&T reported that there is no c ontract term and no rate increase after an initial 12 -month period. A $5 month ly discount is available if the customer enrolls in both paperless billing and autopay (see table).

Table 1: Fiber services offered by AT&T in Vallejo
Service
Advertised
upload/download
speeds
Monthly
price (non-
promotional)
Notes
Access from
AT&T
10 Mbps
(temporary
upgrades to 25
Mbps available)
Up to $10 Equipment included; data cap may
apply
Access from
AT&T 100 Mbps $30
Unlimited data allowance; only
available in limited parts of AT&T
territory.

Internet 300 300/300 Mbps $60 Equipment included; installation fee may apply
Internet 500 500/500 Mbps $70 Equipment included; installation fee may apply
Internet 1000 940/880 Mbps $85 Equipment included; installation fee may apply

Access from AT&T provides residential wireline service up to 100 Mbps for up to $30 per month, depending on the level of service available at the home. In some locations, plans can be as low as $10 for 10 Mbps download. There are no advertised minimum upload speeds. AT&T is currently offering temporary upgrades to 25 Mbps where available. The program includes free installation and equipment and does not require a contract or deposit. Depending on the type of service available at the address, households are limited to a monthly data allowance of either 150 gigabytes or 1 terabyte and are charged $10 per 50 GB overage.18 Households are eligible if they participate in the Affordable Care Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for California households only. AT&T also extends eligibility to include households at 200 percent or less of the federal poverty line, and those participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). 19 18 AT&T, “Access from AT&T,” https://www.att.com/internet/access/ (accessed April 4, 2022). 19 AT&T, “AT&T Access,” https://www.att.com/internet/access/ and “New ‘Access from AT&T’ Plan + New Federal Benefit = Free Internet,” https://about.att.com/story/2022/new-access-plan-plus-new-federal-benefit.html (accessed April 4, 2022.)
City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 14 3.1.2 Cable availability and pricing
Cable broadband technology is a primary means of providing broadband services to homes and businesses in most of the United States. Coaxial cables were originally designed to provide video services and were sufficient in the early years of data communications when usage was low.

However, as demand for data capacity increased, coaxial networks became insufficient to support high-speed services forcing cable companies to upgrade their networks to fiber.

As seen in Figure 2, Comcast is the dominant cable provider in Valle jo, serving nearly the entire City. Wave also reports serving a single block ; that claim could not be verified, and it is unlikely given the size of their reported service area.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 15 Figure 2: Residential cable providers in Vallejo

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 16 Comcast offers seven plans, plus two options for their low- cost Internet Essentials service (see table). Gigabit Pro is the only plan for which Comcast requires a contract, however lower monthly prices are available with a contract commitment for each plan. Additionally, Comcast offers lower introductory prices that are scheduled to increase following 12 months of service. Even lower first-year prices are offered with a one -year contract. Equipment prices are not included in the monthly service charge, and customers may face a fee to have equipment shipped to them when they begin service.

Table 2: Cable services offered by Comcast in Vallejo
Service
Advertised
Upload/Download
Speeds
Monthly Price
(non-
promotional)
Notes
Internet
Essentials 50/5 Mbps $9.95 See information below for more about this program
Connect 50/10 Mbps $60
$29.99/month for the first 12 months
and $44.99/month for the next 12
months
Internet
Essentials Plus 100/10 Mbps $29.99 See information below for more about this program
Connect More 100/10 Mbps $70 $49.99/ month for the first 12 months Fast 300/10 Mbps $80 $59.99/ month for the first 12 months Superfast 600/20 Mbps $90 $60/ month for the first 24 months Ultrafast 900/20 Mbps $100 $70/ month for the first 24 months Gigabit 1200/35 Mbps $110 $80/ month for the first 24 months Gigabit Pro 3000/3000 Mbps $299.95 No promotional rate

Comcast’s offerings include Internet Essentials, a low -cost program for eligible households. 20 Eligible low -income customers pay $9.95 per month for a wired internet connection with equipment included. In early 2021, Comcast announced it was increasing the speed of this service to 50 Mbps download, 5 Mbps upload.21 And it now offers “Internet Essentials Plus” – a 100 Mbps download, 10 Mbps upload product for $29.99, which is designed to maximize the subsidy offered by the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program.22

20 Comcast, “Internet Essentials,” https://www.internetessentials.com/ (accessed April 13, 2022). 21 Comcast, https://www.internetessentials.com/covid19 (accessed March 30, 2022). 22 Comcast, https://www.internetessentials.com/ (accessed April 13, 2022); see also, Comcast’s information regarding the ACP available at https://www.xfinity.com/learn/internet-service/ebb (accessed April 4, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 17 Comcast has gradually expanded eligibility for its Internet Essential programs to the following groups:23

1. Families that have a child who qualifies for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)

2. Families that receive HUD housing assistance

3. Low-income veterans who receive federal or state public assistance

4. Families who qualify for Medicaid or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits

5. Families who are eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) , the Low- Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) , the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, or Tribal assistance

6. Families who have a family member who qualifies for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Even with the expanded eligibility requirements, however, Comcast stipulates that a customer of the Internet Essentials program must not have received service from Comcast within the past 90 days.24 This makes it difficult for people who were already paying for service to switch to the more affordable Internet Essentials plan (for example, if a job loss means that a customer now qualifies for the lower-cost service).

3.1.3 DSL availability and pricing
During the last century, phone companies connected virtually every home and business in the U.S. to a strand of copper wire. Copper has a fraction of the bandwidth capacity of coaxial cable and suffers from greater signal loss and interference—but because of the ubiquity of copper, DSL technology that provides broadband service over copper phone lines has been an important way for people to connect to the internet.

In some scenarios, DSL operators can offer speeds that fit the FCC’s definition of broadband.

However, while DSL has been an impressive retrofit of existing infrastructure, copper cable is reaching its physical limitations as a broadband medium and will not be able to meet future bandwidth needs.

Both AT&T and Sonic offer DSL services in Vallejo, as seen in Figure 3 . AT&T claims to cover nearly
the entire City, while Sonic offers services in scattered areas throughout downtown Vallejo.

23 Comcast, “Internet Essentials,” https://www.internetessentials.com/ (accessed September 2021). 24 Comcast, “Internet Essentials: Things to Know,”
https://www.internetessentials.com/covid19#thingstoknow&all_AmIeligiblefo rIE (accessed March 30, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 18 Figure 3: Residential DSL services in Vallejo

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 19 In addition to the fiber -based services discussed above, AT&T offers its AT&T Internet DSL product in Vallejo, which is a hybrid copper-fiber service.25 This product is slightly different than the cable and fiber products discussed previously, as AT&T offers only a single speed and rate for its AT&T Internet service that reflects the technical capabilities available to that premises. The pricing and terms for this se rvice are consistent throughout the City, but the advertised speeds vary on an address-level based on the distance of the premises from an aggregation point within AT&T’s network . Table 3 offers a sample of the service speeds offered at a variety of Vallejo addresses. Most plans also include a data cap of one terabyte per month, with a $10 charge per 50 gigabyte overage.

Table 3: DSL services offered by AT&T in Vallejo
Service
Advertised
upload/download
speeds
Monthly price
(non-
promotional)
Notes
Internet 18 18/1.5 $60 Equipment included; installation costs may apply; data cap may apply
Internet 25 25/2-5 $60 Equipment included; installation costs may apply; data cap may apply
Internet 50 50/10 $60 Equipment included; installation
costs may apply; data cap may apply
Internet 75 75/8-20 $60 Equipment included; installation costs may apply; data cap may apply
Internet 100 100/20 $60 Equipment included; installation costs may apply; data cap may apply

Similarly, Sonic’s DSL service is a copper- fiber hybrid that offers either fiber -to-the-node or, in some cases where gigabit service is offered, fiber -to-the-home. This product also has the same pricing for each plan despite variation in advertised upload speeds on an address -level. Table 4 summarizes a sample of services offered at a variety of Vallejo addresses. Sonic was unable to confirm estimated upload speeds for these services.

25 AT&T, “Understanding internet speeds,” https://www.att.com/support/article/u-verse-high-speed- internet/KM1010095 ( accessed December 2 8, 2021).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 20 Table 4: DSL services offered by Sonic in Vallejo
Service
Advertised
Upload/Download
Speeds
Monthly Price
(non-
promotional)
Notes
Fusion IPBB-C 50 Mbps
download $49.99
Includes home phone line; one year
contract required; equipment cost
not included
Fusion IPBB-C 75 Mbps
download $49.99
Includes home phone line; one year
contract required; equipment cost
not included
Fusion IPBB-F 1000 Mbps
download $69.99
Includes home phone line; one year
contract required; equipment cost
not included

Both AT&T and Sonic’s DSL products vary in speed offered depending on the location of the customer. Figure 4 shows the varying speeds available across Vallejo. As the map demonstrates, robust DSL speeds that could meet the current needs of Vallejo residents are only scattered in pockets across the City. More troubling, DSL speeds that barely meet the defini tion of an “unserved” area at 25/3 Mbps cover a significant portion of the map, making DSL an unsatisfactory alternative for adequate broadband service for many of Vallejo’s residents.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 21 Figure 4: Advertised DSL download speeds

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 22 3.1.4 Fixed wireless availability and pricing
Cellular wireless carriers have been consistently increasing their data speeds with the rollout of faster and higher capacity technologies, such as “5G.” Over the past few years, they have advertised data plans with speeds comparable to many residential customers’ internet service using a fixed wireless service. This service requires placement of a small antenna or gateway at the premises that will access new 5G equipment at nearby cell towers to create a closer range and faster data transmission than using a cell phone and the cellular network , especially for indoor uses . Nationally, home 5G services are a relatively new addition to the residential broadband market, and it remains to be seen whether they will provide reliable, high -speed services that can compete with wireline services for everyday consumers.

Both T-Mobile and Valley Internet claim on Form 477 to provide fixed wireless services in Vallejo.

However, during preparation of this report, Valley confirmed that they do not actually offer wireless residential broadband services in the City.

T-Mobile offers its new 5G Home Internet service throughout much of Vallejo, as seen in Figure

5. This product uses T-Mobile’s wireless network to offer residential broadband services.

T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet service is currently a single product, with national pricing at $55 per month, including equipment (see table). A cellular voice line is not required.

Table 5: Wireless services offered by T-Mobile in Vallejo Service
Advertised
Upload/Download
Speeds
Monthly Price
(non-
promotional)
Notes
5G Home
Internet 115/24 Mbps $55
Credit approval required; no data
cap; no voice line required;
equipment included

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 23 Figure 5: Residential fixed wireless coverage (T-Mobile)

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 24 3.2 Market assessment
While nearly all of Vallejo has access to some form of residential bro adband service,26 analysis found that investment in networks —specifically, fiber networks—has not occurred consistently throughout Vallejo. The near ubiquity of cable and DSL means that most residents have connectivity, but only select areas of the C ity have fiber as a competitive wireline broadband option. This lack of competitive alternatives for high- speed broadband is increasingly impactful as symmetrical 100/100 Mbps wireline service, offered most reliably over a fiber network, emerges as a de facto standard to fully participate in today’s digital world.

Analysis of fiber, cable, wireless, and DSL coverage identifies low -competition areas in Vallejo.

For these purposes, we define “low-investment areas” as those that have cable, wireless, DSL, or some combination of the three available —but no fiber. While portions of the low- competition areas could potentially have three options for service, these areas have no high-capacity wireline service as a competitive alternative to cable.

This analysis only includ ed AT&T’s fiber footprint. While there are City fiber assets available throughout some parts of Vallejo, Inyo’s recent decision to stop offering services over that network means that there is not currently a sustainable fiber option for residents within that footprint. However, these City assets offer an opportunity to introduce a new competitive option for service over fiber, which is discussed elsewhere in this report.

Figure 6 depicts the low -competition areas of Vallejo. In this map, DSL and cable service are available in nearly the entire low-competition area, with wireless service being offered in select areas. The wireless areas appear a darker purple than in the key because DSL’s green- shaded areas are layered under nearly all of its service area. Note that cable service is also almost ubiquitous throughout this area.

The map shows that the low- competition areas include much of downtown west of I -80, the northwest and northeast quadrants of the City, and the farther perimeter of the southeast quadrant of the City. There are also portions of Mare Island that have only DSL service, or a choice between DSL and cable.

26 This analysis identified the residential areas within Vallejo in which no broadband service is currently available.

These areas are primarily concentrated on Mare Island. While the data show that these areas are zoned residentially, they may not actually be inhabited. Many of the areas identified on Mare Island appear to be without homes.

Additionally, the northernmost area, just east of I -80, is a shopping center, and the eastern area south of the Blue Rock Springs Golf Course is a small road off of Ascot Parkway that leads to an industrial area.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 25 Figure 6: Low-investment areas

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 26 Combining data on these low-investment areas with data on poverty levels in Vallejo ( Figure 7) illustrates the lack of significant alignment between these two measures , which indicate s that other factors have limited investment in the City.

Figure 7: Low-investment areas and poverty levels in Vallejo

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 27 However, the western parts of the City see both lower rates of computer ownership (as seen in Figure 8) and higher overall participation in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (as seen in Figure 9). Not surprisingly, there is a loose correlation between these areas and the areas with higher rates of poverty, as seen in Figure 7. It is important for the City to recognize that even in areas with three or four choices for broadband service—cable, fixed wireless, DSL, and in some instances fiber—these neighborhoods and communities are not adequately connected due to affordability and device access concerns. It is also likely that these same communities are lacking in digital literacy skills and the comfort with the technology to support online learning and telemedicine for example. These data inform the recommendations to focus the City’s digital equity efforts.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 28 Figure 8: Percentage of population with a computer

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 29 Figure 9: Total enrolled households in the Emergency Broadband Benefit p rogram

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 30 4 Inventory of City’s conduit and fiber
This report updates and expands on the representative inventory of Vallejo’s broadband assets developed for the City’s 2016 Broadband Master Plan . To develop this updated Broadband Master Plan, CTC reviewed relevant maps, studies, documents, and data provided by the City for this project. CTC also reviewed the extensive maps and data compiled for the 2016 Broadband Master Plan.

For example, the City’s 2016 documentation described the routes of most of the City’s existing conduit and fiber (e.g., traffic signal fiber, empty conduit, and dark fiber) and utility conduit (e.g., gas, electric, telecom, fire alarm, unused water/sewer lines).

At that time, a CTC outside plant engineer conducted an extensive desk survey using the City’s existing GIS maps, Google Earth imagery, and other relevant sources, and aggregated all collected data to develop a GIS database that informed the current project. The CTC outside plant engineer—accompanied by City staff in the field—then conducted three days of field verification and site surveys of representative portions of the City. This work included evaluation of selected City sites, with field survey work focusing on critical routes intended for economic development efforts, based on discussions with the City. Through this field survey, CTC’s engineer established a high-level understanding of the scale of the network, and the City’s existing documentation and practices.

Recent interviews with City staff, and a review of current City-provided maps and data regarding conduit and fiber , comprise the foundation of our current analysi s. As the City is planning a comprehensive infrastructure audit in f all 2022 , it was determined that this upcoming investigation would best inform future infrastructure decision -making and should be used to guide the implementation of this Broadband Master Plan.

We are also aware that the City is planning an upgrade to all municipal traffic signal infrastructure from copper to fiber , which will provide a new opportunity for fully integrated traffic signaling.

