WILTON – The Selectboard received updates from the town’s Water and Sewer Department Tuesday evening, as well from the Greater Franklin Development Council regarding the broadband initiative and Town Manager Rhonda Irish on the reopening of the town office.
Water Department Superintendent Heinz Gossman said they have been busy helping early returning snowbirds settle back into their homes with getting their water systems up and running. The task involves little to no contact with residents, he said. The department is also gearing up for a project that is expected to take two to three weeks at the minimum, Gossman said. A galvanized line on Birch Street will be replaced with plastic, affecting the water intake at four homes. Gossman has made sure everyone is up to date with the project, and all four houses will have an alternative avenue to access water throughout the project.
The ongoing broadband initiative, led by the Greater Franklin Development Council, has the opportunity to apply for a federal grant that would cover half of the proposed fees for the project. The installation would bring high-speed internet to a cluster of Wilton area towns including Carthage, Weld, Temple and Washington and Perkins Townships. The vetted provider would cover 70 percent of the costs, and is requesting that municipalities pitch in the remaining 30 percent. If approved for the $1 million grant, the remaining bill would be $2 million for the pole attachment fee. Board members agreed that the issue is an important one, but that the June 1 grant deadline might be too soon.
Town Manager Rhonda Irish said she has put out a Request for Proposals for two positions- a town auditor and the town attorney. Both positions have been occupied by long-time companies, and Irish said she feels it is the right time to see what else companies have to offer in terms of pricing.
The Town Office is looking to reopen on May 18, with social distancing regulations in place. Only two people will be allowed in the building at one time, and all sanitary precautions will be taken. Selectboard meetings will continue to be conducted virtually until the 10 people or less limit is lifted.
Irish said the annual Town Meeting is currently scheduled for July 14 at Academy Hill school. She is looking into the possibility of holding selectboard elections at the larger locations as well.
Here we go again. No, no, two million times no! We, the people, do not go along with spending two million hard working tax paying citizens dollars for you to secure one million hard working tax paying citizens dollars for this proposed ‘important issue’.
Explain how high speed internet to these areas will improve the tax base in Franklin County. Show us the ‘numbers and data charts’ proving a return on this proposed investment to these remote areas. Excessive spending and financing is not fiscally responsible decision making for our community. We must reset our expectations of what we can afford, how we ‘save’ for our priorities, not further tax and spend. We must overhaul our budget, prioritize funding for core services and reflect our new economic reality. Balancing a budget is like protecting your virtue, you have to learn to say no. Throw away your wishbone and pick up your backbone.
My wife and I bought a home in wilton, and had i known the poor quality internet service providers available, we honestly would have looked at Jay more closely. Less than a mile down the road they have 100+MB options through Spectrum, but here in wilton I’m stuck with 10MB through Consolidated Communications, or try and deal with BeeLine that caps at 25 but is oversold and heavily congested.
Why does this even matter you ask? Well, my wife is going to school from home, which uses bandwidth. My children have schoolwork and more importantly now, classes from home with video streaming meetings. And occasionally I like to watch a movie with the family on Netflix or Disney+ as we do not have cable TV.
With all these services sucking up the data stream, 10MB download speeds is not nearly enough. My employer wants me to work from home right now but the internet options can’t support it. I would love to see true high speed come to this area, even if it meant an increase in my taxes. I am sure my opinion is opposite of the general older population who does not need such services, but I am a resident with a family here who pays their taxes on time every time, and I have a voice too.
Olde Crone…exactly, especially seeing multiple companies are already putting low orbit satellites up to eventually provide high speed internet all over the world.
Different opinion, are you saying that you are okay with tax dollars being spent to put the instructor in for a private company to come in and charge you for internet that your tax dollars pay to have installed? I for one am not along with many others around here. If the private company wants to expand its services then they need to fund the project. I am on the other end of Franklin county and we will never see this in our area, we don’t even have cable tv available but they want our tax dollars to pay for your high speed internet. We live here for the simple life because that’s the way we want it.i also pay my taxes on time on multiple properties so I guess I should have multiple voices!!
I have an idea, however much you would like to pay in more taxes- just send a check to the town explaining you would like to deposit it into an account to pay for better internet, try to get neighbors and friends to do the same…this way you get what you want, higher taxes in exchange for faster internet and the rest of us can go about our business. Or we could do it your way and force (through threat of jail) everyone to pay for all the things you would like.
How about we get rid of the Bee Line “Monopoly” in our towns!!! They are expensive and don’t offer much
And we are stuck with them. We need competition!!! Let Spectrum come in here too!!! They are just a few
Miles away and offer 100MB. What’s the issue??? Let them in and let anyone else in who wants to compete.
They can work out a deal with Bee line or CMP to use the poles and infrastructure. For heavens sake, we have been stuck with Bee line lone enough!!!! Why spend millions of taxpayer funds for this new idea???
