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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Loudoun County Communications Commission Meeting - April 27, 2026

Commissions & Advisory Boards — Thursday, April 30, 2026

BodyLoudoun County, Virginia

SessionCommissions & Advisory Boards

DateThursday, April 30, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:08:11

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0:00

Good to go.

0:03

Excellent.

0:04

Thank you.

0:05

Thank you both.

0:06

I have uh seven ten.

0:10

Uh April 27th.

0:12

And I call the non communications commission meeting to order.

0:18

Uh noting presence of quorum.

0:22

We're good to go.

0:24

Uh first order business is the agenda.

0:26

Did anybody not receive the agenda?

0:30

Are there any changes to the agenda?

0:32

Yes, I'd like to strike uh the bullet term limits uh from the agenda where it says includes previously commission approved.

0:44

This proposed amendment of the agenda is not reflective of further discussion of said uh commission bylaw.

0:51

However, it I looked through the meeting minutes uh from June and July last year, and uh we did not approve any discussion of term limits.

1:04

That sounds very familiar to me too.

1:06

If there's no objection, we've been um it's administrative change to the agenda to make sure I reflex it correctly.

1:14

Seeing objection?

1:15

Can we um make sure those are reflected in the uh the final minutes when we when we present the the minutes from this meeting accordingly?

1:24

And thank you for noting that.

1:28

Any other changes to the agenda?

1:30

I I have some questions about batty, and I can wait to the commissioner comments uh to ask those, but um okay, yeah.

1:38

That sounds good.

1:38

So let's do that then.

1:39

It's a good time to do it.

1:40

Okay.

1:43

Hearing and seeing no other adjustments, then the agenda is adopted as modified without objection.

1:53

Seeing objection, okay.

1:54

It's adopted.

1:56

Then uh on to the minutes from uh March 23rd.

1:59

Um did anybody not receive the minutes?

2:03

Are there any corrections to the minutes?

2:05

Move to approve.

2:06

Second.

2:07

Uh that's been moved and second.

2:08

Any further discussion?

2:10

All in favor say aye.

2:11

Aye.

2:12

Any opposed?

2:13

Abstentions unanimous minutes are adopted.

2:17

Um we have no one signed up for public comment and discussion.

2:23

So on to the next order of business, which is uh approval the bylaw uh changes.

2:28

There is um a write-up that you should have received of the draft changes.

2:33

Um points out uh we have previously approved, uh had discussions about these changes, and in particular the term limits are not there.

2:43

Draw your attention to those.

2:44

I actually had questions about them.

2:45

I'll come to them at the end, unless somebody else brings it up.

2:49

But um before we jump into that, any feedback, concerns, questions, discussion on the proposed changes to the bylaws to reflect uh the updated template and um language uh provided by the county.

3:08

Yeah, largely recognizing that the substantive changes is primarily just in template with copy and paste the objective of the purpose of the commission from our existing bylaws.

3:23

I'm sorry, are you at are you saying you would like to see no?

3:26

I'm saying that I'm just uh making clear that this update to our bylaws does not substantially change the purpose portion bylaws.

3:40

Yeah, thank you.

3:41

Can I make a note that the um WebEx summary is I mean, just reading the first paragraph here?

3:46

It says uh chair Jason Newton, vice chair and secretary Aaron Smith.

3:51

Um so there's some glaring issues with how it's summarized.

3:57

Yes, the the WebEx summary distributed is mediocre at best.

4:03

I agree, does not reflect our approved minutes.

4:08

Just wanted to make it um yeah, I know thank you.

4:11

I'm assuming that was uh done at a courtesy from staff as yeah, additional information for us to digest, yeah.

4:19

It's AI.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████52%

Data Center Development████████████████19%

Community Engagement████████████14%

Technology and Innovation██████████11%

Economic Development██2%

Public Engagement██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Loudoun County Communications Commission Meeting - April 27, 2026

The Loudoun County Communications Commission met on April 27, 2026, at 7:10 PM in the Dulles Room of the Loudoun County Government Center. The Commission approved a modified agenda, adopted updated bylaws with unlimited term limits, and advanced the 2026 annual report with a new slide proposing expanded scope. Discussions included the VATI broadband project status and next meeting date.