This upgrade should also be viewed as an opportunity to expand the City’s fiber assets to include dark fiber or shadow conduit to support future needs.

Based on discussion with City staff, the following locations are not connected to the municipal network with fiber and are instead using wireless connections (“air fiber”) to the City -owned fiber. These sites should be the focus of the City’s infrastructure investments to provide the stability and capacity of fiber connectivity:

1. Fire Station 22

2. Fire Station 25
City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 31 3. Fire Station 26

4. Fire Station 27

5. CRT Building

6. Ferry Terminal

7. Marina Building
The City owns and operates approximately 36 miles of 3-inch conduit. The majority of the conduit was built for traffic communications. The existing fiber and conduit routes are shown in F igure 10, alongside potential future fiber routes discussed in Section 6.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 32 Figure 10: Existing fiber and conduit routes

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 33 5 Public-private partnership models
The 2016 Broadband Master Plan recommended that Vallejo explore partnerships with ISPs that serve the City. That report discussed the value of tailoring partnerships to meet the needs of the community while also ensuring that the parameters of the partnership directly benefit both the community and the private partner.

While the City issued an RFP and engaged Inyo Networks to provide service ove r the City’s fiber infrastructure, the City has not engaged in detailed discussions with other potential partner ISPs.

The City should continue to consider different collaboration approaches—particularly given the current broadband funding landscape. As discussed below, partnerships are valuable to infrastructure funding (i.e., grant applications) and delivering services to end users and we describe several potential models that could be considered. Our recommended model is based on the City’s desire to close the digital divide, improve market competition for broadband, and maximize the use of public assets. Our recommendation is further designed to take advantage of upcoming federal and State grant programs that might support the deployment of infrastructure to areas of low investment (as described in Section 3.2 above).

When developing a public -private partnership, the City should focus on risks, benefits, and control. Although it would be ideal for the City to gain all the benefits it seeks while controlling the new assets and risking little to no capital, the three factors frequently exist in tradeoffs. For example, the higher the public investment, the higher the City’s risk. Aside from communities that attract a private partner willing to invest its own capital, most public –private partnerships will require some public investment, which involves risk for a community. But as public funding increases, so should public control over the project itself, including the ability to focus on specific outcomes.

Contrast this with a private investment model where the public sector may be focused solely on engagement and planning. Such a model entails lower public cost and reduced public risk, but it also means the City’s benefits are more modest and t he private sector partner(s) completely control infrastructure deployment.

Finally, a model designed around shared investment and risk can yield opportunity and benefits both for the City and its partner(s). In such a model, each side of the public –private partnership focuses on its unique strengths while relinquishing other responsibilities and duties to the other partner. For example, the City may opt to fund the construction and deployment of the physical network and preliminary messaging to the public w hile the partner(s) is tasked with service deployment and eventual operation overseeing the relationship with end users.

The following is a brief discussion of a range of potential infrastructure strategies for the City’s efforts to address the digital divide.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 34 5.1 Model 1: Smart City model
City funding used to deploy infrastructure citywide for Smart City purposes with additional capacity placed by the private deployer for citywide broadband services to the public: In this scenario, the City’s funds would be a warded to the lowest -cost bidder that meets technical, financial, and management qualifications and that agrees to provide to the City, either for a specified term or in perpetuity, a specified number of dark fiber strands on a citywide basis for the non-commercial purposes of Smart City needs, including those that have not yet emerged.

Ideally, the City’s funds would also serve as an inducement to the private partner to invest in the City, deploy bundles of fiber with hundreds of strands of fiber, and offer commercial services to residential, business, and institutional customers.

5.2 Model 1A: Limited Smart City model
City funding used to deploy infrastructure citywide for Smart City purposes in select high- priority areas : In this variation on Model 1, the same kind of procurement would be undertaken—but for a more limited area of the City, to limit the City’s required funding outlay.

The areas prioritized for the competitive procurement would be identified with input from the City Council and stakeholder groups, but our initial assessment based on our interviews with the City indicates that infrastructure could be prioritized in North Vallejo . The City would make an award to the lowest -bidding qualified bidder, assuming adequate financial, technical, and managerial qualifications.

5.3 Model 2 (Recommended): Citywide Commitment model
City funding used to deploy infrastructure in priority areas for private operations in return for commitments to citywide fiber investment by a private partner: In this scenario, fiber- to-the- premises would be deployed on a citywide basis with a priority to areas of lo w investment considered in Section 6 of this report. The City would provide funding to a private partner to build infrastructure to be owned by the City—but only in those areas where a private sector business case does not exist because of insufficient return on investment.

The City’s contribution would be calculated to bridge the private sector business case in those areas, and the private party would lease the City -owned infrastructure and provide services based on its contractual arrangement with the City, which would include residential and enterprise service in addition to maintaining and managing the open -access municipal network.

The private partner would also commit to building infrastructure in all areas where it has a business case to do so, thus resulting in a citywide deployment with only partial City funding.

Through this shared investment strategy, the City would invest in those neighborhoods where the need is greatest—and attract private capital to the neighborhoods where City funds are not necessary or available. In those areas where the fiber is built with City funds, the City would own City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 35 the broadband infrastructure, and would lease access to its private partner and ot her internet service providers, with the private sector providing network maintenance, operations, and service.

Additionally, the private partner would commit to completing a fiber ring for the City and providing fiber to the remaining City facilities that are currently connected via “air fiber.” Similar to the FTTP deployment model, the private party would lease the City-owned infrastructure and the City would lease any private funded infrastructure for City needs. The private party would also commit to p roviding services to businesses and other community anchor institutions in addition to maintaining and managing the open-access network.

Finally, the private partner would be responsible for providing free public Wi-Fi at certain public locations such as parts of downtown along Georgia Street, Waterfront Park, River Park, the Ferry Building, and Blue Rock Springs Park —depending on financial viability. The City has allocated a portion of State and Local Fiscal Recovery (ARPA) funding to help implement this strategy, and any City-financed infrastructure utilizing federal and State funding would be owned by the City with the partner entity providing service.

CTC recommends this model as the most appropriate way to deploy infrastructure in the C ity utilizing new federal and State funding specifically available to public entities and leveraging that support to facilitate private investment in the City. In this model the public and private partners are equally invested in the success of the project and risks are shared.

5.4 Model 3: Neighborhood model
City funding used to deploy infrastructure in priority areas for private sector operations: This model is more incremental and focuses the City’s efforts on select, limited areas of high priority.

In partnership with one or more private partners, the City would contract a vendor to build fiber infrastructure in select target areas where affordability is most challenging.

Under this model, the City would own the infrastructure and the private sector provider would lease th e infrastructure and deliver services to the public based on contractual obligations negotiated with the City. Stated otherwise, the City would make a capital investment to construct the fiber, and a partner would have responsibility for operations. This partnership approach would minimize the City’s costs and risks while achieving the City’s goals for the selected neighborhoods.

5.5 Model 4: Subsidy model
City funding used to secure a long -term subsidy for low -income residents of the City : In this scenario, the City’s funds would not go toward construction of infrastructure to be owned by the City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 36 City, but rather to pre -purchase free or reduced -cost services over a negotiated period of time for lower-income residents.

This model is akin to recent efforts in other cities . The city of Chattanooga, T enn., for example, used federal CARES Act funds to pre -pay a regional broadband provider for a decade of service to lower -income members of the community who struggle to afford adequate connectivity services.

As with the options above, one benefit of this approach would be attracting private capital to the City because the guaranteed revenues, particularly in the form of an upfront payment, could increase the attractiveness of a private sector invest ment. In such a scenario, the extent and scope of the private sector deployment would be dependent on negotiations and private investment considerations, particularly in light of the amount the City can commit.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 37 6 System-level design and cost estimate for extending the City’s fiber network We present here network designs and cost estimates to inform the RFP the City will be releasing based on City Council input on this report.

This report recommends the City consider infrastructure expansion efforts that buil d incrementally on the existing City conduit and fiber network and that scales according to the needs of potential new fiber users:
• Complete a fiber network ring to provide network resilience and scalability (including to future housing developments)
• Extend fiber to City buildings not currently served
• Extend fiber to anchor institutions and businesses
• Develop a pilot effort and consider citywide FTTP
• Deploy Wi-Fi in key public gathering spots
The following sections present a high-level analysis that estimates the cost for a proposed phased approach to this strategic fiber and conduit construction. Although the incremental construction described below is generally not on a large scale (most segments are less th an 1 mile), the unit cost of labor and materials for smaller projects is generally higher than for larger projects—so it is important that next steps be taken strategically, with a clear picture of the commitment of potential network users and partners.

6.1 Expanding the City’s fiber network to create a resilient ring would cost approximately $700,000
The City’s existing network has two significant gaps. Instead of a ring with the capability of fail - over in each direction, the network in those locations is phys ically a spur, with only one path to serve the site. These gaps are between hubs 7 and 8 in the northeastern part of the network and between City Hall and hub 10 to the north of City Hall. With the completion of the ring, the path of fiber where a single p oint of failure can create a long -term outage is reduced to the distance from the site to the ring, generally less than 1 mile (Figure 11).

For the backbone, we chose the closest feasible routes to existing conduit—avoiding State roads, particularly Route 29. For the sites, we chose the closest feasible route from the site to a fiber splice enclosure, connecting the site to the backbone using the existing conduit system where available and ultimately creating a path back to City Hall.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 38 CTC recommends installing two 2-inch conduits for all new conduit sections as well as installi ng a greater fiber count (288 -count) for future growth; this higher fiber count would also require the use of larger vaults (24 by 36 by 36 inches).

The estimated labor and materials cost of completing the missing conduit connections and installing a 288 -count fiber optic cable throughout the entirety of the ring is approximately $700,000. The image below shows the proposed backbone segments in relation to the existing conduit.

Figure 11: Candidate backbone fiber segments

6.2 Connecting key City locations to fiber would cost approximately $461,400 The City has identified a handful of City locations not connected with fiber where the business case may exist for extending service.

We recommend connecting new locations using construction techniques and specifications like those used for the current network. We recommend constructing conduit from these locations

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 39 to the nearest existing City manhole or handhole and interconnecting the service drop to the City fiber in a splice enclosure ultimately forming a path to City Hall.

Our cost estimate is for running conduit and fiber cable in areas not yet built as well as utilizing conduit already in the ground. This approach is suitable for adding the seven sites identified below. The estimated costs of these connections are as follows:

Table 6: Estimated capital cost to build fiber to City-owned locations City Locations Cost
1155 Capitol Street $52,100
1335 Fulton Avenue $88,900
1585 Ascot Court $32,700
595 Mini Drive $141,100
700 5th Street $67,000
Ferry Terminal $34,000
Marina Building $45,600
Total for City locations $461,400

The cost estimates assume connectivity on an individual basis. Because some of these sites are in proximity to each other and/or have overlap in the construction routes there may be substantial savings in constructing to groups of sites. (i.e., to feed multiple buildings from a single tap). The more buildings on that block, the less it will cost the City to connect each building The image below shows each site’s connection to the backbone ring.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 40 Figure 12: Candidate City locations for fiber connections

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 41 6.3 Connecting certain anchor institutions and businesses to the City’s fiber would cost an estimated $650,500
The City could extend its fiber to key local anchor institutions and businesses at the same time it constructs fiber to connect City buildings. (While the City would deliver services to its own facilities, these other entities would need to contract with an ISP that would deliver service over the City’s fiber.)
The following table lists the estimated cost ( pending further internal review) associated with constructing fiber to anchor institutions and businesses identified by the City:

Table 7: Estimated cost to connect facilities to fiber
Facilities Seeking Connection Cost
Forest Service $179,800
Kaiser Permanente $25,900
Six Flags DK $70,500
Solano Community College $24,200
Solano County Fair $46,900
Sutter Solano Medical Center $59,100
U.S. Dept of Veteran Affairs $34,200
VCUSD $209,900

The image below shows each site’s connection to the backbone ring:

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 42 Figure 13: Candidate fiber connections to businesses and anchor institutions

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 43 6.4 Constructing a pilot fiber-to-the-premises network could deliver benefits while demonstrating the feasibility of a full citywide build
CTC engineers developed a conceptual, high- level fiber-to-the-premises outside plant network design and cost model for the City that is aligned with best practices in the industry and able to support a variety of electronic architecture options and busines s plans. This design is based on our recommended business model (see Section 5.3, above), which envisions the City investing public funding (from f ederal and State grant programs) for infrastructure deployments to areas for which a business case cannot be made by ISPs, with the remaining infrastructure to be financed by a private partner.

The cost of building a fiber -to-the-premises network will depend in part on what percentage of the network infrastructure is built on aerial poles as opposed to inside und erground conduit. In our interviews with ISPs, we learned there are some infrastructure challenges the City faces in expanding the municipal network to include FTTP. One of the challenges is underground utilities, which limit available utility poles for aerial fiber deployment. Another is rear easements in parts of North Vallejo where the utilities are behind homes and make access to utility poles challenging for ISPs. We therefore present two designs with differing fiber attachment assumptions to compare the cost of prioritizing underground versus aerial fiber.

The first citywide design assumes that the builder will seek to maximize use of the utility poles with 70 percent aerial construction and 30 percent underground construction throughout the City. The second design assumes 100 percent underground construction, which would result in the event the builder is unable to or does not wish to negotiate a pole attachment agreement or wants to deploy quickly without needing to rely on other entities to move the ir attachments or replace crowded poles. Both designs encompass about 450 route miles.

In total, the first design is estimated to cost approximately $ 64 million for the backbone and distribution plant, or $1,700 per passing, with an estimated additional co st for subscriber drops of $240 per subscriber.
27 The fully underground design is estimated to cost $ 116 million for the backbone and distribution plant, or $3, 100 per passing, with an estimated additional cost for subscriber drops of approximately $210 per subscriber.

27 This represents the cost of material and labor for installing aerial or underground infrastructure from the distribution plant to connect to an individual subscriber’s property. This cost does not include any customer premises equipment (CPE), such as a modem.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 44 In other words, these designs assume the construction of a network that could serve all 37,588 passings within Vallejo (see table),28 but the total deployment cost would increase with each subscriber that receives a drop connection and customer premises equipment.

Table 8: Estimated capital cost for deploying a fiber-to-the-premises network (excluding customer connections) Passings
Total number of passings 37,588
Design 1: 70% Aerial/30% Underground
Backbone and distribution plant $64,000,000
Cost per passing $1,700
Estimated drop cost per customer $240
Design 2: 100% Underground
Backbone and distribution plant $116,000,000
Cost per passing $3,100
Estimated drop cost per customer $210

A pilot fiber-to-the-premises deployment based on this high-level design—and focused on a small geographic area identified by the City —could deliver benefits to residents while demonstrating the feasibility of a potential citywide deployment.

6.4.1 Network architecture
We developed a conceptual, high- level fiber-to-the-premises outside plant network design that is aligned with best practices in the industry and is open to a variety of electronic architecture options. The figure below shows a logical representation of the fiber-to-the-premises network architecture we recommend based on the conceptual outside plant design.

28 To estimate the number of passings, California address points from the Microsoft Buildings National Dataset were imported into ArcGIS Pro, then filtered for only the buildings in the City of Vallejo. This number does not account for multi-family dwellings, which may include multiple addresses.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 45 Figure 14: High-level fiber-to-the-premises architecture

This drawing illustrates the primary functional components in the fiber-to-the-premises network, their relative position to one another, and the flexibility of the architecture to support multiple subscriber models and classes of service.

