County staff recommends folding broadband objective into economic development to speed permitting and funding access

Nevada County officials on Jan. 28 laid out a multi-pronged broadband strategy and urged supervisors to move the county’s broadband objective under the economic development program to accelerate local projects.

At a board workshop, Landon Beard, the county’s chief information officer, described four strategic pillars — advocacy, project readiness, funding optimization and digital inclusion — and reviewed the federal and state funding landscape. Beard said recent allocations at the federal level and competitive programs at the California Public Utilities Commission create new opportunities for last‑mile projects in rural areas.

Beard said the county has won local last‑mile awards and secured positioning to compete for further funds. "With these pillars in mind, the primary role as local government with broadband, put simply, is strong advocacy, community engagement and education, streamlining permitting, and coordinating and convening stakeholders," Beard said.

Beard also summarized major grant programs counties are watching: the federal BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment) funds authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; the FFA last‑mile allocation referenced from ARPA funding; and the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF). He told the board Nevada County participated in a regional Golden State Connect Authority application and was awarded $15 million of a $75 million regional allotment.

Supervisors pressed staff on technology options — fiber versus fixed wireless versus low‑Earth‑orbit satellites — and on implementation timelines. Beard acknowledged tradeoffs: fiber has higher delivery barriers but greater long‑term capacity; wireless options can reach customers sooner in some places.

After discussion, multiple supervisors supported staff’s recommendation "to fold the broadband objective into the economic development objective moving forward," a change Beard said would let county staff better coordinate permitting, programmatic environmental review and single points of contact for providers.

What happens next: staff will return with an implementation plan that spells out operational responsibility, anticipated staffing and metrics for progress, and periodic briefings to supervisors.

Why it matters: broadband projects require coordination across permitting, environmental review and private providers. Folding the objective under economic development is intended to concentrate related work — from site identification to developer outreach — under a single management structure to increase the county’s competitiveness for federal and state grants and to help close service gaps in rural neighborhoods.