As of March 25, already thirty towns have agreed to place the WiredWest article on their annual town meeting warrants. This is amazing progress in a region as diverse and large as western Massachusetts and it speaks to the strong interest in broadband access throughout our community. Thanks to those of you who are helping to making this happen and please be sure to be present at your town meetings to support the WiredWest project.
So why are we even doing this town vote? Legally your select boards can unilaterally join into any municipal contract without voter approval. But by bringing this to town meeting we believe we can build a strong base of support to sustain our efforts to build this network over the long term. Your select board members might change regularly, but not so fast the voter sentiment. Large majorities in each town will send a strong message to state and local government institutions about our needs and our will to make it happen. And such a unified block of residents throughout the region will also give us improved access to support from these same institutions. This might translate to better opportunities for funding, collaborations, technical or logistical support, etc.
Have other questions? In future news we’ll address some of the other details of our project. Feel free to leave your comments, questions, or always(!) your offers of volunteer support.