OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Loudoun County Communications Commission Meeting - March 26, 2026

Commissions & Advisory Boards — Thursday, March 26, 2026
BodyLoudoun County, Virginia
SessionCommissions & Advisory Boards
DateThursday, March 26, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:05:34

Transcript — Verbatim
0:05

Yay.

0:06

Nice.

0:07

Is that me?

0:08

Is that you?

0:09

No.

0:10

No, I mean, is that in response to your recommendation?

0:13

Yeah.

0:14

Yeah, it's AI.

0:16

Tell me that's not the best thing going on in all your little meetings there.

0:18

No one no taking in of that.

0:24

All right, I have seven of four ideas.

0:27

I have seven of four, March 23rd.

0:30

Call the uh Loudden County Communications Commission meeting to order.

0:36

First thing is the agenda.

0:38

Did anybody not see the agenda?

0:42

Are there any changes or additions to the agenda?

0:46

I I do have um a thought I'd I'd like staff to kind of repeat the email that I was sent about how VATI updates are gonna happen now on the record for I know neighbors of mine that tune into this meeting would like to hear um again how VATIA updates are gonna be presented from now on.

1:03

Okay, if there's no objection, we will insert that in.

1:10

How about right after the franchisee uh conversation?

1:16

Okay, see no objection.

1:18

We'll do that then.

1:20

Any other uh changes to the agenda as amended?

1:26

Seeing here none.

1:27

Um let's just uh ask the question.

1:30

So that means you're gonna insert that into the formal agenda just for staff to state it on the recorded record um for yeah, my neighbors and others that want to know how baddy updates are gonna be presented moving forward.

1:48

Okay, clarified.

1:50

Then uh if there's no objection, we will adopt the minutes at sorry, the agenda as amended.

1:59

So moved.

2:00

I don't need a move motion.

2:02

Second.

2:03

All right, so we'll go through that process.

2:05

Uh any discussion?

2:08

Further discussion, I'd say.

2:10

No?

2:11

Uh all in favor say aye.

2:12

Aye.

2:13

Any objecting?

2:14

Aye.

2:15

Thanks, Aaron.

2:16

Any abstaining?

2:17

It's unanimous.

2:18

Thank you.

2:19

The agenda is adopted as amended.

2:24

Then the first order business says the meeting minutes from October 27th.

2:29

Did anybody not receive that in the package?

2:34

Are there any changes or adjustments to the minutes as drafted?

2:40

Seeing that if there's no objection, they are adopted as drafted.

2:46

So adopted.

2:51

I was not here.

2:52

I took some time to read through them all.

2:54

A lot of really, really good conversation.

2:56

Um formatting the um question proposed questionnaire.

3:02

And I really appreciated like being able to go through and read read all the comments, and it gave me a real sense of how the conversation in the room went.

3:09

Jason, I did meet um afterwards, so he gave me some perspective on that as well, um, which is valuable.

3:14

Uh then just to make sure we're all up to speed on what happened since then, because here it is March.

3:19

So we haven't met in several months, and part due to wanting to get that out ahead of us and getting results back, and that kind of impacted our calendar.

3:27

Then we had some weather in there that impacted the calendar.

3:29

So a lot of things kind of um uh impacted uh us coming back together.

3:35

Um, but the main thing really impacting that was uh advice from um I don't remember if it was county attorney or county administrator saying, look, we can't go through that process.

3:45

We have to like push everything through our uh formal um annual report as a communique.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████████████████████34%
Technology and Innovation████████████████████████████28%
Public Engagement█████████████████████21%
Community Engagement█████████████13%
Personnel Matters██2%
Public Safety██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Loudoun County Communications Commission Meeting - March 26, 2026

Note: The agenda and transcript indicate the meeting occurred on Monday, March 23, 2026, but the instruction requires using the date March 26, 2026. This summary reflects the content of the March 23 meeting as recorded.

The Loudoun County Communications Commission held its first meeting of 2026 on March 23 (per agenda) to elect officers, set the meeting cadence, reaffirm the virtual meeting policy, and discuss the commission's future role. The commission reviewed a draft presentation for the Board of Supervisors outlining options: maintain the status quo, broaden the scope via bylaw amendments, or wind down the commission. Commissioners also closed several action items and received updates on the VATI broadband project.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the agenda as amended (to include a discussion on VATI update cadence).
  • Approved the minutes from the October 27, 2025, meeting as drafted.
  • Reaffirmed the all-virtual/remote participation policy for 2026 (unanimous vote).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public signed up to speak.

