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A signing ceremony formalizing the Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) between Monterey County and King City, Greenfield, Soledad and Gonzales to create the South Salinas Valley Broadband Authority took place May 27 in the Gonzales City Council Chambers.

"I'm very excited to finally be at this point, after so much work and dedication has gone into bringing the broadband connectivity to our community," said Gonzales Mayor Jose Rios, who was joined at the ceremony by other city leaders, including Soledad Mayor Anna Velazquez, Greenfield Mayor Pro Tem Angela Untalon and King City Mayor Mike LeBarre.

The JPA brings the four South Monterey County cities and the County together and allows them to pool resources needed to develop and implement a Community Broadband Network, which will provide affordable and reliable high-speed internet services in the region to end the digital divide.

"It is with much excitement that we gather here today to witness this historic moment, in which we small rural cities no longer feel powerless to address the massive inequities of the broadband in our communities," Velazquez said. "Today, we gather as one community to highlight how we will bring equity to our rural communities through the formation of the South Salinas Valley Broadband Authority to bring a Community Broadband Network to our residents."

The formation of this JPA is one of the initiatives of the Salinas Valley Five Cities (SVFC), which is focused on the well-being of the Salinas Valley and the lives of students, families and the local workforce. Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez has been the driving force behind creating the agreement.

"We're here today to move our community forward," Lopez said. "This community is one of innovation. We've seen so many wonderful things happen in the Salinas Valley over the last 100 years — innovations like irrigation, making sure that we're feeding the world, producing even more on less — and today we're talking about our communities coming together to do even more for the people who live and work in the Salinas Valley."

Lopez's leadership at Rural County Representatives of California and Golden State Connect Authority was instrumental in establishing partnerships with these organizations, which will work closely with the JPA to design, fund and develop the Community Broadband Network.

"We've heard so much about the pandemic's challenges, that it (prevented) our communities from access to these services," Lopez said about the often limited services available for rural areas. "Rather than wait for someone else to solve our problems, our communities are coming together — and not just the cities, we've got partners from Sacramento and local economic drivers that are helping us make these changes."

The JPA establishes the governance foundation that will coordinate development of the framework, establish the geographic area, invite collaboration and economies of scale, and most importantly, apply the equity lens needed to put forward compelling and competitive funding applications resulting in the ability to deliver broadband for all in Salinas Valley.

"This is what a team looks like that wants to make sure that no child is denied an opportunity to have access to the internet," LeBarre said. "We all know how important that is to our futures. We do so much of our work, so much of our research on the internet, (but) the kids in South County didn't have that opportunity, and the limited access they did have was throttled down. For me, this is all about kids and their future and their ability to compete in the global market. For them to access those resources that will make them excel in whatever field they choose to do, whatever their passion is, the internet is that gateway for them to get to their dreams."

Partnering with RCRC and GSCA will provide the JPA access to technical assistance and financing sources necessary to deploy an open-access municipal broadband network. Initial funding for administrative support of the JPA will be provided by its members.

Each of the four cities and the County have approved annual contributions of $25,000 for three years.

"Access is coming, and this is how it happens and why it happens because communities spoke up and said we need it," Lopez said. "The world is going to change, and it's going to start here. We're the first of many in California that will eventually make these changes, but once again the Salinas Valley will innovate and be at the leading edge."