The recommended architecture is a hierarchical data network that would provide scalability and flexibility, both in terms of initial network deployment and ability to accommodate the increased demands of future applications and technologies. The central characteristics of FTTP data network include:
• Capacity – ability to consistently provide efficient transport for subscriber data at advertised speeds, even at peak times
• Availability – high levels of redundancy, reliability, and resiliency; the ability to quickly detect faults and reroute traffic
• Efficiency – no traffic bottlenecks; efficient use of resources • Scalability – ability to grow in terms of physical service area and increased data capacity, and to integrate newer technologies without new construction • Flexibility – ability to provide different levels and classes of service to different customer environments; can support an open access network or a single -provider network; can provide separation between service providers on the physical layer (separate fibers) or

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 46 logical layer (separate Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) or Virtual Private Network (VPN) providing networks within the network)
• Security – controlled physical access to all equipment and facilities, plus network access control to devices
This architecture offers scalability to meet long -term needs. It is consistent with bes t practices for either a standard or an open-access network model to provide customers with the option of multiple network service providers. This design would support the current industry standard Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology, as well as 10 Gbps XGS-PON and NG-PON2 standards. It could also provide the option of direct Active Ethernet (AE) services on a limited basis, such as for business customers, using spare fiber capacity built into the designs.

The design is based on a Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) architecture, which is the most commonly provisioned fiber-to-the-premises service—used, for example, by AT&T Fiber, Verizon (in its FiOS systems), and Google Fiber. GPON supports high -speed broadband data and is easily leveraged by triple-play carriers for voice, video, and data services.

GPON uses passive optical splitting, which is performed inside fiber distribution cabinets (FDC), to connect fiber from the Optical Line Terminals (OLTs) to the customer premises where it connects to an Optical Node Terminal (ONT) on the outside or inside of the premises. With GPON service (Figure 15), the FDCs house multiple optical splitters, each of which splits the fiber link to the OLT between 16 to 32 customers. The GPON OLT uses single -fiber (bi-directional) modules called SFPs (Small Form Factor Pluggable) which consists of a laser transmitter and a receiver to support multiple (less than 32) subscribers, so each customer receives a fiber connection all the way to the premises.

Figure 15: GPON fiber network with a buried service drop

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 47 The design assumes placement of manufacturer -terminated fiber tap enclosures within the public right -of-way or easements, providing watertight fiber connectors for customer service drop cables, and eliminating the need for service installers to perform splices in the field. This is an industry-standard approach to reduce both customer activation times and the potential for damage to distribution cables and splices.

6.4.2 Assumptions and criteria
The cost of building an FTTP network will depend in large part on what percentage of the network infrastructure is built on aerial poles as opposed to inside underground conduit. Therefore , we provided two estimates. The first design assumes the City will seek to maximize the use of poles with 70 percent aerial construction and 30 percent underground construction. The second design is for 100 percent underground in the even the builder is unable to secure the necessary pole attachment agreements. Both designs assumed the existing and proposed backbone fibers would be used.

The fiber-to-the-premises network design was developed with the following criteria based on the above assumptions and required characteristics of the hierarchical fiber- to-the-premises network:
• Underground conduit and fiber will be installed in the public right- of-way or in an easement on the side of the road.
• The aerial fiber design will make use of existing poles where possible. • Backbone fiber sizes will range from 144- to 288-count cables; extended lateral fiber sizes will range from 48 - to 144-count cable; and short lateral and drop fiber will contain 12 strands.
• The network will target up to 288 passings per secondary distribution point, each served from an FDC containing optical splitters.
• The distribution plant will terminate at multi-port subscriber tap terminals (i.e., “taps”) in underground handholes, each serving no more than 12 homes. • Access conduit will be placed in drop access handholes placed at the edge of the parcel for each serviceable passing (one handhole per one or two passings). • The underground vault spacing along distribution routes will be no more than 750 feet.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 48 • Hub shelters will be constructed to support network electronics with backup power generation, redundant cooling systems, robust physical security, and inert gas fire - suppression systems.
• Where possible, the distribution plant network routes will avoid crossing major roadways, railways, and waterways.
• In the aerial design, we assume that the builder is able to obtain an attachment agreement from the pole owner.
• We assumed a conservative estimate for the average make -ready cost per foot of approximately $6, based on typical unit costs for make -ready and pole replacement in other cities. The table below provides our assumptions for the make-ready costs.

Table 9: Estimated make-ready costs
Cost factor Estimate
Make-ready cost per move $450
Average moves per pole 2
Average poles per mile 45
Percent of poles requiring make-ready 50%
Percent of poles requiring replacement 5%
Average pole replacement cost $5,000
Average make-ready cost per foot $6

Figure 16 shows the conceptual architecture for the physical plant in the fiber -to-the-premises network. A hub will feed primary distribution conduit through distribution vaults located throughout the City. Some distribution vaults will be designated as equipment vaults, which contain s plitters to feed secondary distribution conduit to tap access handholes located near residents. Each tap access handhole will then connect to drop access handholes located on the edge of the parcel but still within the City’s right- of-way. By installing infrastructure to the edge of each premises parcel, costs are reduced for future installation to a subscriber.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 49 Figure 16: Conceptual design for the fiber-to-the-premises network

The figure below shows a logical representation of the fiber -to-the-premises network architecture we recommend based on the conceptual outside plant design. It also illustrates the primary functional components in the fiber -to-the-premises network, their relative position to one another, and the flexibility of the architecture to support multiple subscriber models and classes of service.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 50 Figure 17: High-level fiber-to-the-premises architecture and components

6.4.3 Deployment costs for a citywide network
The cost for the backbone and distribution plant contains the following elements:

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 51 • Project management encompasses overall project and contract management, including oversight of the construction and engineering contractor(s), equipment suppliers, and right-of-way agreements. We assumed a two-person project management team for three years.
• Engineering and as -builts includes system -level architecture planning, preliminary designs, and field walkouts to determine candidate fiber routing; development of detailed engineering prints and preparation of permit applications; and post -construction “as - built” revisions to engineering design materials.
• Conduit and vault infrastructure consists of all labor and materials related to underground communications conduit construction, including conduit placement, vault/handhole installation, and surface restoration; and includes all work area protection and traffic control measures inherent to roadway construction activities. • Utility pole make-ready consists of the labor needed for preparing poles for the addition of new aerial cabling. This includes moving existing cables to make room for new cables or replacing poles if the existing pole is at maximum capacity. • Fiber optic cables and components consists of the material and labor costs specific to the installation of fiber optic cables, taps, splice enclosures, and other related components, irrespective of the cable pathway (underground conduit or aerial placement). • Fiber splicing, testing, and documentation includes all labor related to splicing of outdoor fiber optic cables.
• Hub facilities and systems consists of the material and labor costs of placing hub shelters and enclosures; related hub systems (backup power ge neration, cooling systems, etc.); and terminating backbone fiber cables within the hubs.
• Post-Covid-19 market demand contingency accounts for price increases on material due to supply chain interruptions during the Covid -19 pandemic. This contingency is no t applied to the project management and engineering and as -builts categories because they do not incorporate construction material.

Electronics are not included in in the backbone and distribution plant cost estimates.

6.4.3.1 Design with 70 Percent aerial and 30 percent underground construction When taking all of these considerations into account, the total cost of the backbone and distribution design with 70 percent aerial and 30 percent underground is approximately $ 65 million, or $1, 700 per passing —excluding t he per -subscriber costs of drops and customer City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 52 premises equipment. This cost is itemized in the following table . Note that the costs have been rounded (Table 10).

Table 10: Estimated capital cost for citywide backbone and distribution plan ( 70 percent aerial, 30 percent underground construction)
Cost category Estimated cost
Project management $1,850,000
Engineering and as-builts $5,050,000
Conduit and vault
infrastructure $22,150,000
Materials $3,950,000
Labor $18,200,000
Aerial strand $3,350,000
Materials $850,000
Labor $2,500,000
Utility pole make-ready $9,650,000
Fiber optic cables and
components $11,750,000
Materials $8,400,000
Labor $3,500,000
Fiber splicing, testing, and
documentation $2,500,000
Hub facilities and systems $250,000
Backbone and distribution
plant total cost $56,550,000
Post-Covid-19 market
demand contingency on
construction material (15%)
$7,400,000
Backbone and distribution
plant total cost with
contingency
$63,950,000
Number of passings 37,588
Cost per passing $1,700

6.4.3.2 Design with 100 percent underground construction The total cost of the backbone and distribution network design with 100 percent underground construction is approximately $116 million, or $3,100 per passing (Table 11)—excluding the per- subscriber costs of drops and customer premises equipment. Again, note that the costs have been rounded.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 53 Table 11: Estimated capital cost for citywide backbone and distribution plan (100 percent underground construction)
Cost category Estimated cost
Project management $1,850,000
Engineering and as-builts $6,550,000
Conduit and vault infrastructure $73,900,000
Materials $13,250,000
Labor $60,650,000
Fiber optic cables and components $13,250,000
Materials $8,0,000
Labor $5,000,000
Fiber splicing, testing, and documentation $2,500,000
Hub facilities and systems $250,000
Backbone and distribution plant total cost $101,750,000 Post-Covid-19 market demand contingency
on construction material (10%) $14,000,000
Backbone and distribution plant total cost
with contingency $115,750,000
Number of passings 37,588
Cost per Passing $3,100

6.5 Deploying public Wi-Fi in key parts of Vallejo would cost $79,000 Wi-Fi is another technical option for municipalities to deliver broadband service to targeted areas. Wi-Fi is deployed in the form of a mesh network, in which wireless routers (or “nodes”) are linked together and the n branch off to other nodes. This type of network topology creates multiple routes for information to travel among the connected nodes —thus increasing network resiliency in the case of a connection or node failure.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 54 At the City’s direction, we analyzed the feasibility of deploying a network to deliver Wi-Fi service to River Park, the Vallejo Ferry Terminal, the Mare Island Dry Dock, and various locations in downtown Vallejo. We focused on technical feasibility and capital costs; the scope of this evaluation did not include ongoing operating costs.

This analysis used the Longley -Rice type propagation model (typical for modeling coverage in irregular terrain) with 10 -meter resolution and the following assumptions to simulate a “real world” scenario: one 80 MHz channel within the 5.8 GHz spectrum band, an omnidirectional antenna, and typical Wi -Fi radio parameters. We set coverage parameters to represent a minimum user speed of 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream.

The following f igures show the anticipated Wi-Fi coverage in each area, along with candidate access points and the closest existing or proposed City-owned fiber (i.e., the fiber expansions described in the sections above).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 55 Figure 18: Wi-Fi coverage for River Park

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 56 Figure 19:Wi-Fi coverage for Vallejo Ferry terminal

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 57 Figure 20:Wi-Fi coverage for Mare Island Dry Dock

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 58 Figure 21:Wi-Fi access point coverage for downtown Vallejo

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 59 The access points operate as a wireless mesh network, with one or more access points transporting data to the others and providing redundancy in the event any access point goes down. Although a single access point can be connected to backhaul to transport the connection to all other access points in the network, the capacity of the wireless signal degrades by roughly half as it hops from one access point to the next. In networks featuring a large number of access points, multiple backhaul connection insertion points spread throughout the network are recommended to enable better connectivity for users at all locations in the network.

An independent wireless mesh network with its own backhaul connection to the City’s fiber would operate in each area. The following table identifies the estimated number of access points needed in each deployment.

Table 12: Access points needed for Wi-Fi deployment
Area Number of access points
River Park 10
Vallejo Ferry Terminal 2
Mare Island Dry Dock 1
Downtown Vallejo 4

Residents would be able to use their own Wi -Fi-enabled devices without any additional access equipment in their homes, so the City would avoid the cost of providing equipment for each resident.

The total capital cost for the Wi-Fi infrastructure, including the access points, power supplies, and mounting hardware, is estimated at roughly $79,000.

Table 13: Estimated total capital cost for Wi-Fi network deployment Cost analysis Estimated
Cost
Outdoor Wi-Fi access points $51,000
Power supplies $5,000
WLAN controllers $12,000
Wi-Fi Direct $4,000
Access point mounting hardware $7,000
Total cost $79,000
City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 60 City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 61 7 Policy and process recommendations
Interviews with public officials and ISPs in and around the City reveal various policy areas in which improvements could be made. Notable best practices that the City could adopt include passing a written Dig Once ordinance, re-evaluating aspects of the permitting process, expanding the City’s GIS integration program, and increasing c oordination with the private sector and regional initiatives.

7.1 Dig Once ordinance
The City of Vallejo does not currently have a Dig Once ordinance, but rather a codified road work moratorium and an internal policy for notifying interested parties of upcoming projects in the municipal right-of-way. A formal ordinance would provide clarity and consistency in directing and permitting telecommunications infrastructure projects and would also allow for strategic planning for new conduit or fiber routes to areas of priority for the City.

In our interview with the City ’s Public Works Department, we came to understand that some barriers exist to implementing the existing policy and should be considered when developing an ordinance. For example, there is little strategic or proactive communication with ISPs to help plan for infrastructure deployment; the City receives an application for an encroachment permit from providers as they develop their own, internal strategies within the City. Furthermore, we learned that the Planning Department does most communicating with outside entities and this communication is not generally coordinated with Public Works.

A best practice in th ese situations is for the City to develop relationships with the various ISPs operating in the City and have regular conversations with them about their plans, the City’s plans, and plans from other entities such at PG&E to enter the right -of-way. In this way, the City could ensure that areas of strategic importance are being considered for the placement of fiber -ready conduit or fiber to help build out a citywide network.

Additionally, the City should adopt a policy mandating the installation of C ity-owned co nduit (where it does not exist) in all new developments and open trenches. This policy, known as a shadow conduit policy, would allow the City to limit future disruption to its rights-of-way; both the City and the private sector would be able to install fiber without additional digging. This approach has been used to positive effect in cities such as Bellevue , Wash. Although it requires an upfront financial investment and a commitment of resources to manage and lease the conduit, over time it can eliminate significant costs and bottlenecks in the infrastructure construction process.

Model language for a Dig Once Ordinance can be found in Appendix B . Specifications for a Shadow Conduit Policy can be found in Appendix C.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 62 7.2 Permitting process and fees
Best practices from around the State and interviews with the City’s Public Works Department and various private sector stakeholders illustrate possible improvements in the City’s permitting process. If the City is looking for opportunities to make its construction environment more attractive to broadband providers, the City should consider reevaluat ing its traffic control plan requirements, continue to expand its online permitting application, and improve collaboration and communication efforts between departments.

Under the current municipal code, a traffic control plan is required for any modification of the telecommunications facility or wireless communications facility.29 Feedback from entities looking to manage or build broadband infrastructure asse ts in the City unanimously agreed that this is an overly stringent policy. Many projects applying for right -of-way encroachment permits are minimally invasive, perhaps on the scale of working on a quarter of a block for one day. For projects of this size, that actual impact on traffic in the City is negligible, and to require a traffic control plan serves only to slow down the process. By amending this policy, ISPs and infrastructure management companies would more easily service Vallejo, and also those internal resources that are currently put towards approving and analyzing those traffic control plans could be dedicated elsewhere in the local government.

