D395 needs full-time watchdog
A workshop regarding Eastern Sierra Connect (ESC), last mile providers, and Digital 395 (D395) at Tuesday’s Mono County Board of Supervisors meeting in Bridgeport focused heavily on D395.
Danna Stroud and Ron Day, board members of ESC, attended Tuesday’s meeting to give the Board a better understanding of ESC’s roles and responsibilities. ESC is not directly related to D395, but it is working to disseminate information to last mile Internet providers to prepare them for D395’s existence.
Stroud and Day requested that the Board appoint a Mono County representative to sit on the ESC board and take the lead for the County with respect to last-mile provider issues.
This request turned on a larger lightbulb for supervisors.
“This [D395] is going to be a short-term but intense project for the next two years,” said Supervisor Byng Hunt. “Splitting it up among overburdened staff isn’t the way to go.”
Currently there are three point people among County staff for the D395 project. All of them balance their normal workload with D395 issues and projects.
County staff suggested that a specific position be hired to act as the point person. The person could also sit on the ESC Board.
The Board agreed and added that it needed to be a senior staff position.
“We don’t want to put an intern on the biggest project we have for the next few years,” said Supervisor Vikki Bauer.
Bauer also did not want to put a newly hired person on the job.
“Take someone from within and make it his or her priority,” she said. “Then give their current workload to someone else.”
The two current staff members that were repeatedly suggested for the job were Economic Development Director Dan Lyster and GIS Coordinator Nate Greenberg.
“We need a project leader with understanding of the County who can work within departments,” said Supervisor Hap Hazard. “Nate has the most well-rounded technology experience.”
Supervisor Tim Hansen, however, felt that while Greenberg was a technology “genius,” the appointed person needed to be able to “get their hands dirty.”
“You need someone who’s going to go out and talk to the people laying the cable,” Hansen said.
The Board decided to give county staff time to discuss designating an employee. The topic will be brought back for the Board’s April 10 meeting. It did, however, promise that it does want to engage with ESC a representative has been chosen.
In an update on D395, itself, County Counsel Marshall Rudolph said final environmental documents are being held up at both state and federal levels.
