RELEASE: Williams Addresses False Statements About Tower Project

LOUISA – Today, Toni Williams, Chairman of the Louisa County Board of Supervisors and Republican candidate for re-election to the Jackson District seat released the following statement addressing misleading information publically circulated by challenger Bernie Hill:

“Facts presented at this month’s Broadband Authority meeting directly and unequivocally contradict Mr. Hill’s statements about my actions and the Boards actions regarding the Broadband Authority’s tower project,” Williams said. “It is clear that Mr. Hill is uninformed about the actions taken by the body of which he is a member. The Authority was granted funds to construct a tower in the Jackson District. Should the Authority not provide broadband coverage, it will be solely due to the failure to deliver on the plan which they themselves developed. While I have concerns with the progress, it is my wish that the Broadband Authority delivers on their plan for which the taxpayer is funding. In the meantime, I have focused my efforts on providing real solutions by expanding Louisa’s fiber optic broadband infrastructure.”

In a July 20, 2019 Facebook post, Bernie Hill stated that 1) the Broadband Authority had no remaining funds to build a Jackson District tower because “County leaders have decided to use the money designated for the Jackson District tower for wireless broadband elsewhere in the County. For example…Toni Williams voted to approve a $550,000 grant for CVEC to run fiber in the western part of the County;” 2) that approving a permit for a Verizon tower in Bumpass, “effectively kill[ed] the prospects for a tower originally planned by the Broadband Authority;” and, 3) in a later comment on his July 20 Facebook post, Mr. Hill stated that the administration of the tower project’s budget was the responsibility of county staff and the Board of Supervisors.

At the August 7, 2019 when asked about these content of these statements, county staff directly contradicted Mr. Hill’s claims. Louisa County IT Director Bob Hardy stated that absolutely no funds, including the $550,000 CVEC tax abatement, were removed from the Broadband Authority’s budget. Mr. Hardy also stated and it is recorded in the July 2019 meeting minutes that the decision not to build a tower at the Bumpass-Buckner Park was at the recommendation of the Broadband Authority, not the Board of Supervisors. This decision was made due to the close proximity of the proposed Verizon-owned tower on which county’s broadband equipment could co-located. However, Mr. Hardy also stated that should the Authority desire to move forward with its original plan for a county-owned tower at Bumpass-Buckner Park, they would be unable to due to insufficient funds remaining in their budget. A balance of $37,000 remains in the Authority’s budget despite the completion of only 4 – with a fifth in development – of the 10 towers in the original proposal for which the Authority was granted a $1.09M budget.

Further, Mr. Hardy explicitly state that the Broadband Authority was the primary entity responsible for the execution of the tower project, administration of its budget, and liaising between the tower contractors and the Board of Supervisors.

Overall, Mr. Hardy’s comments show that should the Jackson District fail to receive coverage in the Broadband Authority tower project, ultimately it would be due to the failure to deliver on its plan to provide 10 county-owned broadband towers for the $1.09M allocated by the Board of Supervisors. Bernie Hill’s attempt to deflect blame from himself to the Board of Supervisors was either intentionally deceptive or incredibly uninformed. As a member of the body responsible for executing the tower project, Bernie Hill is obligated to know the facts about the Authority’s budget and construction progress.

###