ROCKY VIEW COUNTY— The future of Rocky View County’s Internet Servicing Strategy sparked a heated debate between Council members during a meeting Tuesday (May 13).
Council accepted updates on the Community Broadband Study Project and the High-Speed Internet Services For Rocky View County Ratepayers, but the council failed to find a consensus on moving forward with a strategy for the County.
The County allocated a total of $82,500 of tax dollars for this project, and a remaining unfunded amount of $82,500 remains that would have been covered by the Alberta Community Regional Economic Support (CARES) grant.
The County's CARES grant was rejected by the provincial government, so the project would now cost the County a minimum of $165,000 to pursue.
Rocky View County reeve Greg Boehlke said Council has the option to use the tax stabilization fund to cover the cost of the project, but said he was hesitant to use the fund to cover the remaining half of the Community Broadband Study.
“I believe that we need to decide whether the Internet is a core service and I don’t believe it is, in my own personal opinion I think it’s up to the private sector,” Boehlke said. “I’m a firm believer in user pay and if there’s a market it will be serviced, and if not we can do a local improvement tax.”
The County can resubmit a CARES grant application that is revised based on the information provided by the provincial government during a future intake period. At this time no new intake periods have been announced for CARES.
Boehlke said the County has reached out to providers to address areas of the County with poor Internet services. He added that as reeve he has received no phone calls complaining about the quality of Internet in Rocky View.
Division 8 Councillor Samanntha Wright noted that the Community Broadband Study could be linked with the High-Speed Services for Rocky View County Ratepayers.
Wright brought a motion asking Council to consider how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for accessibility to quality, reliable Internet and asked that the study continue to receive funding from the tax stabilization reserve.
“We as a council need to identify Internet servicing as an essential service,” Wright said. “We don’t need to become a provider, I think we really need to look holistically at what is out there— help our residents get the potential servicing they can get.”
Wright noted that due to the COVID-19 pandemic businesses have moved many services online, many residents are working at home and students are attending virtual classrooms. She added that the Internet can also play an important role in supporting mental health.
Wright told council that there is $1.2 Billion in grant funding available and the County needs to make sure Rocky View ratepayers do not fall through the cracks and have the same opportunities to receive high net Internet servicing as other rural communities.
The federal government has pledged $500 million through its Connect to Innovate program to ensure rural communities in the country have access to the Internet and the CRTS has created a $750 million Broadband Fund to support projects to build or update mobile wireless broadband Internet services infrastructure.
“This is a project that benefits everybody in a time that we are identifying Internet is an absolute necessity,” Wright said.
Division 3 Coun. Kevin Hanson said quality Internet service is an essential service that is not being provided to all Rocky View residents. He added that it should be top of mind when planning for future development in the County and steps can be taken to make implementation easier down the road.
Hanson asked the Council to consider the Internet an essential service like water or sewage and create rules around how the Internet is provided in Rocky View.
“I’m a firm believer that to be competitive with our neighbouring municipalities in developments we have to provide good Internet framework, structure,” Hanson said. “We need a strategy to decide exactly how wet we want to get our feet in the Internet pool.”
He added that the Bragg Creek Community Connect Study proved to be a “deeper dive” then expected but has the potential to be a good step for Rocky View if it is executed well. The Bragg Creek Connect Committee was established in early 2018 to address the community’s lack of Internet servicing. The future of the project hinged on Rocky View County receiving matching funds from the CARES program.
Hanson said the Country can build infrastructure that can be rented out to Internet providers. He noted developers will see there Internet requirements and this could appeal to new housing developments in areas of Rocky View.
Hanson added that creating infrastructure centred on improving Internet access could aid in stimulating the local economy.
He asked that the $82,500 that is already budgeted by the County be used to pursue ongoing development of Rocky View County Strategic Level Internet Servicing Study to determine the cost-benefit of treating broadband connectivity as a core municipal service. Hanson added that the Council can continue to explore the funding that would be available through the provincial and federal grants.
“Let’s build some digital highways and generate jobs,” Hanson said. “Let’s think about how we can better our community by basically jumping into this century.”
The main motion of regarding High-Speed Internet Servicing for Rocky View County Ratepayers was tabled until the May 26 Council meeting to allow for Council to further discuss what the Internet should like in Rocky View County.