A possible improvement to the traffic control plan requirement could include new code detailing a distinction between major and minor projects.
30 In this scenario, major projects would be given
a different set of standards and requirements than their more minor counterparts, creating a convenient mechanism to preserve traffic control plans in projects that really need them while allowing commonplace projects to proceed more efficiently. This has been implemented successfully across the State, with one of the nearest examples being the City of Oakland. 31 In addition to the traffic control plan, the City should continue to develop its online permitting application. Vallejo has used an online permitting application to centralize many different permitting processes since 2020. This is already a large step for municipalities to take and seems to have worked well s ince its introduction in the City. Continuing to maintain and build out the web application will ensure the private sector has easy access to entrance and will help facilitate

29 City of Vallejo Municipal Code, Ord. No. 1769 N.C. (2d), § 1 (August 22, 2017), https://library.municode.com/ca/vallejo/ordinances/municipal_code?nodeId=866721 (accessed April 13, 2022). 30 It is important to note that the actual delineation can be more specific than simply between various “ projects.” For example, it could only separate encroachment projects, or excavation. 31 City of Oakland Municipal Code,
https://library.municode.com/ca/oakland/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT12STSIPUPL_CH12.08EN (accessed April 13, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 63 planning. The City should also evaluate the application’s data/analytics capabilities to ensure their departments can accurately track their own progress.

Centralized permitting also needs to occur offline. Interviews with the Public Works Department indicate that there is little collaboration (at least when it comes to independent carriers) between Public Works and Planning. Although each department has their own domain, increased coordination and communication between the two could help both in the short term by alleviating and/or preempting issues, but also by assisting long -term pl anning. To accomplish both of those goals, the City should leverage the shared online permitting center to achieve more frequent and fruitful interdepartmental communication.

Additionally, applicants should note whether they have any pending applications for federal and State funding for the infrastructure; this will help inform citywide strategic planning and ensure alignment with other approval processes.

Finally, the City should update its written policies to include language explicitly allowing such construction methods outlined in Senate Bill 378, such as microtrenching. According to SB 378, “the local agency with jurisdiction to approve excavations shall allow microtrenching for the installation of underground fiber if the installation in the microtrench is limited to fiber, unless the local agency makes a written finding that allowing microtrenching for a fiber installation would have a specific, adverse impact on the public health or safety.” 32 Broadening the allowed
construction methods to include microtrenching not only would hasten the deployment of new fiber, but would also align the City with this State law.

7.3 GIS integration
Maintaining accurate data on the location of existing infrastructure will be key to many of the City’s goals. The City is already using the new online permitting application to great effect in this realm. The online permitting application has full GIS integration for planned and recent projects, allowing users to see locations, times, and descriptions of these projects. This information is valuable for the private sector and would enable the City to enforce an effective Dig Once policy.

However, there is a blind spot in the City’s GIS database : The City curre ntly has little to no centralized mapping of existing infrastructure (i.e., installed before the current permitting system). Because the majority of broadband infrastructure was put in place before the inception of online permitting applications, it is a n ear universal challenge for all municipalities to

32 California State Senate, “SB. 378,”
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB378 (accessed April 14, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 64 understand where assets are located, and who owns them. Among other challenges, this impedes the City from identifying areas that lack infrastructure and might be a high priority.

The City should continue to work on the GIS integration of the online permitting application so that they may add previously processed permits to the database. Furthermore, the work should continue to include on the same map information on past, present, and future broadband infrastructure plans.

One possible administrative method of executing this level of GIS integration would be to require any relevant broadband permitting applicant to attach a KMZ, shapefile, or similarly usable type file of the location, shape, and type of the infrastructure on which they plan to work. This would quickly allow for the mapping of most assets that will be built or managed in the future.

To develop an understanding of where infrastructure has been placed historically, the P ublic Works Department, whenever time and resources allow for it, could go through any remaining previously approved permitting applications and upload rough sketches of where the broadband assets are placed.

However, while an easily understood visualization of where broadband infrastructure ex ists could aid the City in achieving its strategic goals, ISPs have historically opposed efforts to publicly document their assets—because that information could open doors to competing ISPs who are interested in serving gaps in the incumbents’ networks. T herefore, the City should be prepared for some amount of pushback from the industry.

7.4 Engagement with the private sector
Through an outreach initiative with private providers in and around the City, a bottleneck in transparency has emerged. Without readily available market information, private sector stakeholders are unable to evaluate Vallejo as a potential service area.

The City could jumpstart private sector interest by making the following types of information public:

1. Locations, employee counts, and industry of all medium and large businesses in the City.

2. Locations and technical specifications for any current or planned data centers.

Additionally, any lots/land that appear to be particularly viable for future data centers.

3. The locations and populations of multi-dwelling units.

4. Any current gaps in infrastructure, including any areas that the City feels is a priority.

The City should engage with ISPs on a regular basis to discuss strategic deployment of broadband assets and aligning capital projects with the City’s needs. Comcast, for example, has indicated it City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 65 has plans to upgrade its infrastructure in Vallejo; the City should be discussing with them ways to facilitate that effort.

7.5 Interconnections with neighboring cities and regional efforts Additional coordination with neighboring public sector entities is recommended to best align the City with regional efforts. Broadband infrastructure and the internet are not contained within political borders, and much of the strategizing occurs on scales larger than a single municipality.

It would be wise for the City to communicate with Solano County and the cities of Fairfield and Vacaville; all are either in the process of or considering developing broadband master plans.

The City should also communicate with the California Department of Technology to coordinate planning with the California for All Middle -Mile Broadband Initiative. 33 This project will fund at least 18 open-access middle-mile infrastructure projects throughout the S tate, the nearest one to Vallejo being in San Leandro.

33 California Department of Technology, “Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative ,” https://middle-mile-broadband- initiative.cdt.ca.gov/ ( accessed April 13, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 66 8 Programmatic recommendations
The digital divide cannot be resolved just by building broa dband infrastructure. Unlike the landscape in 2016, today there is a new funding environment and specific attention on other barriers to connectivity . This expansion of broadband policy has created a host of other opportunities that can be leveraged to provide benefits to the residents of the City of Vallejo. To minimize expenditures on these programs, the City should monitor the State’s development of a statewide Digital Inclusion Strategy which will include support for implementing programmatic solutions.

This Broadband Master Plan recommends that the City create campaigns and programs that can promote the significant number of digital literacy programs that already exist in the area and that are supported by ongoing S tate funding opportunities, and to support the development of additional digital literacy projects that will likely evolve as the result of new funding sources.

The City can also work with providers and community -based organizations to support outreach efforts to prom ote carrier-neutral broadband affordability programs and programs that offer discounted devices such as laptops and tablets.

Finally, to better understand the types of connections City residents are using and where gaps in connectivity may continue to exi st, the City could promote internet speed testing using readily available applications.

Each of these options are discussed in further detail below.

8.1 Digital literacy
Ubiquitous access to high-speed internet does not serve a community if residents lack the skills to navigate online content safely and effectively. The concept of “digital literacy” embodies these skills and is further defined in the IIJA as “the skills associated with using technology to e nable users to find, evaluate, organize, create, and communicate information.”34 Digital literacy programs teach individuals and families how to perform everyday online tasks that may seem self -evident to more experienced users including , how to sign up for a free email account, how to find relevant and useful information, how to navigate translation and in- language services, how to use online banking or bill payment, and even how to use Zoom. More advanced training could include cybersecurity, using Google Maps and how to navigate social media and avoid “fake news.” It is often the lack of these skills that create barriers to connectivity.

34 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Public Law 117-58, Division F, Title III USC § 60301 et seq., (Digital Equity Act of 2021, https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf (accessed April 13, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 67 To help City residents overcome this barrier, the City of Vallejo should consider partner ing with community organizations to promote or provide these classes. Below is a list of potential partners, many of which are already serving in this space . While this is not intended to b e an exhaustive list, it represents a wide variety of organizations and agencies that may be willing to partner with the City to develop creative outreach and program solutions in the short term, as well as agencies that could help the City prepare for the application process of various sources of digital equity funding that will be available via the State digital equity grants that are currently being developed. These funding opportunities for digital equity projects are discussed in further detail in Section 9.

8.1.1 Senior Planet
Senior Planet (from AARP) provides a host of online classes for seniors to learn how to navigate online. Their courses cover such topics as technology tutoring and discussion groups, fitness apps, and online bill pay, and are all available virtually and many are in-language.

8.1.2 Ability Now Bay Area
Ability Now provides similar programs to those provided by Senior Planet, but with a focus on people living with developmental disabilities

8.1.3 EveryoneOn
EveryoneOn is a national organization that has aggregated several online education tools that can be used to supplement a comprehensive digital literacy program.

8.1.4 Digital Literacy Rocks!
Solano County Computer and Digital Skills Center offers an array of paid, instructor-led classes to help participants build digital skills.

8.1.5 Tech Exchange
An Oakland-based organization that sells refurbished devices at discounts, manages free device programs, provide s minor tech support services and a small number of online digital literacy classes, including some classes in-language. This organization currently partners with the Oakland School District and Oakland Undivided to provide devices at no or low cost and minor tech support to those students.

8.1.6 Human-i-t
This program p rovides self -paced computer and internet training , and also works with organizations to provide low-cost computers and devices.

8.1.7 Internet for All Now
Internet for All Now is a program funded by the California Emerging Technology Fund primarily intended to advocate for digital inclusion policy initiatives at the State and local levels. However, City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 68 its website also has outreach materials for affordability programs and federal subsidies (such as the Affordable Connectivity Program).

8.1.8 Workforce Development Board of Solano County
Although primarily focused on workforce development activities, the WDB could be an effective partner in outreach and promotion of digital literacy programming, or even working with the City to develop curricula.

8.1.9 Solano County Library
Again, a non -traditional partner in this field, but the City of San Jose Public Libraries have had great success developing an d implementing digital literacy curricula in collaboration with the California Emerging Technology Fund – a mo del that City of Vallejo should consider ex ploring.

8.2 Broadband affordability
The City should consider creat ing campaigns and initiatives to promote broadband affordability programs, including device distribution programs . Research demonstrates that these programs are generally undersubscribed because people are unaware of them or do not understand how to apply for them.35

8.2.1 Service provider affordability programs
While ISPs do not generally release details on their programs’ enrollment,36 both Comcast and AT&T have broadband affordability programs available to the residents of Vallejo. AT&T’s Access service provides either 100 Mbps for $30 or 10 Mbps download speeds for up to $10 per month, or both services may be available depending on the network technology serving the household.

AT&T provides no advertised minimum upload speed commitment with either offering . The

35 Tyler Cooper & Jason Shevik, “Emergency Broadband Benefit Recap: 7.1Million Households Enrolled, Adoption Varies Significantly by State,” (Broadband Now, December 16, 2021), https://broadbandnow.com/internet/emergency-broadband-benefit-report (accessed April 13, 2022); See also, California Emerging Technology Fund, “Recommendations for ISPs to Consider in Responding to COVID-19”, April 28, 2020, https://www.cetfund.org/recommendations-fo r-internet-service-providers-to-consider-in-responding- to-covid-19/ ( last accessed April 13, 2022).
36 Indeed, policy makers have often had difficulty getting information about these provider-sponsored discount programs. To ensure that these programs can be an important tool to fill the affordability gap, the California Legislature recently required that service providers report enrollment and describe service offerings for these discount programs when requested by the CPUC. The new statutory requirement, Pub. Util. Code Section 884.2, grants the CPUC authority to require that California ISPs must report on “each free, low -cost, income-qualified, or affordable internet service plan advertised by the provider.” While it may be that some of the information from this reporting will be confidential, it is likely that the CPUC will make general information about these programs available to the public so that stakeholders, like the City, can deve lop outreach materials for its residents. The CPUC has yet to announce rules for this reporting. Pub. Util. Code Section 884.2 is available at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PUC&sectionNum=884.2 . (accessed
April 13, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 69 program includes free installation and equipment and does not require a contr act or deposit. In some cases, households will have a monthly data allowance of either 150 gigabytes or 1 terabyte and are charged $10 per 50 GB overage.37
Comcast’s low -income offering is called Internet Essentials. Comcast also offers two tiers of service, a 100 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload service for $30 and a 50 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload at $10 per month. Comcast also offers bundles with a wireless service for a further discount. This is not a fiber-based service and the available speeds for this service will depend on whether Comcast has performed upgrades to its networ k. Comcast offers a broader set of qualifying low -income programs than AT&T’s Access service , but Comcast does not have an income qualification option.38
Both AT&T and Comcast are also participating in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP, discussed further below, provides subsidized and discounted broadband service and broadband capable devices to eligible households.39 AT&T and Comcast encourage customers to apply for and become qualified for the ACP before signing up for their corporate discounted services.40 ACP subsidizes a service provider up to $30 for a service offering and up to $100 for a device.41 In most cases, combining the ACP subsidy and the discounts offered under the Access or Internet Essential programs provide the end user customer with a free broadband service.

The City should prioritize outreach and marketing campaigns to inform City residents about these programs and how the ACP and service provider discount programs can work together. The City can, for example, create and provide informational materials about these programs to City and County agencies that work with eligible populations such as the Department of Housing and Community Development or the City Water Department. These agencies can, in turn, send

37 AT&T, “Access from AT&T,” https://www.att.com/internet/access/ (accessed December 26, 2021). This service is open to “qualifying” households that participate in the Affordable Care Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for California households only. AT&T also extends eligibility to include households at 200 percent or less of the federal poverty line, and those participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
38 Comcast, https://www.internetessentials.com/covid19 (accessed March 30, 2022). 39 In the Matter of Affordable Connectivity Program WD Docket 21-450, Report and Order and FNPRM (FCC 22-2) (January 21, 2022) (ACP Final Rules), https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC -22-2A1.pdf (accessed January 27, 2022).
40 Comcast, “Comcast Expands Affordable Connectivity Program Offers with Faster Internet Essentials Service and Xfinity Mobile” (March 1, 2022), https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/comcast-affordable-connectivity- program-internet-essentials-service-xfinity-mobile ( accessed April 4, 2022); AT&T, https://www.att.com/help/affordable-connectivity-program/internet/existing-customer/ (accessed April 4, 2022). 41 Federal Communications Commission, “Affordable Connectivity Program,” https://www.fcc.gov/acp (accessed April 4, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 70 informational fliers to their clients and participants in their own low- income programs such as the Water Rate Assistance Program.

As another e xample, the City can work with Solano County to distribute ACP materials to participants in the WIC program or could work with local economic development organizations and various chambers of commerce, such as the Hispanic, Black, or Vietnamese Chambers of Commerce to help better promote this program. Existing non -profit and community -based organizations can also help facilitate communications with affected populations such as seniors, English-language learners, or people living with disabilities. These community partners will often have toolkits and in -language material posted online or available for distribution about these discount programs so that the City can leverage these existing resources to help advance its own outreach efforts.

Some of the groups listed above, including Tech Exchange, EveryoneOn and Human i- t, also manage device discount programs. For example, the organization EveryoneOn is working with another statewide nonprofit, the California Emerging Technology Fund, to provide a referral program that reaches out directly to families in the Vallejo City School District to provide them with information and further referrals to the federal Affordable Connectivity Program, carrier discount services and discounted devices.42

8.2.2 California LifeLine Program
In addition to wireline carrier affordability programs, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) manages the State’s low-income telephone program, also known as California LifeLine.

