Be it resolved that Council receive staff report CAO2020-027 as information; and
That Council and staff organize meetings and discussions with area Municipalities and the County of Grey to gain common interest, agreement and approval for a Southgate Council support resolution that would request the Federal and Provincial Governments to only fund in rural Southern Ontario municipal projects seeking grant funding for broadband communications that would install fibre cable for the purpose of being recognized as being a served area with the high speed capacity infrastructure; and
That Council direct staff to draft a support resolution that would seek and request Municipal support across the Province of Ontario, as well as Association of Municipalities of Ontario to request the Federal and Provincial Governments only fund in rural Southern Ontario municipal projects seeking grant funding for broadband communications projects that would install fibre cable for the purpose of being recognized as being a served area with the high speed capacity infrastructure; and
That Council direct staff to organize meetings when possible with Federal and Provincial staff and with our local MP and MPP and/or seek where possible delegations at FCM and AMO Conference if possible, to discuss rural Southern Ontario broadband funding policies; and
That Council direct staff to develop an effective policy to install fibre cable infrastructure in the shoulder of the municipal roadways and at drainage crossings in a safe and secure manner to respect the reliability of both the road and communication assets to best serve communities and support cost effective fibre cable installation options; and
That Southgate Members on Grey County Council and staff promote to the County that they consider the same municipal fibre cable installation policies to support more cost effective service options that would install fibre cable communication infrastructure to make the best and most efficient use of available grants, funding, tax dollars and contractor investments; and
That Council direct staff to continue to look for rural infrastructure project funding sources to install fibre optic cable and continue to work with SWIFT to fund projects they can support.