Consent Calendar

The agenda was adopted as modified after striking the reference to previously approved term limits (as those had not been discussed in previous meetings).
The minutes from March 23, 2026, were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public signed up for comment.

Discussion Items

Approval of Commission Bylaws: The Commission reviewed proposed changes to align with the July 2025 board-approved template. Key discussion centered on term limits. Commissioner noted that staff had inserted "two consecutive terms" in Articles III and IV, but other advisory commissions (e.g., Youth, Transit) had used "unlimited." A motion was made and seconded to adopt the bylaws as amended to change both references to "unlimited." The motion passed unanimously.
Annual Report Update: Commissioner Ron presented a draft of the 2026 annual report presentation. Discussion focused on whether to expand the Commission’s scope or wind it down. Commissioner Tom circulated a document outlining five potential expansion areas: broadband for economic development, smart community infrastructure, remote work/telehealth, distance learning, cross-commission collaboration, and a five-year communications plan. The Commission agreed to add these as a backup slide. A motion to approve the draft report deck with amendments (allowing Jason and Ron to make non-substantive cleanup edits) passed unanimously.
Franchisee Topics: No items were raised by staff regarding Comcast or Verizon.
VATI (Virginia Telecommunications Initiative) Update: Staff reported that as of February 2026, the broadband project had completed 42% of fiber mileage and passed 7% of locations. An extension request is anticipated due to VDOT permitting challenges. Commissioner Kennedy noted community frustration and asked how to reassure residents; staff said they would provide a more substantial update.
Action Items: Action item 268 (review slide presentation) was closed unanimously. Items 249 and 254 remain open with no update on Verizon.

Key Outcomes

Unanimous approval of the commission bylaws with unlimited term limits.
Unanimous approval of the 2026 annual report presentation deck as amended, with final cleanup delegated to the chair and secretary.
Next meeting moved from May 25, 2026 (Memorial Day) to May 18, 2026, with the Dulles Room reserved.
Staff will prepare an update on the VATI project for distribution to commissioners and communities.

Meeting Transcript

Good to go. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you both. I have uh seven ten. Uh April 27th. And I call the non communications commission meeting to order. Uh noting presence of quorum. We're good to go. Uh first order business is the agenda. Did anybody not receive the agenda? Are there any changes to the agenda? Yes, I'd like to strike uh the bullet term limits uh from the agenda where it says includes previously commission approved. This proposed amendment of the agenda is not reflective of further discussion of said uh commission bylaw. However, it I looked through the meeting minutes uh from June and July last year, and uh we did not approve any discussion of term limits. That sounds very familiar to me too. If there's no objection, we've been um it's administrative change to the agenda to make sure I reflex it correctly. Seeing objection? Can we um make sure those are reflected in the uh the final minutes when we when we present the the minutes from this meeting accordingly? And thank you for noting that. Any other changes to the agenda? I I have some questions about batty, and I can wait to the commissioner comments uh to ask those, but um okay, yeah. That sounds good. So let's do that then. It's a good time to do it. Okay. Hearing and seeing no other adjustments, then the agenda is adopted as modified without objection. Seeing objection, okay. It's adopted. Then uh on to the minutes from uh March 23rd. Um did anybody not receive the minutes? Are there any corrections to the minutes? Move to approve. Second. Uh that's been moved and second. Any further discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Abstentions unanimous minutes are adopted. Um we have no one signed up for public comment and discussion. So on to the next order of business, which is uh approval the bylaw uh changes. There is um a write-up that you should have received of the draft changes. Um points out uh we have previously approved, uh had discussions about these changes, and in particular the term limits are not there. Draw your attention to those. I actually had questions about them. I'll come to them at the end, unless somebody else brings it up. But um before we jump into that, any feedback, concerns, questions, discussion on the proposed changes to the bylaws to reflect uh the updated template and um language uh provided by the county. Yeah, largely recognizing that the substantive changes is primarily just in template with copy and paste the objective of the purpose of the commission from our existing bylaws. I'm sorry, are you at are you saying you would like to see no?

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