This program differs from the A CP discussed abov e because it provides discounts for wireless voice and data services and voice-only wireline service to eligible households in California. Like ACP, participation in the program by wireless and cable is voluntary and not all service providers offer LifeLin e discounts . As part of the T -Mobile/Sprint merger transaction , T-Mobile has committed to participate in LifeLine through its affiliate Assurance Wireless at least until 2025.43

42 EveryoneOn, https://www.everyoneon.org/find-offers-vallejocityusd?custom=1&partner=vallejocityusd (accessed March 30, 2022).
43 Description of the Assurance California Plan is available at https://www.assurancewireless.com/lifeline- services/states/california-lifeline-free-government-phone-service ( accessed March 31, 2022); see also, the CPUC’s press release “CPUC Approves Merger of Sprint and T-Mobile” (April 16, 2020), https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M333/K367/333367934.PDF (accessed March 31, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 71 In 2021, Verizon and TracFone also committed to ongoing LifeLine participation through the TracFone brand as part of Verizon’s purchase of Tracfone.44 The California LifeLine discount program provides discounts on wireline and wireless service to eligible households. Eligibility is defined as a household that participate s in at least one of 10 qualifying state and federal social services programs such as Medicaid/Medi-Cal, Federal Housing Assistance, or Veteran’s benefits or the household can demonstrate that it has an income of less than 150 percent of the federal poverty level. This program works with the federal LifeLine program to coordinate customer discounts. The program has been offering discounts for low- income wireline voice customers for almost 40 years. Today, a wireline customer will pay between $8 and $12 per month for voice -only service. In Vallejo, this offer is only available through AT&T wireline service. A LifeLine customer can bundle a discounted voice service with a broadband service from AT&T.45
LifeLine discounts for wireless services are more popular. While only the reseller-affiliates of the facilities-based carriers participate in this program, and AT&T has no participation whatsoever, there are 10 smaller wireless resellers such as TracFone, Assurance Wireless, and Tru Connect that participate in the program.46
Eligible customers can receive substantial discounts on wireless voice and data services from participating providers. While the plans vary, the minimum service standards for the program require unlimited talk and text and approximately 4 GB to 6 GB of data monthly all at no cost to the end user; providers also usually provide a device for no cost to the end user in most cases.47

44 TracFone offers LifeLine service under the SafeLink brand name. More information is available at https://www.safelinkwireless.com/Enrollment/Safelink/en/Web/www/default/index.html#!/welcomeCenter ; see also, the CPUC’s press release “CPUC Requires Consumer Protection Measures for Verizon’s Acquisition of TracFone” (November 18, 2021),
https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M424/K116/424116598.PDF (accessed March 31, 2022). 45 The CPUC has information about the program available at https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/consumer- support/financial-assistance-savings-and-discounts/lifeline/california-lifeline-eligibility ( accessed March 31, 2022) and the program has its own website for consumers in multiple languages, https://www.californialifeline.com/en (accessed April 13, 2022).
46 CPUC LifeLine Program subscription data for 2022, broken down by participating providers, https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/divisions/communications-division/documents/lifeline/customer- count/2022_maximussubscribercountsasof_03152022.xls ( accessed April 13, 2022). 47 California Public Utilities Commission, Docket R.20-08-002, Decision Establishing Specific Support Amount and Minimum Service Standards, D.20-10-006 (October 8, 2020), at Attachment 1, https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M348/K751/348751101.PDF (accessed April 13, 2022); See, for example the LifeLine offering for TruConnect Wireless in California, https://www.truconnect.com/offers/ca?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&campaignid=15995630053&adgr oupid=132656566956&creative=576644589099&keyword=free%20cell%20service&gclid= CjwKCAjw6dmSBhBkEiw A_W-EoHvhZoKGHbKOMfzs5USjQgHobqtaEs6CitXJt8bwrrQy9rNSz0aXvRoC2CYQAvD_BwE ( accessed April 13, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 72 The wireless provider will receive a $25 subsidy from State and federal LifeLine funds. LifeLine customers also have access to Wi-Fi services in some cases.

These discounted mobile wireless services are insufficient for a low-income household to reliably work from home, engage in online learning, or participate in other critical online activities.

However, in light of the affordability and access barriers to residential broadband service discussed above, many low -income households re ly on their mobile wireless service and smartphones for home internet access. 48 As the City considers all options to support data, internet and broadband connectivity for its most vulnerable residents, information about the California LifeLine program be p art of the affordability toolkit that the City makes available as part of outreach efforts.

8.2.3 Federal Affordable Connectivity Program Outreach Funding As discussed in more detail below, a cornerstone of the federal government’s policy to promote affordable broadband access is the Affordable Connectivity Program. Through the IIJA, the FCC is tasked with implementing this $14 billion subsidy program for broadband services and devices.

As part of the statutory structure for this program, Congress d irected the FC C to adopt a framework to ensure that information about the program will be disseminated through multiple stakeholders to the intended beneficiaries.
49 In a recent rulemaking, the FCC lays out a detailed outreach plan that encompasses requirements for educating potential customers about the program through the efforts of the FCC and service providers, as well as cross-agency collaboration (e.g., disseminating information through other social services programs ).
50 T he FCC also requires its own staff, as well as the agency that administers the ACP, to develop “comprehensive provider education and training programs, as well as consumer outreach plans.”51 These materials may prove valuable for the City to develop its own outreach and engagement efforts, in partnership with local agencies, as discussed above.

The FCC also issued a proposal for public comment regarding an outreach grant program that will dedicate millions of dollars to an FCC -administered process that will provide direct funding for outreach and consumer education efforts.52 While the authority for this grant program is laid out

48 Andrew Perrin, "Mobile Technology and Home Broadband 2021," Pew Research Center, June 3, 2021, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/06/03/mobile-technology-and-home-broadband-2021/ (accessed April 14, 2022).
49 IIJA, Division F – Broadband, Title V, Section 60502(a)(10). 50 In the Matter of Affordable Connectivity Program WD Docket 21-450, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 22-2) (January 21, 2022) (ACP Final Rules), paragraphs 190-209, https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-22-2A1.pdf (accessed January 27, 2022). 51 ACP Final Rules, paragraph 208.
52 ACP Final Rules, at paragraphs 270-280.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 73 in statute, the FCC still has many open questions that it must answer before it can issue rules for this outreach program. In its Rulemaking for the ACP, the FCC requested further public comment on many aspects of the grant program including what types of entities should be eligible to request and receive grants and whether local agencies and government entities will be eligible for the funding. The FCC also requested comment on the types of outreach activities that will be eligible for funding under this program, application processes, and the reporting requirements for grant recipients. The FCC likely will issue rules and begin to take grant applications for this program in late third quarter 2022.

Despite the months-long wait, the City should monitor this program closely and work with local non-profit agencies, such as those discussed above, to explore funding opportunities through this outreach grant program to support consume r education and outreach work, as well as support for application processing. The City should ensure that its potential community partners are aware of the development of this program and that these potential partners coordinate with the City, and other regional stakeholders, before applying for funding under this program.

8.3 Broadband speed testing
To maximize the City’s eligibility for State and federal funding sources—especially those created by California SB 156 and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs act, it is critical that actual connection speeds be mapped in the community. While the maps developed for this report show connection speeds reported by ISPs (i.e., FCC Form 477), developing more accurate and granular data would strengthen the City’s planning efforts.

The City should target areas of particular interest and then deploy any of the readily available speed test tools, such as Ookla, to accurately map available connection speeds beyond those that are reported to the federal government or advertised as available by ISPs.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 74 9 Federal and State funding opportunities
The federal government has allocated billions of dollars to support broadband infrastructure and programs nationwide as part of both ARPA and the IIJA. The State of California has also committed funding to address broadband access and adoption gaps.

9.1 Federal funding
Significant new funding sources have recently been authorized that will expand the opportunities to create meaningful programs to expand digital access and equity for communities across the country. These programs will develop at both the federal and S tate levels and be the subject of significant rulemaking processes for design and implementation, making the next two years important for Vallejo, the local service providers and community-based organizations to prepare for and implement new funding and program opportunities.

For example, the Treasury Department has rules regarding the framework and requirements for spending the American Rescue Plan Act funds and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is currently taking public comment and preparing rules to implement key broadband deployment and equity pieces of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
53 Also during this time, as discussed briefly above
the FCC has implemented the $14 billion Affordable Connectivity Program to support affordable data services to eligible households for either wireless or wireline services.

The most significant funding opportunities are discussed in more detail below. These programs, along with several others, provide the City a point of reference to further analyze how it can use these funding programs to help it achieve its broadband access goals for the City and the surrounding area.

9.1.1 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
The $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) —including $65 billion in broadband funding for extensive deployment and digital equity initiatives —was signed into law on November 15, 2021. The NTIA is directed by Congress to implement programs that will consist of $48.2 billion of the IIJA broadband funds and the Agency is currently in the process of dr afting rules for implementation of several of the programs. NTIA is charged with issuing rules for the broadband deployment funding by May 14, 2022, which will set guidelines for the application

53 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58, Division F, 2021, https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf (accessed April 13, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 75 process.54 As part of this process, NTIA is directed to use f ederal broadband deployment maps, which are still in development, to determine the allocation of broadband deployment funding to the states. The NTIA may make preliminary funding disbursements based on existing mapping data, which would make some of the fu nding available on a much shorter timeframe. In either event, once that money is distributed, states are directed to develop a comprehensive set of grant programs to further distribute the money to subrecipients with the goal of expanding broadband access and digital equity to benefit communities throughout each state. Additionally, applications for the Digital Equity Planning program included in the IIJA will not be accepted until October of 2022, yet the Act sets out significant pre -planning requirements for the states that include providing opportunities for public input on digital equity throughout the year.55 There is still much work to be done at the federal level and possible opportunities for local entities to open a dialogue with the state agencies tasked with applying for and distributing this funding.

In California, the CPUC and the Department of Technology (CDT) have been identified as the agencies primarily responsible for standing up programs with this broadband funding. The IIJA places a strong emphasis on community outreach and engagement at several steps in the funding and program process for both broadband deployment and digital equity. Over the coming months, the agencies responsible for administering the funds at the federal and state level may release more requests for comments; develop frameworks and rules; and issue notices of funding opportunities—including for the kinds of programs that could address gaps in Vallejo. The City should monitor and participate in the process as this funding flows from the NTIA and FCC, down to the State level (CPUC and CDT) for further distribution to local agencies, communities, and service providers.

The NTIA will administer $48.2 billion of the broadband funding through the following programs:
56 • Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program: $42.45 billion “for broadband deployment, mapping, and adoption projects”

54 NTIA issued a request for comment on January 10, 2022, regarding the broadband deployment funding program, the digital equity planning grant program, and the middle-mile grant program. Notices for comment on additional digital equity and Tribal programs will be forthcoming. More information is available at https://www.ntia.gov/files/ntia/publications/iija_broadband_rfc.pdf (accessed January 27, 2022). 55 The legislature has a pending bill that directs the California Department of Technology to begin the State’s Digital Equity Plan development process in consultation with “the public, California Public Utilities Commission and the Broadband Council”—AB2750 (Bonta, 2022), available at
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2750 (accessed April 13, 2022).

California legislature is also considering a very high-level Digital Equity Bill of Rights, AB2753 (Reyes, 2022), available at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2753 (accessed April 13, 2022).
56 NTIA, “Grants,” https://ntia.gov/category/grants (accessed November 17, 2021).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 76 • Digital Equity Act Programs: $2.75 billion “for grant programs that promote digi tal inclusion and equity to ensure that all individuals and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy” • Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program: $2 billion
• Enabling Middle-Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program: $1 billion “for the construction, improvement or acquisition of middle-mile infrastructure” Of these, BEAD and the digital equity programs represent opportunities for securing funding — based on the local prioritization and, potentially, a successful grant application to the competitive element of the digital equity program. Also, the IIJA allocates an additional $14 billion to the Affordable Connectivity Program—a subsidy that likely will go directly to low-income broadband subscribers.

9.1.1.1 Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program California will receive a minimum of $100 million in BEAD funding —representing the initial minimum distribution to each state.57 Additional allocations will be distributed based on a state’s unserved and high-cost areas.

NTIA reports that “the first priority for funding is for providing broadband to unserved areas (those below 25/3 Mbps), followed by underserved areas (those below 100/20 Mbps), and then serving community anchor institutions (1/1 Gbps).”
58 Funding will be sent to states who will then
make sub-grants. A subgrantee that receives funding to deploy a network will be required to ensure the networks capable of delivering at least 100/20 Mbps service within four years of the date of the subgrant—and to offer a low-cost service for low-income subscribers.59 While Vallejo may not qualify as an “underserved” eligible area for deployment funding given the advertised availability of 100 Mbps service, the law also provides for other applications for BEAD grants that will be further developed by NTIA. The statute allows funding to be used for broadband planning (up to 5 percent of funding), connecting anchor institutions such as C ity

57 Broadband USA, “Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program,” https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/resources/grant-programs/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-bead- program ( accessed April 5, 2022).
58 NTIA, “Grants,” https://ntia.gov/category/grants (accessed November 17, 2021); see also, IIJA, Division F, Title I, § 60102(h)(1), https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684 (accessed November 17, 2021). 59 IIJA, Division F, Title I, § 60102(h)(4), (h)(5), https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684 (accessed April 5, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 77 facilities, supporting broadband adoption efforts such as digital literacy programs , and constructing infrastructure to serve low-income families in multi-dwelling buildings.60 After the NTIA releases its rules, the next step will be the allocation of funding to the states and several yet -to-be-finalized dates for states to submit a series of planning documents and applications. Due to the complexity of this process, and the reliance on FCC’s new broadband mapping process to identify “eligible areas” for funding, it is unlikely that any funding will be available to local entities prior to the fourth quarter of 2022. Yet, it is likely that federal, state , and local agencies will spend significant resources throughout this year to plan for these projects, including work to solicit local community input and engagement. City of Vallejo should prioritize communication with the California Department of Technology and the CPUC to ensure that your community needs are represented in the decision-making process.

9.1.1.2 Digital Equity Planning Grant Program
NTIA’s digital equity program comprises three elements:

1. State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program ($60 million)

2. State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program ($1.44 billion)

3. Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program ($1.25 billion) NTIA has stated that these programs aim “to promote the meaningful adoption and use of broadband services across the targeted populations in the Act, including low-income households, aging populations, incarcerated individuals, veterans, individuals with disabilities, individuals with a language barrier, racial and ethnic minorities, and rural inhabitants.” 61 The State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program provides funding directed toward state broadband offices to develop digital equity plans, with required local stakeholder engagement and input. These plans serve as the framework for each state’s digital equity projects that can be funded through the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program. The State Digital Equity Capacity Grant funding will be distributed in annual grants to each state over five years “to implement digital equity projects and support the implementation of digital equity plans.” 62 States are
directed to use this money to establish programs to fund bo th statewide and local digital equity efforts. The Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program differs from the other two programs

60 IIJA, Division F, Title I, § 60102(d)(2), (e)(1), https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684 (accessed April 5, 2022).
61 NTIA, “Grants,” https://ntia.gov/category/grants (accessed November 17, 2021). 62 BroadbandUSA, “NTIA’s Role in Implementing the Broadband Provisions of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/news/latest-news/ntias-role-implementing-broadband- provisions-2021-infrastructure-investment-and ( accessed November 17, 2021).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 78 because it allows for grants from the NTIA directly to local agencies, and other community organizations such as nonprofits, anchor institutions including schools, Tribal entities, and workforce programs.63
Current and anticipated efforts in Vallejo to address digital equity issues may qualify for funding under these federal digital equity programs, but more clarity and guidance will come as NTIA issues rules and guidance for these programs. Similar to the efforts described for the BEAD program, the City should remain vigilant to information about the development of these programs and opportunity for public input and collaboration with key community partners.

