Agenda

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ARF- 6796

Regular Agenda Item 4. D.

Special BOS Meeting

Meeting Date:	07/27/2021
Submitted For:	Jacque Sanders
Submitted By:	Jacque Sanders, Deputy County Manager/Librarian
Department:	Deputy County Mgr/Library District
Fiscal Year:	FY21, FY22, FY23	Budgeted?:	Yes
Contract Dates Begin & End:	July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2023	Grant?:	No
Matching Requirement?:	No	Fund?:	Renewal

Information

Request/Subject

Approval of Agreement for E-Rate Services between Gila County Information Education Technology Consortium on behalf of Gila County Library through the Gila County Schools Superintendent and the Gila County Library District and Yavapai County through the Yavapai County School Superintendent.

Background Information

The Gila County School Superintendent’s office and the Gila County Library District formed the Gila County Information Education Technology Consortium in December 2018 for the purpose of obtaining an E-Rate Grant from the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) Schools and Library Division (SLD) for Construction and Service to bring high-speed internet services to the schools and libraries in Gila County. The construction and service grant was awarded in May 2020. In July 2020, the Gila County School Superintendent and the Gila County Librarian on behalf of the GCIET Consortium reached out to Frank Vander Horst with the Yavapai County School Superintendent’s Office to assist with providing expertise, oversight, and project management for the construction and ongoing service related to this project. Since that time, the Yavapai County School Superintendent’s Office learned that they were not able to contract with the Consortium and that the agreement would need to be between the respective counties (Yavapai and Gila).

As a part of this agreement, the Gila County Board of Supervisors as that body, as well as in their capacity as the Library District Board of Directors need to approve this agreement for federal E-Rate purposes.

In addition, the Gila County School Superintendent and the Gila County Librarian need to be authorized to sign the additional Letter of Agency, to act on behalf of the County and the respective Superintendent’s Office and Library District to participate with and Yavapai County School Superintendent for the procurement of affordable internet access and related equipment, and authorize the submission of various Federal Communications Commission (FCC) forms for E-Rate services for USAC.

Evaluation

The Yavapai School Superintendent’s Office and their employee Frank Vander Horst have extensive experience with E-Rate Construction projects as well as with the service portion of E-Rate. He is very knowledgeable of the processes, procedures, and deadlines related to the ongoing provision of E-Rate services to such a large group of individual entities. In the past year, he has provided invaluable assistance in keeping the project on track.

Conclusion

The Yavapai School Superintendent’s Office has the experience and expertise to assist the Gila County Information Education Technology Consortium in keeping the E-Rate project on track and ensuring that all federal deadlines and reporting requirements are met. The agreement benefits the Consortium and formalized the arrangements that are currently in place.

Recommendation

Staff recommends approval of the agreement along with authorizing the Gila County Librarian to sign the companion Letter of Agency.

Suggested Motion

(Motion to adjourn as the Gila County Board of Supervisors and convene as the Gila County Library District Board of Directors.) Information/Discussion/Action to approve the Agreement for E-Rate Services between Gila County Information Education Technology Consortium on behalf of Gila County through the Gila County School Superintendent and Gila County Library District and Yavapai County through the Yavapai County School Superintendent for a term of three years, effective July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2023, at a rate of $5,000 per year; authorize the Chairman’s signature on the Agreement for the Library District; and authorize the Gila County Librarian to sign the Letter of Agency. (Jacque Sanders) (Motion to Adjourn as the Gila County Library District Board of Directors and reconvene as the Gila County Board of Supervisors.)

Attachments
Agreement for E-Rate Services