Committee to explore high-speed communications
By Ruth Marlow
Exploring ways to expand high-speed communications service throughout the county will be a top priority this year for a group that advises county supervisors on economic development issues, its chairman said.Faster Internet service would allow residents the chance to telecommute, which could ease traffic congestion on local roads, and would offer an incentive to promote small and home-based businesses, Economic Advisory Committee Chairman Dave Juday said.
A discussion of broadband service is schedule for the committee’s March 26 meeting at the county courthouse in Berryville.
County supervisors last month put the issue on a list of potential priorities for the coming year and assigned it to Juday’s group to research. Residents have increasingly voiced growing dissatisfaction about the lack of high-speed connections in most areas of the county, several supervisors said.
“We’re a small, rural county with a low population density, and we recognize that’s a constraint we have to work with in order to attract capital investment . . . from some of these Internet service providers,” Juday said. “But we’re going to explore every avenue.”
Some high-speed service is available within the Town of Berryville and in parts of the county to cable service subscribers.
Juday said he has also contacted Del. Joe May (R-Loudoun/Clarke) to discuss ways the state could help by loosening regulatory restrictions on such service.
During its regular February meeting, the committee also received an update on progress made by the Clarke County Equine Alliance (CCEA) since its inception four years ago.
Although the county’s horse population has increased, sale prices for them have dropped, CCEA Chairman Robina Rich Bouffault told committee members. She asked them to carefully weigh the impact of taxes and regulations on the viability of the industry.
The alliance has evolved into a model of what can be done to foster the county’s economy by helping businesses work together to promote their industry, Juday said.
The CCEA was formed as a result of the EDAC’s outreach to the agriculture and business communities, he noted, adding the update was an opportunity to learn what issues currently concern these businesses.
“Our charge is to try to help the economy expand in the county while maintaining our green space and our agricultural base,” he said.
Contact the reporter at rmarlow@timespapers.com