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City of Rockville
M E M O R A N D U M
December 31, 1998
SUBJECT: Presentation of Draft Proposed Telecommunications Policy and Plan
Agenda Item
At your meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 6, the Citys telecommunications consultant, River Oaks Communications Corporation, will be making a presentation of a draft proposed telecommunications policy and plan for the City. The purpose of this presentation is to provide you with information, to answer any questions you may have, and to give you an opportunity to comment on the policy and plan. Your feedback, as well as that provided by the Technology Action Team, will be taken into consideration as River Oaks makes any necessary modifications in preparing a Proposed Telecommunications Plan and Policy to present to the Mayor and Council on Jan. 25.
Portions of the plan and policy will address issues related to wireless telecommunications, siting of towers, and siting of other infrastructure. I anticipate these will be of particular interest to the Planning Commission, and that is the primary reason for this presentation to you.
Background
Based on issues and needs identified through the "Imagine Rockville" visioning process, the Mayor and Council designated development of a City Telecommunications Plan and Policy as one of their four priority initiatives.
Telecommunications is going to become a very important facet of everyones life, and the City needs to think through just what effect telecommunications will have on its residents.
Over the next two years, the Mayor and Council would like to develop a telecommunications policy to address the Telecommunications Act implications, revenue, regulations, state component, and cell towers. This policy could result in ordinances.
The City wants to be proactive in telecommunications issues by identifying where telecommunications resources are available, by being a leading edge city for an information economy, and exploring the infrastructure needed for the city and its residents.
From City Web Site, Mayor and Council Policy Initiatives, Telecommunications
The Mayor and Council provided funding to hire a consultant to work with the Technology Action Team (TAT) and staff to develop a proposed policy and plan.
The TAT, working with staff, developed a Request For Proposals (RFP), including
a Scope of Services section outlining the primary issues to be studied and assessed
during a six-month period, and then addressed in a written proposed policy and
plan. Among these were:
This study and the development of a proposed policy and plan constituted the first phase of the project. The second phase will be to develop proposed ordinances and regulations to implement the policy and plan.
The City received responses to the RFP from some of the most highly regarded firms that specialize in consulting with municipalities on telecommunications matters. After a thorough review of the proposals, the TAT and staff recommended contracting with River Oaks Communications Corporation, which has expertise in both the technical and legal aspects of telecommunications. The Mayor and Council concurred and awarded the contract in June 1998.
Since then, River Oaks has been conducting intensive information gathering and analysis, with input from citizens, businesses, the Mayor and Council, the TAT, and staff from every City department, especially the City Managers Office, Legal, Public Works, Community Development and Planning Services, and Finance/Information Technology.
In September, River Oaks conducted a public forum on telecommunications issues in the Mayor and Council chambers. This forum was televised live, and it was replayed numerous times on the Citys cable television station.
River Oaks, working with staff, also developed, distributed, tallied, and analyzed three telecommunications needs assessment surveys: (1) residential; (2) business; and (3) internal. The residential survey was distributed in the Citys newsletter "Rockville Reports," which is mailed to every address in Rockville. The survey requested information and opinions in the areas of telephone service, Internet and other data communications services, and infrastructure placement in the community. More than 1,400 responses were received by the deadline.
The business survey was mailed to about 800 businesses of various types in Rockville. It also asked for information and opinions on telephone service, data communications services, and telecommunications facilities placement. Because the response to this survey was relatively small, River Oaks also conducted a business focus group.
The internal survey asked department directors for information and opinions on existing voice, video, and data communications services and future needs.
In December, River Oaks met with the Mayor and Council in a work session to which the TAT and Planning Commission were invited. At the meeting, River Oaks outlined the work it had done to that point and the direction it was heading on key issues. The consultants also answered questions and received feedback and direction.
Recommendations
The draft policy and plan presents recommendations on matters such as compliance with and affect of federal and state laws and regulations; encouraging competition; management of the public rights-of-way; personal wireless communications services; internal telecommunications system development; synergies with Montgomery County; monitoring of new technology and services; and a continuing focus on citizen input, involvement and interests.
Again, we believe the area of personal wireless communications services will be of particular interest to the Planning Commission because of the land-use issues involved, and therefore, any comments you may have on this subject are especially encouraged.
The final proposed policy and plan will be presented to the Mayor and Council Jan. 25.