Commissioners Approve Laptop Distro
Originally Published: December 13, 2024
Colvin Only Vote Against Motion
Two years ago this month, 4500 Chromebooks were provided to St. Mary’s County by the State for distribution to residents who lacked a device to connect to the internet. Paid for by the American Rescue Plan Act, passed in 2021, which provided grant money through the Office of Statewide Broadband’s Maryland Connected Devices Program, the total value of the Chromebooks was just over $894K. The County’s IT Department dispensed the laptops to eligible county residents across multiple distribution events. Now, the County is prepared to distribute an additional 500 devices this Saturday, December 14th.
At their meeting on December 10th, the Commissioners were briefed by IT Dept. Director Bob Kelly on the latest initiative. The Statewide Broadband office has 500 laptops from a municipality that did not exhaust its supply, Kelly said. Recognizing the efforts of St. Mary’s County previously, the State office thought it would be a good fit once again. As before, residents who are on certain state assistance programs, receive veterans benefits, medicare, or those who make up to 200% of the federal poverty income level are eligible. This time, though, those residents can be from Calvert, Charles, or St. Mary’s County. Previously, only one device per address was allowed but now that has changed to per household. If the address has received a device before, but a new household has moved in, they now qualify.
Director Kelly was confident, when questioned by Commissioner Colvin, that all devices could be circulated. Two hundred of these will go with partner charities, like Shop With A Cop and Toys for Tots, who have already identified needs. The deadline for handing out all laptops is June 2025. Colvin also questioned the eligibility of those from outside the county rather than just county residents. Kelly noted Charles and Calvert both had limited distributions originally, saying “it's not inconsistent that we’ve provided devices outside of the county” before. Colvin didn’t see a need to provide more laptops and ultimately did not support the motion to accept grant money for the cause.
But two years ago, in August 2022, Commissioner Colvin was the primary force behind expanding broadband access across St. Mary’s County. Colvin was joined by Commissioner President Guy and then-Commissioner John O’Connor, in voting to allocate well over $3M towards the Middle and Last Mile connectivity projects. These funds were paid by the County to Breezeline for installation of cable internet lines, over which Breezeline retains ownership, connecting individual households, sometimes at a cost of up to $50K per home. In comparison, the Chromebooks cost about $200 each.
Though the latest laptop distribution plan was approved, Commissioners Colvin and Ostrow took issue with finding out about the initiative by reading an article in The County Times on December 5th. Kelly said in order to take advantage of the Christmas holiday creating a demand (through the non profits), and under the impression the original distribution deadline would be December 31st, the event was advertised. The press release announcing Saturday’s event was issued on November 26th.
Chromebooks will be distributed tomorrow, December 14th, from 10am to 4pm at the Sheriff’s Office District 4 Station at 21633 Great Mills Road. Bring proof of eligibility and proof of residency. More information on eligibility can be found in this press release: https://www.stmaryscountymd.gov/.../2024...
