What: Community forum to kick off five-county technology plan

When: 9 a.m. to 11 am, Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Where: Sonora Elks Lodge

ATCAA wins five-county technology planning grant

            $250,000 will help map out future for high speed Internet in rural Sierras

First community forum set for April 30, 2008

            The Amador Tuolumne Community Action Agency (ATCAA) has secured a $250,000 grant from the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) to help five rural Sierra counties improve high speed Internet access for all households and businesses.

            The one-year project, called ATCAA Central Sierra Connect, will kick off with a community forum at the Sonora Elks Lodge from 9 a.m. to 11 am on Wednesday, April 30.

            The community is invited to come to learn about the project and how they can get involved in the one-year work plan.

            ATCAA Central Sierra Connect, involves Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa and Tuolumne Counties. It is part of a statewide effort to help rural counties gain 100 percent coverage for high speed internet and encourage wider use of technology by all residents. The CETF, created as part of private telecommunication company mergers, is charged with helping rural areas “catch up” to urban areas of the state.

            “Ultimately, we all want high speed Internet to be as universal as telephone service and is easily to use for all residents including low-income, senior and disabled people,” said Project Coordinator Michelle Shelton. “That is vital to the future of our communities.”

            Central Sierra Connect is the second of seven rural regions in the state to secure a CETF planning grant – the first, Redwood Coast Connect serving Humboldt, Del Norte, Trinity and Mendocino counties, was funded last year.

            The Central Sierra Connect grant will pay for ATCAA to lead a one-year planning effort that will pave the way for counties to apply for millions of dollars of public funding that will soon be available for rural communications improvements.

             Over the next 12 months, the group will:

• Appoint a five-county task force and executive committee with representatives from public and private agencies and businesses across the region. Applications for this task force will be available at the April 30 forum.
• Map current high-speed Internet coverage and detail the region’s telecommunication “backbone,” identify gaps and recommend a variety of projects that will help each county reach 100 percent coverage. Currently, project leaders estimate about 45 percent of households in the region have access to high speed Internet, and many areas have only very high priced options available.
• Survey residents to identify interest and demand for high tech services, and use results to market and call for bids for the most promising projects and services.
• Recommend public policies for each county to help reach 100 percent coverage.
• Identify ways to increase access to technology for disabled, low income and senior residents, and increase their use of Internet services in the region. An action plan will outline a variety of projects including adding more Neighborhood Information Centers at libraries and other public sites, expanding telemedicine and improving the region’s “Infonet” websites for on-line “information and referral” services.            

            Shelton coordinated the Central Sierra Connect proposal, and will serve as project director. She worked with a set of committees with more than 50 representatives from all five counties to develop the proposal and work plan.

            “The process so far has been so smooth,” Shelton said. “All of the partners are motivated to get this groundwork done, and timing is critical because follow-up funding is coming to help us actually put plans into action. Our group also has a huge head start, since many of the surveys and mapping tools developed for Redwood Coast Connect project will work for us. We’ll make some minor adjustments to fit our communities, and can move right into action.”

            Leaders throughout the region are excited about the opportunity to cooperate in planning and solve what is a major concern for the region’s future.

            “Receipt of this grant opens the door to taking the technological leap into the 21^st Century,” said Daniel Richardson, Tuolumne County’s Deputy County Administrator. “Increasing internet speeds is critical for Tuolumne County’s future. Both residents and businesses are the winners.”

            “The award of the CETF grant is a huge step forward for our entire five-county region,” said Tuolumne County Supervisor Teri Murrison. "The first step in any project, and especially one as ambitious as ours, is to make sure we know what infrastructure already exists, what will need to be added, and what areas lack access to Internet Broadband. The importance of having received this grant is in laying critically important groundwork for the next step – actually building a system to serve many currently un-served rural areas."

            Each county will be contributing time and funding to the project, and each will be able to develop its own more detailed plans for future projects.

            Groveland resident Marv Dealy, owner of Throckmorten Enterprises, said rural residents expect and deserve improved internet access and all it makes possible

            “Accessible, affordable, fast Internet today is as important as plain old telephone service was at its debut,” Dealy said. “Economic growth will benefit from more broadband, as will distance learning and medicine. As more and more retirees seek to maintain contact with their friends and families, fast Internet determines where they will settle for their golden years. If adequate service is not available, they will go elsewhere.”

            Mariposa County rancher Ken Pulvino, a committee member representing the Northside Communities Coalition, said the possibilities are exciting for all residents.

            “Here in Mariposa County our hats are off to ATCAA and Michelle Shelton for pulling the Sierra Foothills region together on this vital project for the health and prosperity of our communities. For the older folks who will gain the benefits of telemedicine, the younger neighbors who will be more competitive in pursuing careers and enrichment as well as the many tourists who might hesitate planning a trip here without high-speed internet access, the success of this high-speed broadband project will be a godsend."

            Calaveras County’s Mary Sawicki, the Program Manager for Calaveras Works and Human Services, said broadband connections are essential for helping disenfranchised people find jobs and resources. “It has been said over 80% of employment opportunities are advertised on the internet,” she said. “The internet opens up resources and educational opportunities that appear almost limitless. The most important next step is to work with the network of broadband providers to see how far and wide the service can become available.”

            Shelton said the community forum on April 30 will give interested residents a chance to learn more, ask questions and get involved.

            “People can also get a lot more information on our website: www.centralsierraconnect.org.”       

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    The Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency is a public agency created in 1981 under a Joint Powers Agreement between the counties of Amador and Tuolumne to meet the needs of youth, families and the elderly.  A-TCAA’s mission is:

 “to help individuals in Amador and Tuolumne Counties toward self-sufficiency; to support local residents in becoming involved and contributing members of our community; to promote family and other supportive environments so that children, youth and elders can achieve their maximum potential; and finally, to form partnerships and coalitions within the community to meet these needs.”  

     A-TCAA today has a professional staff of more than 125 people, an 18-member community board managing nearly 30 projects in five divisions in two counties. A-TCAA programs include the food bank, emergency and transitional homeless shelters, Family Literacy Centers, preschools, youth programs, energy assistance, information and referral services and more. More than 800 volunteers give thousands of hours each year in food programs, shelters, mentoring, youth programs and more, and ATCAA secures public and private grants and donations to support its projects and programs.

NOTE: Additional county contacts for ATCAA Central Sierra Connect:

Alpine County: Judy Molnar, County of Alpine (530)694-2287

Amador County: Kurt Knobelauch, County of Amador (209) 223-6470

Calaveras County: Mari Sawicki, Calaveras Works HSA (209) 754-6448

Mariposa County: Rick Peresan, County of Mariposa (209) 966 - 3222

Tuolumne County: Daniel Richardson, Tuolumne County Deputy Director 209-533-5511