9.1.1.3 Enabling Middle-Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program: $1 billion “for the construction, improvement or acquisition of middle-mile infrastructure” The NTIA will also oversee a new direct grant program related to middle -mile in frastructure expansion.64 T his program likely will not be available in urban areas with extensive cable coverage, like Vallejo . The Middle-Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program (MMBIP) is a means of maximizing creative partnerships between middle-mile providers (including state and local entities) with providers or entities that have last- mile solutions but may lack the incentive or resources to build the backbone necessary to reach the harder to reach places in rural America.

Additionally, the program seeks to “to promote broadband connection resiliency through the creation of alternative network connection paths that can be designed to prevent single points of failure on a broadband network.”
65 Eligible areas must lack service offerings of at least 25/3 Mbps. This requirement alone will make areas such as Vallejo, with extensive wired broadband coverage, unlikely candidate s for this funding. If awarded funding, grantees will have to prioritize:

1. Connecting resulting infrastructure to last -mile networks that will provide services to households in unserved areas

2. “Connecting non-contiguous trust lands”

3. Offering wholesale service at reasonable rates on carrier-neutral basis

63 BroadbandUSA, “Digital Equity Programs,” https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/digital-equity-programs (accessed April 5, 2022); see also, IIJA, Division F, Title III § 60305 (Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program), https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf (accessed April 13, 2022). 64 BroadbandUSA, “Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program,” https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/resources/grant-programs/enabling-middle-mile-broadband-infrastructure- program ( accessed April 5 2022); see also, IIJA, Division F , Title IV, §§ 60401 et seq., https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf (accessed April 13, 2022). 65 IIJA, Division F, Title IV, § 60401(b)(1) (Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure), https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf (accessed April 13, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 79 Grantees will also have to ensure that the infrastructure proposed can deliver gigabit speeds for the eventual last-mile connections to anchor institutions and provide direct interconnections that will “facilitate the provision of broadband service to anchor institutions located within 1,000 feet of the middle-mile infrastructure.”
Rules are expected in May. Once issued, awards are expected to be made within nine months and grantees will be expected to complete construction within five years of the award (which may be extended). Eligible entities are States and divisions of local government as well as tribal entities and territories, nonprofits and cooperatives. Partnerships are encouraged.

9.1.1.4 The $14 billion Affordable Connectivity Program will subsidize broadband bills for eligible low-income subscribers
The IIJA also allocates $14.2 billion for an Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to be administered by the FCC. The FCC released its rules for the ACP on January 21, 2022. 66 This program will provide $30 monthly subsidy to service providers toward a discounted broadband subscription for eligible low -income residents. The ACP will also subsidize the cost of a “connected device” up to $100, including laptops, desktops and tablets, but not cell phones or tablets with cellular service capabilities.
67 The ACP has broad eligibility criteria allowing
households at 200% of poverty or those participating in a wide variety of federal subsidy programs to qualify for these benefits.

While the ACP has significant potential to support access to robust residential broadband service for low -income households, the success of the ACP will hinge on the ease of the enrollment process and strong outreach and education about the program , including in partn ership with participating ISPs. As discussed above, Congress allowed money appropriated to the ACP to be used for outreach and education purposes. The FCC has expressed strong support for the need for robust outreach and has developed outreach materials an d created an “outreach partner” program that may also including paid outreach efforts, to try to increase participation rates for this important program.
68 The City, along with other stakeholders and community connectors, should consider ways to take a leadership role in developing and supporting enrollment efforts throughout Vallejo and the surrounding community. It should closely monitor the development of the ACP outreach grant process and work with community members to support this program.

66 In the Matter of Affordable Connectivity Program WD Docket 21-450, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 22-2) (January 21, 2022) (ACP Final Rules), https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-22-2A1.pdf (accessed January 27, 2022); see also, IIJA, Division F, Title V, §§ 60501 et seq., https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf (accessed April 13, 2022).
67 ACP Final Rules, paragraphs 92-118.
68 ACP Final Rules, paragraphs 190-195; FNPRM at 271-280.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 80 9.1.2 American Rescue Plan Act

9.1.2.1 Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund
The Treasury’s Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF) is a $10 billion program authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 that will provide flexible funding opportunities for a wide range of broadband-related projects to be administered at the state level. The program will allow funds to be use for costs that fit into one of three major categories:
• Broadband Infrastructure Projects: “[C]onstruction and deployment of broadband infrastructure designed to deliver service that reliably meets or exceeds symmetrical speeds of 100 Mbps so that communities have future -proof infrastructure to serve their long-term needs.”
• Digital Connectivity Technology Projects: “[P]urchase or installation of devices and equipment, such as laptops, tablets, desktop personal computers, and public Wi -Fi equipment, to facilitate broadband internet access for communities where affordability is a barrier to broadband adoption and use.” You read that right: Affordability matters.

Those who can’t afford to pay for services, even if available, are considered unserved. • Multi-Purpose Community Facility Projects: “[C]onstruction or improvement of buildings designed to jointly and directly enable work, education, and health monitoring located in communities with critical need for the project.”
California will receive $540,249,909 in CPF funding. T he California Legislative Analyst ’s Office issued a report on April 6, 2022, that identified this CPF allocation as part of the funding for the California Pub lic Utilities Commission’s Last Mile Federal Funding Account program, discussed further below.
69 9.1.2.2 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund The U.S. Treasury has released final rules for the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Reco very Funds program (SLFRF).70 Established by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), this program will

69 California Legislative Analyst’s Office, Overview of Last-Mile Broadband Infrastructure Project Administration and Funding, April 6, 2022, https://lao.ca.gov/handouts/socservices/2022/Last-M ile-Broadband-Infrastructure- 040622.pdf ( accessed April 11, 2022) ; see also, Department of the Treasury, “Guidance for the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund,” September 2021, https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Capital-P rojects-Fund-Guidance- States-Territories-and-Freely-Associated-States.pdf.
70 Department of the Treasury, 31 CFR Part 35 (Pandemic Relief Programs) (effective April 1, 2022), https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRF-Final-Rule.pdf (accessed January 27, 2022); see also, “Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds: Overview of the Final Rule ,” January 2022, https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRF-Final-Rule-Overview.pdf (accessed April 13, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 81 distribute $350 billion in emergency funding to eligible state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments.

These funds can be used in areas without access to reliable service at speeds of 100/20 Mbps, but can also be broadly invested, “in projects designed to provide service to locations with an identified need for additional broadband investment.”71 This program will fund broadband deployments and digital inclusion strategies designed to facilitate connectivity and has been designed to enable states and localities “to identify the specific locations within their communities to be served and to otherwise design the project” to fit their needs.
72 1. Infrastructure projects must support 100 Mbps symmetrical speeds . Funding can also go to support projects that offer 100/20 Mbps , but only in cases where geographical, topographical, or fiscal constraints make the higher speed offerings impractical and where the deployed infrastructure can be scaled to reach 100 Mbps symmetrical. For the purposes of the Fiscal Recovery Funds, Treasury’s approach to broadba nd infrastructure matches some of the most forward- thinking states’ broadband grant programs and attempts to address the modern communications needs of most consumers. The program also strongly suggests that projects focus on fiber deployments.

This appears to be a concession to incumbent cable providers who can cost- effectively extend to unserved locations from their current network footprint and are on course to achieve symmetric speeds. Most cable companies have implemented DOCSIS 3.1 —and while they currently limit upstream to 35 to 50 Mbps, field upgrades would allow them to deliver gigabit speeds upstream and would also put them on a long -term roadmap to DOCSIS 4.0’s 10/6 Gbps capability.

2. Projects are encouraged to prioritize areas that do not have re liable wireline service offerings at 100/20 Mbps . Treasury gives recipients broad discretion to determine community needs for additional broadband investment. This includes situations where an area may appear to be served by a provider with 100/20 Mbps service, but the area may have significant service quality and outage problems with the current service, or the service offerings may be unaffordable. Even in those situations, funding may be available.

71 Department of the Treasury, “Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds: Overview of the Final Rule,” page 39, https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRF-Final-Rule-Overview.pdf (accessed April 13, 2022). 72 Department of the Treasury, “Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, Interim Final Rule,” 31 CFR Part 35, RIN 1505-AC77 (released May 10, 2021), page 71, https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/FRF-Interim- Final-Rule.pdf. Interim Final Rules, “Interim Final Rules.” City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 82 3. Projects are encouraged to prioritize affordability as well as local broadband solutions.

After noting that the U.S. has some of the most expensive broadband service in the world,73 the program’s rules place special emphasis on ensuring that the resulting broadband service provided over the funded network is affordable. The Treasury requires that projects receiving this funding must require the service provider to participate in the federal ACP or otherwise provide “access to a broad-based affordability program” that is similar to the benefits provided under the ACP.74 The Treasury also encourages recipients to “prioritize support for broadband networks owned, operated by, or affiliated with local governments, non- profits, and co -operatives, given that these networks have less pressure to generate profits and a commitment to serving entire communities.”75

4. Projects are encouraged to prioritize last-mile connectivity. While Treasury underscores this, states and localities are not precluded from setting their own priorities, and other initiatives that could improve affordability by investing in capacity bottlenecks such as middle-mile or data center builds could be funded.
76 5. Infrastructure projects are expected to meet strong labor standards. 77 This includes project labor agreements, community benefit agreements, and wages at or above the prevailing rate with local hire provisions.

6. Projects can address a wide array of broadband -related concerns. In addition to infrastructure, these State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund dollars can also be used for an array of other initiatives that respond to the public health and economic impacts of the pandemic. While Treasury leaves the door open for a wide variety of fundable initiatives, it offers the general guidance that recipients shall “first identify a need or negative impact of the Covid -19 public health emergency and, second, identify how the [proposed] program, service, or other intervention addresses the identified need or impact.”78

7. Allocations from these funds can be leveraged as matches for other broadband grant opportunities. Because these funds are considered locally administered, if an entity is

73 “Even in areas where broadband infrastructure exists, broadband access may be out of reach for millions of Americans because it is unaffordable, as the United States has some of the highest broadband prices in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).” Interim Final Rules, page 70, U.S. Department of the Treasury.
74 SLFRF Final Rules, Federal Register, Vol. 87, No. 18, Supplementary Information, page 4421 (January 27, 2022). 75 SLFRF Final Rules, Federal Register, Vol. 87, No. 18, Supplementary Information, page 4421 (January 27, 2022). 76 SLFRF Final Rules, Federal Register, Vol. 87, No. 18, Supplementary Information, page 4418, 4420-4421 (January 27, 2022).
77 SLFRF Final Rules, Federal Register, Vol. 87, No. 18, Supplementary Information, page 4408-4409, 4444 (January 27, 2022).
78 SLFRF Final Rules, Federal Register, Vol. 87, No. 18, Supplementary Information, page 4341 (January 27, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 83 already targeting a federal grant or State grant opportunity that requires matching funds, the Fiscal Recovery Funds can be leveraged for that purpose. 79 It is important that these funds are used to pay for separate expenses than the other matching funds.

California will use $3.2 billion of its allocation of State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to invest in its statewide Middle Mile Broadband Initiative.80

9.2 State of California funding
The California Department of Technology (CDT) and the California Broadband Council are two State agencies directly involved in setting California’s broadband policy and programs. The Broadband Council issued its Broadband for All Action Plan in 2020. 81 This Action Plan reflects the principles and goals set out by the Governor and has served as a guidance document for many State agencies as they have carried out broadband policy and programs. CDT has been the State agency to generally oversee the S tate’s broadband policy implementation, including the Action Plan.82 In 2021, the CDT was tasked with implementing a $3B spending program to expand middle-mile networks throughout the State.

The CPUC has been a leader and catalyst for California’s broadband access policies and programs for many years. The California LifeLine Program (see Section 8.2.2), is a longstanding CPUC- administered program that has provided discounts for services to keep people connected. Since that time, the Commission has adopted several public purpose programs that advance broadband policy goals including the California Advanced Services Fund and the Teleconnect Fund. The CPUC has also been heavily involved in the CDT middle-mile project.

9.2.1 California Advanced Services Fund (Public Utilities Code Section 281) This important program was created in 2007 by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to set money aside for broadband infrastructure projects in unserved areas of California. The program received Legislative codification in 2010 as Public Utilities Code Section 281, allowing a line-item surcharge on customer bills to support this program. The Legislature has declared that

79 SLFRF Final Rules, Federal Register, Vol. 87, No. 18, Supplementary Information, page 4422 (January 27, 2022). 80 California Legislative Analyst’s Office, Overview of Last-Mile Broadband Infrastructure Project Administration and Funding, April 6, 2022, https://lao.ca.gov/handouts/socservices/2022/Last-Mile-Broadband-Infrastructure- 040622.pdf ( accessed April 11, 2022) ; see also, California Department of Technology, First Report to the Legislature on the Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative, March 14, 2022, https://cdt.ca.gov/wp-co ntent/uploads/2022/03/22692- CDT22-MMBI-Legislative-Report_FINAL.pdf ( accessed, April 11, 2022). 81 California Broadband Council, “Broadband for All Action Plan,” https://broadbandcouncil.ca.gov/wp- content/uploads/sites/68/2020/12/BB4All-Action-Plan-Final.pdf ( accessed April 5, 2022). 82 California Broadband Council, “Closing the Digital Divide,” https://broadbandforall.cdt.ca.gov/ (accessed April 13, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 84 the goal for this Fund is to support projects that will provide broadband access to “no less than 98% of California households in each consortia region” by 2032.83 The CPUC and the Legislature have revised and amended the rules for this program several times since 2010, but the core of the program remains the same. Currently, the statute caps the amount that can be collected thr ough end user surcharges to $150 million per year between 2022 and 2032. The statute also earmarks $2 billion in ARPA recovery funds, discussed above, to support last-mile broadband infrastructure programs over the next four years.

CASF is composed of several “accounts.” In light of Vallejo’s priorities of addressing digital equity issues and leveraging its existing fiber network to address gaps in broadband access within the City, the following accounts are most relevant:

1. Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account
a. This account funds last- mile broadband projects to unserved areas (defined as having no provider that offers at least one tier of service offering 25/3 Mbps, with priority given to areas with only 10/1 Mbps or less.
b. The Fund will only support projects that deploy infrastructure “capable” of providing last-mile service at 100/20 Mbps and offers only narrow opportunities to fund middle-mile on an “as needed” basis to support the last-mile projects. c. Grant recipients mus t offer an “affordable” broadband service over the facilities—generally $15 per month for at least 25/3 Mbps. (The CPUC may revise this requirement within the next year.)
d. The Commission coordinates with a variety of stakeholders. e. Existing providers have an opportunity to review the grant applications and provide evidence of existing facilities in the proposed service area. f. This Fund can be used to pay for line extension projects under limited circumstances with a $5 million cap on “aggregate” project funding allowed under this provision.
g. Applicants do not have to be a certificated telecommunications company or “traditional” service provider to apply for this money.

