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6.C. - Page 2 of 28 <br />be requested through the Library's curbside pickup program. The Library is also supporting local school <br />districts with virtual library cards and access to ebooks through Sora. The City has also expanded free <br />public WIFI in the areas and parking lots surrounding most City facilities such as the Downtown Library <br />and the Redwood Shores Library. <br />In August 2020, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors approved an allocation of $2,879,010 in <br />Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds to establish an internet connectivity <br />pilot project to improve Internet access for disadvantaged students in four school districts: La Honda- <br />Pescadero Unified School District, Ravenswood City School District, Redwood City School District, and <br />Sequoia Union High School District. In October 2020, the County Board of Supervisors committed an <br />additional $3.5 million in CARES Act funds to expand the project to additional school districts and increase <br />the distribution of mobile hotspots, free public WIFI in selected neighborhoods and the distribution of <br />laptops/Chromebooks. However, in order to qualify for the CARES Act funding, the project must be <br />implemented by December 31, 2020. <br />In late November 2020, the County reached out to the City to explore the feasibility of installing free public <br />WIFI on Redwood City street light poles in selected neighborhoods. The timing is fortuitous not only for <br />the deployment of WIFI to support distance learning during the pandemic, but also because the City is in <br />the process of finalizing a master license agreement with several wireless carriers and anticipates bringing <br />those agreements before the City Council in early 2021, similar to the attached agreement with the <br />County. <br />ANALYSIS <br />San Mateo County has identified three clusters of student populations with limited Internet connectivity; <br />they are located near the Fair Oaks Health Center, the Friendly Acres neighborhood, and across the <br />Stambaugh -Heller and Redwood Village area. While the Fair Oaks area is largely served by PG&E -owned <br />infrastructure, City staff has partnered with County staff to identify street light poles controlled by the <br />City of Redwood City within the latter two clusters. The County proposes to install WIFI equipment on as <br />many City poles as possible before the end of the year. Staff have targeted between 20 and 119 <br />installations for this project. A map depicting the proposed project areas is included in the County's Project <br />Outline (Attachment A). <br />Given that the County proposes to provide free public WIFI through these installations, City staff <br />recommends waiving the annual fees otherwise associated with its Municipal Facilities Master License <br />Agreement as a part of the City's partnership on this project, consistent with other efforts by the City to <br />close the digital divide as part of our response to the pandemic. <br />FISCAL IMPACT <br />Redwood City's Municipal Facilities Master License Agreement includes an Annual Fee of $270 for each <br />location covered by a Site License Agreement. The County project in question proposes 20-119 site <br />locations. An annual fee of $270 multiplied by those locations represents a total of $5,400 - $32,130 in <br />Page 2 of 3 <br />City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.ore <br />95 <br />