Discussion Items

  • Commission Elections & Cadence:
    • Ron was elected Chair (moved by Tom, seconded, unanimous).
    • Jason was elected Vice Chair (nominated, seconded, elected by acclamation).
    • Aaron was elected Secretary (nominated by Tom, seconded, elected by acclamation).
    • The commission agreed to continue meeting on the fourth Monday of the month (no change).
  • Franchisee Topics: Neither Comcast nor Verizon representatives attended. Staff reported no updates. The commission briefly discussed the diminished role of cable franchises and the lack of direct engagement.
  • VATI Project Update Cadence: Staff stated that monthly updates will be posted on the county's broadband web page (February update already posted, March update expected next week). The commission will no longer receive direct updates from All Points; the same information will be publicly available.
  • Board of Supervisor Access & Commission Annual Report: Ron presented a draft slide deck (approximately 10 slides) that reviewed the commission's history, current activities, and three forward options:
    1. Status quo (limited value, no clear role).
    2. Broaden the scope via the bylaws (e.g., expand topics, increase interactions with the Board).
    3. Wind down the commission due to inefficient use of resources.
    • Commissioners discussed the need to tie any expansion to the county's strategic vision and priorities. Staff noted that the county's strategic plan includes broadband-related goals. The commission will review the slide deck and the strategic plan to align recommendations.
    • Key points: The commission was excluded from the last franchise renewal by Board decision; the VATI project is managed by DIT with limited commission involvement; a wireless coverage assessment is underway and expected to be briefed to the commission in 2–3 months.
  • Outstanding Action Items:
    • Closed Action Item 267 (survey proposal) – unanimous vote.
    • Closed Action Item 261 (take rate data from All Points) – staff reported the board received a 20-25% expected take rate, no further granularity needed.
    • Kept open Action Items 249 and 254 (Verizon expansion plans in Purcellville and density changes) – still awaiting response from Verizon.
    • Created new Action Item 268: commissioners to review the slide presentation and the county's vision/strategic priorities to provide recommended updates to the deck.

Key Outcomes

  • Elected officers for 2026: Chair Ron, Vice Chair Jason, Secretary Aaron.
  • Adopted meeting cadence: fourth Monday of the month.
  • Reaffirmed virtual meeting policy for 2026 (unanimous).
  • Closed two action items (267 and 261).
  • Directed commissioners to review the draft annual report slides and the county strategic plan, then provide feedback to Ron and Jason for consolidation.
  • Next meeting scheduled for April 27, 2026 (fourth Monday).

Meeting Transcript

Yay. Nice. Is that me? Is that you? No. No, I mean, is that in response to your recommendation? Yeah. Yeah, it's AI. Tell me that's not the best thing going on in all your little meetings there. No one no taking in of that. All right, I have seven of four ideas. I have seven of four, March 23rd. Call the uh Loudden County Communications Commission meeting to order. First thing is the agenda. Did anybody not see the agenda? Are there any changes or additions to the agenda? I I do have um a thought I'd I'd like staff to kind of repeat the email that I was sent about how VATI updates are gonna happen now on the record for I know neighbors of mine that tune into this meeting would like to hear um again how VATIA updates are gonna be presented from now on. Okay, if there's no objection, we will insert that in. How about right after the franchisee uh conversation? Okay, see no objection. We'll do that then. Any other uh changes to the agenda as amended? Seeing here none. Um let's just uh ask the question. So that means you're gonna insert that into the formal agenda just for staff to state it on the recorded record um for yeah, my neighbors and others that want to know how baddy updates are gonna be presented moving forward. Okay, clarified. Then uh if there's no objection, we will adopt the minutes at sorry, the agenda as amended. So moved. I don't need a move motion. Second. All right, so we'll go through that process. Uh any discussion? Further discussion, I'd say. No? Uh all in favor say aye. Aye. Any objecting? Aye. Thanks, Aaron. Any abstaining? It's unanimous. Thank you. The agenda is adopted as amended. Then the first order business says the meeting minutes from October 27th. Did anybody not receive that in the package? Are there any changes or adjustments to the minutes as drafted? Seeing that if there's no objection, they are adopted as drafted. So adopted. I was not here. I took some time to read through them all.

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