83 See SB4, Chapter 671 (October 8, 2021), revising Pub. Util. Code Section 281, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PUC&sectionNum=281 (last accessed March 31, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 85 2. Broadband Adoption Account
a. This account was created to fund projects that “increase publicly available or after school broadband access and digital inclusion.” Examples include:
i. Digital literacy
ii. Public education
iii. Free broadband in public spaces, including outreach for these programs iv. Outreach and means to increase broadband access and adoption (e.g., call centers, materials)
b. Eligible applicants include a wide variety of entities including local governments, nonprofits, schools, and libraries.
c. Priority for funding will go to communities with “demonstrated low broadband access.”
d. Current rules set a cap of 85 percent funding for “eligible” program costs (as specifically defined by the CPUC).
e. CPUC is required to create a set of “digital inclusion metrics” for applicants to report on as a condition of receiving payment.
f. This Fund is specifically prohibited from being used to subsidize household access to broadband service itself.
g. The CPUC has adopted implementation guidelines and detailed application and reporting requirements, including appropriate uses and device distribution to qualifying low -income families to take home after completing digital literacy training courses.
84 3. Federal Funding Account
The State Legislature allocated $2 billion of federal funding from the ARPA SLFRF funds to the CPUC for a new l ast-mile federal funding program. 85 On March 2 , 2022, the CPUC

84 CPUC, “California Advanced Services Fund, Broadband Adoption Account: Application Requirements and Guidelines,” https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/divisions/communications-division/documents/casf- adoption-and-access/d2109004-revised-adoption-account-guidelines.pdf (a cce ssed April 13, 2022). 85 SB 4, Chapter 671 (October 8, 2021), Section 2 (revised Public Utilities Code Section 281(n)) , https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB4 (accessed April 13, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 86 issued a Proposed Decision to implement it s statutory mandate for the program.86 The Commission took public comment on this Proposed Decision in March and has made some slight revisions to the proposal based on that public input. The Commi ssion is scheduled to vote on the Proposed Decision by the end of May 2022 . While the Commission is expected to adopt the Proposed Decision and launch this Federal Funding program by the end of the third quarter of 2022, the CPUC may still further revise its proposal before the final vote.

As currently crafted, the CPUC’s Proposed Decision includes a broad spectrum of eligible entities that can apply for this program, including facilities -based broadband service providers, local governments, electric utilit ies, non -profits, cooperatives , and Tribal governments; however, pursuant to the federal rules for this funding, the CPUC has stated its intent to prioritize requests from local governments, nonprofits, and cooperatives, finding that these networks have less pressure to generate profits and a stronger commitment to serve entire communities .87 The CPUC is also encouraging investor- owned electric utilities to enter into partnerships to deploy broadband and apply for this funding.88 As part of its statutory mandate, the CPUC’s Proposed Decision offers a planned allocation of the funding for this program pursuant to a formula that identifies counties as urban or rural using 2019 data.89 Using this formula, the CPUC has categorized Solano County as an urban county and allocated $17 million to fund broadband infrastructure projects located in the County. Other aspects of this program are expected to include:
a. Projects must be capable of offering 100 Mbps symmetrical to end users throughout the funding area except under unique circumstances as defined by the rules.
b. Projects must meet affordability requirements to offer both a “low- income eligible” service offering and a “low-cost” broadband plan that does not exceed a $40 rate for end users for speeds of no less than 50/50 Mbps.

86 California Public Utilities Commission, Docket R.20-09-001, Proposed Decision of Commissioner Alice Reynolds Adopting Federal Funding Account Rules, issued March 2, 2022, https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M466/K763/466763362.PDF. 87 CPUC, Proposed Decision on Federal Funding Account Rules, March 2, 2022, pages 46, 97 (Finding of Fact 13), https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M466/K763/466763362.PDF (accessed April 13, 2022). 88 CPUC Proposed Decision on Federal Funding Account Rules, March 2, 2022, page 28, https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M466/K763/466763362.PDF (accessed April 13, 2022). 89 CPUC Proposed Decision on Federal Funding Account Rules, March 2, 2022, pages 32- 35, https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M466/K763/466763362.PDF (accessed April 13, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 87 c. Grants will be prioritized for areas that are “unserved” (only available service at less than 25/3 Mbps) but will also be granted for projects in areas that are “underserved” (service available at only 100/20 Mbps or less). d. Projects must specify fiber technology, although applicants can justify the use of different technology with additional evidence and documentation that fiber is infeasible.
e. The CPUC expects that all funds will be distributed by June 30, 2023. It will accept applications two times a year on a schedule that will be developed after the CPUC adopts the Proposed Decision. A project will be reviewed within 6 months after it is submitted. Applications will require a detailed set of 19 items that are set out in the proposed rules for the program. There is also a ministerial review process for grants less than $25 million with no objections or competing application s. There is an objection process that allows interested parties to review the submitted applications and file comments objecting to the application on the basis of an error of fact, policy or a violation of a statutory requirement.

Each of these CASF programs can be a valuable funding opportunity to advance the City’s broadband access and digital equity priorities. In most cases, t he City can apply for funding directly, or as part of a consortium of entities. As discussed above, in its proposed framework for the Federal Funding Account, CPUC has stated that it will prioritize local governments that plan to build out a last-mile network to provide services to its residents. However, under this scenario, as a direct grant recipient , the City must be prepared to offer broadband service within the funded areas. In the alternative, the City could actively investigate, research, and conduct outreach to community partners that could work with the City to apply for this funding to support projects in the City. The City could consider a formal public-private partnership for these projects with an existing service provider or a nonprofit agency or consortium to jointly apply for the funding and offer service over the network.

9.2.2 Other CPUC programs
The City should also be aware of funding opportunities from the CPUC for planning and technical assistance that could help the City research and determine its options. The Legislature set aside $50 million for a Local Agency Technical Assistance program, which the CPUC implement ed in February 2022.
90 This program provides grants in amounts of up to $1 million to a local agency, including cities, counties, and utility districts, to support technical assistance for broadband infrastructure planning. This funding can be applied towa rd environmental review processes,

90 See CPUC Decision 22-02-026 (February 25, 2022), Docket Number R.20-08-021, https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M454/K873/454873811.PDF (accessed April 12, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 88 needs assessments, engineering designs, market studies, business plans and similar efforts. The CPUC will accept applications for this technical assistance program on a rolling basis.

The CPUC is also in the process of c reating a Loan Loss Reserve Fund of $750 million to support local governments, tribes, and non-profits in securing enhanced public financing to construct and operate public fiber networks.91 This funding is designed to be used as collateral for local agencies to receive better borrowing rates and terms on financing of these projects. The Fund can also pay for the costs of debt issuance and a reserve for payment of principal and interest on debt. This Fund can serve as another tool for larger projects that the City may create through its own resources or as a partnership. The CPUC will design and implement this funding opportunity toward the end of 2022.

91 SB156 (Chapter 112 (July 20, 2021), Section 8 (adds Pub. Util. Code Section 281.2) ; see also, CPUC Assigned Commissioner’s Second Amended Scoping Memo and Ruling, Docket No. R.20-08-021 (March 1, 2022), pages 5-8, https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M455/K677/455677087.PDF (accessed April 14, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 89 Appendix A: Small business broadband products
In addition to enterprise and residential, many ISPs offer small business internet connecti ons.

This market tends to mirror the residential service in coverage, with few technical differences in the service — small businesses tend to purchase these packages for their faster technical assistance rather than upgraded technology. In the City of Vallejo, there are several ISPs offering small business products, the two largest being Comcast and AT&T.

Comcast offers six different small business internet packages to residents in Vallejo. 92 These packages range in download speed from 35 Mbps to 1 Gbps. They are shown in detail in the table below.

Table 14: Comcast small business internet packages
Service
Advertised
Download/Upload Speeds
(Mbps)
Monthly Price (non-
promotional)
Business Internet 35 35/5 $71.95
Business Internet 100 100/15 $119.99
Business Internet 200 200/20 $134.99
Business Internet 300 300/30 $164.99
Business Internet 600 600/35 $239.99
Business Internet 1 Gig 1000/35 $339.99

AT&T is able to leverage its fiber network in some areas to offer higher upload speeds than Comcast. Elsewhere, they rely on DSL hybrid. The table below illustrates its small business service offerings.

92 The availability of these offers closely mirrors the coverage footprints discussed in Section 3.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 90 Table 15: AT&T small business internet packages
Service
Advertised
Download/Upload Speeds
(Mbps)
Monthly Price (non-
promotional)
Internet 25 25/2-5 $60.00
Internet 50 50/10 $85.00
Internet 75 75/8-20 $115.00
Business Fiber 100s 100/100 $75.00
Business Fiber 300s 300/300 $90.00
Business Fiber 1000s 940/880 $150.00

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 91 Appendix B: Model Dig Once ordinance93
The following model Dig Once ordinance is adapted from the City of South San Francisco , and captures the main features of a comprehensive legislative tool, as opposed to an internal policy:

Chapter XX.XX

OPEN TRENCH NOTIFICATION AND TELECOMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE

IMPROVEMENTS
XX.XX.XX Purpose.

The City Council finds and determines that the requirements and conditions in this chapter are necessary for the following reasons:
a. To encourage the systematic development of telecommunications infrastructure and in turn maximize the availability of telecommunication and broadband service to residents and businesses within the city.
b. To protect and control access to the public right-of-way, and to extend the life of city streets and other civil infrastructure and reduce the cost of ongoing maintenance by encouraging cooperation between utility companies, public agencies, and city departments.
c. To streamline and simply the process of installing and upgrading telecommunications equipment throughout the city, and to encourage the improvement and modernization of the city’s telecommunication infrastructure.

XX.XX.XX Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
a. “Applicant” means an individual or entity submitting an encroachment permit application for an excavation project.
b. “Public right-of-way” or “ROW” shall mean the area across, along, beneath, in, on, over, under, upon, and within the dedicated public alleys, bouleva rds, courts, lanes, roads, sidewalks, spaces, streets, and ways within the city.

93 City of South San Francisco , https://www.ssf.net/home/showpublisheddocument/15880/636951776359530000 (accessed April 14, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 92 c. "Conduit" refers to a tube, duct, structure, or other device designed for enclosing telecommunication wires or cables.
d. “Enhanced Remediation” means any and all standards and/o r processes established by the Public Works Director that are intended to serve the purpose of ensuring that excavations performed in an area where an Open Trench Notification process has been completed will include all work necessary to restore the area t o its original or enhanced condition prior to the excavation.
e. "Excavation" refers to any process which breaks up or removes material from the ground through any digging, drilling, boring or other activity for the purpose of installing underground utilities, infrastructure, structures, or other equipment. f. "Facilities" and "Infrastructure" refer to wires, cables, conduit, switches, transmission equipment or other equipment for use in transmitting or processing telecommunications services or for providing supp ort or connection to such equipment.
g. “Open Trench Notification” shall mean the notification process set forth under the appropriate Section.
h. “Service providers” refers to any person, company, corporation or other entity providing data, voice, cable, video or other information services by wire, fiber optic cable or other technology.
i. “Telecommunication” refers to data, voice, video or other information provided by wire, fiber optic cable or other technology.

XX.XX.XX Open Trench Notification Triggered for Excavation Projects. a. The Public Works Director shall determine, upon receipt of an encroachment permit application for an excavation project or approval of specifications for a public works project, that if either criterion in subsection (i) or (ii) below are met:
a. The applicat ion or specification involves utility infrastructure construction, road construction or resurfacing, or other work that will result in an excavation that could reasonably include, or prepare for, the installation of broadband conduit, or is part of the Information Technology Strategic Plan.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 93 b. It spans 900 feet or three city blocks within the ROW, or involves terrain that is difficult or expensive to traverse (e.g., a bridge), or is an element of a larger project that will require installation or upgrading of utility infrastructure. b. If an encroachment permit application for an excavation project or approval of specifications for a public works project satisfies either subsection (i) or (ii) above, the applicant shall be required to comply with the Open Trench Notification. c. The Public Works Department shall initiate the Open Trench Notification process by delivering notice and instructions for participation in accordance with the requirements provided.

XX.XX.XX Notification Process.
a. All Service Providers and th ird parties interested in collocating conduits and telecommunication facilities in the project excavation area shall inform the Public Works Department of the interest to participate in the manner set forth here from the date of an Open Trench Notice issued pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. b. The Public Works Director, in consultation with the Information Technology Department, shall develop and implement an Open Trench Notification Policy, as may be amended from time to time, that establishes the standards and processes to carry out the intent and requirements of this chapter.
c. At a minimum, the Open Trench Notification Policy shall include the following:
i. The procedure by which the Public Works Department will initiate the Open Trench Notification process for each qualified excavation project. ii. The procedure for receiving, processing, and reviewing of notices of intent to participate from interested Service Providers and third parties for collocation of conduits and telecommunication facilities in the project area. iii. The timeline for interested Service Providers and third parties to submit notices of intent to participate in collocation work and delivering notices received to the project applicant.
iv. The criteria for determining whether responses received from interested Services Providers and third parties for collocation work are competent and may be forwarded to the applicant.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 94 v. The procedure for receiving, processing, and reviewing of any protests regarding negotiations between the parties for collocation of conduits and telecommunication facilities in the project area.
vi. The criteria for determining whether the information provided in support of a protest sufficiently demonstrate that further negotiation is appropriate, and the timeline for such further negotiation if warranted.

XX.XX.XX Response to Open Trench Notifications
a. Services Providers and third parties interested in participating in the open trench collocation shall submit a notice of intent to participate to the Public Works Department within 30 d ays of an Open Trench Notice issuance. The notice of intent shall contain sufficient information to constitute a competent response to be forwarded to the project applicant.
i. Responses to open trench notifications shall be forwarded to the project applicant. The applicant is responsible for negotiating collocation of conduits and/or other telecommunication facilities with any interested third parties for the project location.
ii. Protests regarding negotiations between the parties for collocation work and any information in support thereof may be submitted to the Public Works Department. The Public Works Department shall be responsible to determine whether the information provided sufficiently demonstrate that further negotiation is warranted.
b. The Information Technology Department Director shall designate staff to receive notifications of pending excavation projects, broadband -related work, and other encroachment permit applications that are subject to the Open Trench Notification process.
c. The Information Technology Director shall determine whether to submit a response to the Open Trench Notification for collocating conduits or telecommunication facilities at the project location, by considering the following:
i. The collocation of city -owned conduit in a given project is consistent with the Information Technology Strategic Plan or will support the achievement of other city objectives.
ii. The incremental installation cost is reasonable.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 95 iii. The cost of maintaining the conduit over time is proportionate to its v alue to the city.
iv. Sufficient funds are available within existing budgets or can be obtained from other sources.
v. Collocation should be pursued in furtherance of overall city goals and priorities; the collocation makes sense.
a. If the Information Technology Di rector submits a response to the Open Trench Notification for collocation work, the Information Technology Director or his designee shall attempt to negotiate an acceptable agreement with the project applicant. If negotiation is successful, the Information Technology Department shall coordinate the design and construction of the collocation work with the Public Works Department, including whether installation of facilities in addition to conduits would be necessary. b. Any conduits or telecommunication facilit ies collocated pursuant to subsection (b) shall be the property of the city.
c. The Information and Technology Department shall maintain a geodatabase of communications assets located within or connecting to the city, including but not limited to:
i. City-owned conduit and appurtenant facilities;
ii. fiber optic cable;
iii. towers and tower sites;
iv. communications facilities and services belonging to third parties that are used by the city;
v. real estate, poles, and other city -owned assets leased to third parties for telecommunication purposes.
vi. third-party network data provided to the City in conjunction with such leases or permitting processes, or as may become available through other means, including but not limited to a future electronic plans submission program, or as collected by other agencies or provided by telecommunications companies.

XX.XX.XX Compliance with the Open Trench Notification Process; Enhanced Remediation.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 96 a. The Open Trench Notification Process shall be deemed complete if no responses were received from interested parties, or if the applicant has negotiated collocation of conduits and/or other telecommunication facilities with any interested third parties. b. The Open Trench Notification Process shall also be deemed complete if either party to the collocatio n negotiation required herein submits a protest to the Public Works Department regarding the negotiation, and the Public Works Department determines that, based on the information provided to it, further negotiation is inappropriate or not warranted.
c. The Public Works Director shall not approve any project application that is subject to the Open Trench Notification process and requirements of this chapter unless an application has satisfied the Open Trench Notification requirements established herein. A project that has satisfied the requirements of this chapter may be approved by the Director, subject to other applicable requirements and authorizations in the most current editions of the City’s Municipal Code or any applicable public works construction standards, to allow permitted work to commence.
d. After an application has been approved, any subsequent excavation work or project by the applicant or any other Service Provider or third party in the project area shall be subject to Enhanced Remediation requirements for five years following the completion or abandonment of such subsequent work or project. Enhanced Remediation may include general standards or standards specific to an excavation. The Public Works Department shall adopt policies and guidelines to set forth such Enhanced Remediation requirements consistent with the intents of this chapter.

XX.XX.XX Implementation.

Within 60 days after this chapter takes effect, the city shall email, fax, mail or deliver a copy of it to telecommun ications service providers and other affected entities doing business within the city.

XX.XX.XX Waivers.
a. In the event of an emergency or urgent conditions that require immediate action, or for other good cause relating to the public health, safety or wel fare, the Public Works Director may waive or modify, in whole or in part, the Open Trench Notification requirements established by this chapter.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 97 b. The Public Works Director may exempt projects from the requirements of this chapter where compliance has been determined by the Public Works Director to be not practical or feasible. Requests for an exemption shall be made in writing and the Public Works Director’s decision shall be final. A request for exemption shall include all information necessary for the Public Works Director to make a decision, including but not limited to documentation showing factual support for the requested exemption. The Public Works Director may approve the exemption request in whole or in part, with or without conditions.

XX.XX.XX Violations
Violations of this chapter is hereby declared to be a public nuisance. Any violation of this chapter shall be subject to abatement by the city, as well as any other remedies that may be permitted by law for public nuisances, and may be enforced by injunction, upon a showing of violation.

XX.XX.XX No Conflict with Federal or State Law.

Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any requirement, power, or duty in conflict with nay Federal or State law.

SECTION 4. Severability
If any provision of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of this Ordinance, including the application of such part or provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby and shall continue in full force and effect. To this end, provisions of this Ordinance are severable. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase hereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases be held unconstitutional, invalid, or unenforceable.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 98 Appendix C: Shadow conduit specifications94
The following collection of technical specifications—designed to support the City in the creation of a shadow conduit policy—were developed by the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership and the Central Coast Broadband Consortium. These guidelines generally assume t hat empty conduit is being installed. If conduit is being installed to support a specific user, purpose , or fiber project, then those considerations should drive design decisions and feasibility determinations.

1. Conduit Size
a. 2-inch conduit is sufficient for multiple high-capacity fiber cables using current technology (432 strands or more) and can be subdivided using inner-duct that would allow multiple service providers to share a single conduit. b. 4-inch conduit has even more capacity but, due to its larger size, can present design problems, for example when connecting to vaults. This size of conduit was standard when telecommunications systems depended on thick bundles of copper cables but is not necessary for most modern fibe r applications.

However, 4 -inch conduit should be considered for installation on bridges, railroad crossings and in other circumstances where future changes would be particularly difficult or impossible.
c. Smaller conduit, e.g., 1.25-inch, is useful when it is not possible to install 2 - inch conduit or when many, separate conduits are installed. It may be preferred when conduits are expected to be used by a single service provider, rather than shared among many over time, or when it meets the needs of an anticipated project or service provider.

2. The size and number of conduits installed depends on the particular needs of any given project, and the number of likely or confirmed participants. For example, installation of a bank of four 2 -inch conduits provides sufficient flexibility to accommodate a range of needs and is a better option than installing two 4 -inch conduits. However, because of the ability to subdivide it, installing two 2-inch conduits would not necessarily be less useful than two 4 -inch conduits. As a starting point, installation of a bank of four 2 -inch conduits can be considered as a reasonable standard when construction is done on a prospective basis on a main street, while a

94 Monterey Bay Economic Partnership & Central Coast Broadband Consortium, ”Shadow Conduit Specifications 1.0,” https://www.tellusventure.com/downloads/bank/mbep_ccbc_conduit_specifications_version_10_1dec2016.pdf (accessed April 13, 2022).

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 99 single conduit capable of supporting multiple inner -ducts might be sufficient for a smaller or more peripheral street.

3. An additional factor to consider is whether future conduit installation would be particularly problematic, as with railroad right of ways, or even impossible, which is often the case with bridges. In these circumstances, installation of more and/or bigger conduit than would normally be the case is advisable.

4. Conduit may be located in either streets or sidewalks, however installation in sidewalks is typically easier and less expensive. Traffic control is a much smaller issue, there are usually fewer existing underground utilities, and vault lids do not need to be traffic rated. Contractors are responsible for locating gravity feed lines, and this responsibility should be spelled out in the bid documents and/or t he jurisdiction’s standards.

5. Sweeping conduit bends should be used to allow cable to be pulled without exceeding pull-tension thresholds when placing high- count fiber cables ( e.g., 864-count).

Unsupported conduit bends should have a minimum bend radius of 48 -inches, and bends utilizing manufactured elbows should have a minimum radius of 36-inches (45- degree elbow maximum). However, when necessary, modern fiber optic cables are capable of supporting bends of up to 90-degrees.

6. A number of factors should be considered in determining if the addition of conduit to a host project is feasible. These factors include:
a. Length of the conduit section that would be installed. There is no absolute, minimum useful length for conduit sections. However, very short or isolate d sections might not be cost effective to use, unless installed as part of a larger plan.
b. Proximity to current or planning public facilities and community anchor locations, and economic development needs and plans.
c. Presence of other city or county -owned communications infrastructure, or other open access communications facilities or services. d. Whether physical constraints (bridges, freeway underpasses, underground utility districts) would make it unlikely that there are cost -effective alternatives in the vicinity if needed in the future.
e. Whether any partners or customers or other users can or will make immediate use of it.

City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan | DRAFT | April 2022 100
f. The cost of alternative routes, such as placement on utility poles, if needed in the future.
g. Budgetary constraints or added costs that render the host project infeasible. h. Time constraints, particularly the possibility of delaying installation of critical infrastructure.
i. Risk of interfering with operation or maintenance of host project facilities.

7. Installing detector wire/warni ng tape 3 inches to 6 inches above the conduit is a common standard, but circumstances can vary widely and this question should be addressed on a case by case, engineering design basis. Pull ropes should be included as a standard design element. Pull ropes with built-in detector wire are available and, depending on the circumstances, could perform adequately.

8. Choice of material depends on circumstances, but HDPE and PVC are commonly used materials.

9. Backfill type and materials, and other remediation/construc tion measures should be determined by the standard specifications used by the jurisdiction concerned.

10. When conduit is installed on a generic, “open trench” basis, a minimum standard is to install conduit the entire length of the trench, with sweeps installed to a future access point and with both ends capped and buried for future use. Where possible, vaults or hand holes should be placed at either end, and any lateral conduit that is installed should likewise terminate at an access point.

RESOLUTION NO. ________

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VALLEJO ADOPTING THE 2022

CITY OF VALLEJO BROADBAND MASTER PLAN AND DIGITAL EQUITY STRATEGY,

MAKING BROADBAND ACCESSIBILITY MORE EQUITABLE
WHEREAS, closing the Digital Divide is vital to the economic prosperity and quality of life for residents in the City of Vallejo, and
WHEREAS, the City of Vallejo (City) declares that high-speed Internet access—referred to generically as “broadband” and including both wireline and wireless technologies—is essential 21st Century infrastructure in a digital world and global economy, and WHEREAS, the City recognizes that California is home to a wellspring of innovation that has given rise to the evolution of broadband and other information technologies, however Californians’ adoption and use of broadband technology is only approximately equivalent to the national average, and
WHEREAS, the City acknowledges that 38% of all Californians and 40% of low-income households, and are not connected to the Internet with broadband, leaving more than 14 million Californians without high-speed Internet access at home, and WHEREAS, the State of California and United States Federal Government have made available funding for public agencies to pursue digital equity and broadband infrastructure projects to serve areas of local needs, and
WHEREAS, the City has allocated $2.5 million to broadband projects citywide, and WHEREAS, the City is committed to helping families and children be healthy, productive, and self-sufficient, and realizes that the use of broadband can save both time and money for residents while helping them bridge the economic divide, and WHEREAS, the City is committed to helping students obtain the highest-quality education possible incorporating digital literacy, and understands that high-speed internet connectivity is critical teaching and learning tools for academic achievement, and WHEREAS, the City is committed to creating a competitive environment for broadband services offered to the community, and
WHEREAS, the City is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and recognizes that broadband is a strategic “green” technology that decreases greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil by enabling e-government and the provision of public and private services online, and

WHEREAS, the City is committed to Digital Equity and increasing citizen participation in the public process through expanded engagement using broadband, and WHEREAS, the City has identified specific municipal needs for fiber infrastructure including connecting unconnected City facilities, completing a resilient fiber ring, providing fiber infrastructure to community anchor institutions, and public Wi-Fi in specific locations; and WHEREAS, the City is committed to maximizing the impacts of City-owned fiber infrastructure to support these ends, and
WHEREAS, the City recognizes that it has the opportunity to impact broadband deployment and adoption in its several local government roles and responsibilities, including as a policy leader, planning body, land use approval agency, purchaser-consumer of communications equipment and information technology, and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City hereby adopts the 2022 City of Vallejo Broadband Master Plan and Digital Equity Strategy.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City shall review its scope of responsibilities, work plans, and services to support implementation of this Master Plan and Digital Equity Strategy.

Adopted by the Council of the City of Vallejo at a special meeting held on ______, 2022 with the following vote:

AYES:

NOES:

ABSENT:

ABSTAIN:
_________________________________________
ROBERT H. MCCONNELL, MAYOR

ATTEST: _________________________________________
DAWN G. ABRAHAMSON, CITY CLERK

INFORMATIONAL ITEM 5.A.

DATE: May 17, 2022
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Shawny K. Williams, Chief of Police
SUBJECT: PROGRESS REPORT ON POLICE REFORM/OIR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

RECOMMENDATION
Receive and comment on this report and presentation covering: Progress and activities associated with implementing the OIR independent assessment report recommendations – Implementation Plan (IP) and Collaborative Reform Agreement with the Department of Justice.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION
This report is to update the City Council about the progress of police reforms and the collaborative reform agreement. The City Council directed staff to provide periodic updates on the status of police reforms. This will be the third major update on the OIR Implementation Plan, progress, and the foundational work that has been established to build continual success for police reforms.

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Over the last few years, the Vallejo Police Department has embarked upon one of the most ambitious audit and evaluation processes that our department has ever seen. The resounding calls for equity in policing have propelled law enforcement agencies across the nation into a position of deep reflection, assessment, and correction to better serve our communities from a place of understanding, accountability, and transparency.

The Office of the Chief takes on the great responsibility of setting this foundation by first establishing a process by which progress can be achieved. While coming into the throws of transformational change during a global pandemic is no easy task, we now do so with the consistent understanding that preservation of life and the sanctity of life are the cornerstone of effective public safety and service to our community.

Our reformative journey began in 2019 with an independent assessment of the police department by the OIR Group. In May 2020, that assessment was completed and contained 45 recommendations to improve the department. Since that time, we have implemented a series of policy, program and procedural changes that place great emphasis on collaborative reform with our community stakeholders, data-driven approaches to solving crime, the use of technology, exceptional training with an emphasis on de-escalation and cultural competency, increasing accountability in policy and practices while reducing our exposure to risk and liability.

Highlights of our policy reform include:
Crafting a new de-escalation policy and implementing a mandatory body-worn camera activation policy Improving our code of ethics and standards of conduct policies to reflect our commitment to respectful service and professionalism
Partnering with the California Department of Justice with the Collaborative Reform Agreement Hiring a Public Information Officer to increase social media presence and enhance communication to the community
Including community members in the evaluation of new recruits and in the promotional process Reviewing our use of force policies, procedures, and training plans, especially as they relate to the de- escalation of force.

Date: May 17, 2022
Subject: PROGRESS REPORT ON POLICE REFORM/OIR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

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Implemented a Use of Force Dashboard as an early intervention and risk management tool for the department and community
Implementing a new Vision, Mission and Values policy
Implementing changes to the training curriculum to include

1. Crisis Intervention and De-escalation training

2. Fair and Impartial Policing

3. Cultural Diversity

4. Principle Policing

5. History of Policing
Banning the use of the carotid restraint and choke hold in June of 2020 Creating a new Police Department Website for greater communication and transparency Partnering with the Solano County District Attorney’s Office to launch a new Officer Involved Fatal Incident Protocol
Drafting a new critical incident review policy, use of force policy and officer involved shooting policy to increase accountability and transparency
Crafting compliance measures for each OIR recommendation Creating the New Chief Advisory Board
Implemented new Digital Radio System: East Bay Regional Communications System Authority/Digital Radio System (EBRCSA)
 Implemented Smart-City Initiative with Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) Conducting Townhall meetings and soliciting community feedback on major policy reforms Creating Operation PEACE: a community policing and crime reduction strategy

Throughout this presentation and review of our progress, you will gain a unique understanding of how we are changing as a department. You will hear about our 21st Century Policing models, trauma-informed care services, enhanced communications efforts, and the strategic partnerships we have established to create real change. You will also learn more about our enhanced training and tactics with a unique focus on decision- based thinking, crisis intervention techniques, implicit bias, and cultural awareness. Overall, you will gain an understanding of our renewed commitment to diversity, inclusion, and our multidisciplinary approach to protecting and serving the City of Vallejo while keeping our officers and community members alike safe.

Real change and transformation begin when we understand the power we hold as a community to make the world around us a better place. The call of our community should never be silenced but embraced and answered with understanding. Real change requires that we set our differences to the side to discover the similarities we share. We must unite as a community, as civic leaders, as business stakeholders, and as a police department to create the change we want to see. Finally, we must all understand the source of power and transformation begins with humility, unity, and faith. This is a collective responsibility and the only path to true success.

FISCAL IMPACT
There is no immediate fiscal impact associated with this update.

ATTACHMENTS
Date: May 17, 2022
Subject: PROGRESS REPORT ON POLICE REFORM/OIR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

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None

CONTACT
Shawny K. Williams, Chief of Police (707) 648-4540
[email protected]

Vallejo City CouncilMay 17, 2022

Vallejo City Council
May 17, 2022