For all of you that have the wants,I am happy for you and hope you get everything that makes you comfortable,but please do not want for things and ask me to help pay for em.
if this is 5G, then NO, NO, NO! Bad stuffl
Just to clarify my earlier response that may have sounded harsh, my wife and I also bought a home in Wilton over 5yrs ago. We do use the internet for business and personal use just as yourself. We are not part of “the older population” . We moved here for many reasons and internet is no where on that list.
And that’s why it’s important for them to get your money now…
Internet as economic infrastructure is a great topic to investigate, plan for, and do.
Of the five people in our immediate family, four have been working from home a significant part of time, using the internet. Those homes are in Boston, Brooklyn, and …..Wilton.
The internet is a major part of the economic infrastructure driving the world economy. Can people live in Wilton, or Carthage, or Weld, and work in good paying jobs based elsewhere? Absolutely! Happens every day.
Will better infrastructure enable economic growth? Yes!
Let’s get a plan together that we can afford, and do it.
Oh, and yes, we do pay our taxes in Wilton, for more than one house.
The absolute need for high-speed internet is a moot question. The demand is high and needed. We now must fulfill changes in work, communications, business opportunity, and dozens of additional needs; that many never consider.
Delay has become a caution that sets everything back, and at some point, enough! Life has changed due to the COVID 19 virus, including the utilization of the internet.
Society is eroded by all manner of quality of life issue. A negative mindset runs rampant across the world, by many who continuously turn up the ferocity of what they seek. The internet is both friend and foe.
High quality, up-to-date, and a professionally managed system will benefit and help protect from the flood of negative issues. High-speed internet has become a way of life, and in rural areas, we are not keeping pace. The stakes are high as cities seek control of economic growth, opportunity, the center of education, fiscal choice, while rural diminishes from inertia. No! A retort, “move there” is not problem-solving
Seek assistance from an economist at UMF to do a cost-benefit analysis, a return on investment for such an upgrade, and many would see the light! Results of similar inquiry have been astonishing and positive. We often get back much more than we invest.
And, citizens, weigh-in, express your thoughts, and get involved! We must use the internet to do let elected officials know of our thoughts on this very issue, for example.
Richard Richard Richard have read the thoughts and views of the folks from UMF that post frequently on this site?Do you really think we should look to them for advice?
Wether or not high speed is needed or not is debatable on who you ask. I live next to the Jay line and have Beeline internet. Yes it nothing worth paying for, but what options do we have? The question is, where does the town of Wilton think it’s going to get all this money? With all that has beem done since March, where is the money coming from to fill the budget they already want? Spending tax money on internet service to be billed for just doesn’t make sense. Spend more money on studies and proposals. Lets just have spectrum come in and challenge FairPoint and Beeline. Have choices, or is someone benefiting from keeping the one company.
Seems a few have experienced what I have.
All for kicking the beeline monopoly to the curb.
Let spectrum come in, I’ll be one of the first to sign up.
No new taxes needed there, just kill the monopoly on the cable lines. With better options you might even see businesses move to the area, something this town could use more of. We did just get another pot dispensary across from big apple, less than a mile down the road from an existing one, but I’d like to attract different revenue generating sources to my town.
To Taxed Enough!
I would say, absolutely! To be specific, the Adult Education Program in Franklin County had such a study done (No cost I would add), and it showed a substantial gain for every dollar spent. The “mindset” had been, it is a cost that the County Board would contribute to, with reasonable cautions about the expenditure of money. So, are we just “spending” with a void of knowledge on the outcomes?
To be sure, I am a fiscal conservative, always have been. I am also pragmatic in that if we remain in a closet making statement about our “closed way of life” – Open the door and step out!
Adult education is much, much more. It assists people to become productive, taxpayers from earned income, an opportunity for people with skills, fulfilling needs of organizations desiring them. CNA training is a great example. Training organized and provided to people, gaining those skills, Several people with expertise, skills, and knowledge from local sources did the first program, and a group of motivated people all hired, fulfilling jobs that were difficult to fill.
The Franklin County, Adult Education program provides numerous avenues of skill and knowledge to people, who then use them in employment, assisting other people and organizations, which to me, enhances our citizens, communities, and organizations. Adding people to the taxpayer role, cautious planning on expenditures of public funds, engaged decisions, seem to benefit us all. The caveat is – “informed!”
We cannot just make decisions from emotions! We see that as general operating procedure far too much. Knowing the benefits, the opportunity, the probable outcomes allowed for informed decision-making. My point!
Thanks for your question, community discussion is essential as we all emerge more informed. Take care,
We all have choices. The strongest principle for changing your circumstances is the principle of personal choice. You want public utilities like water and sewer and high speed internet, do not choose to live in remote, lower priced areas where the tax base cannot support these services. Adapt, improvise, overcome. You can’t always get what you want. Some of us live here on purpose. You are welcome to your indoctrinated cyberspace electromagnetic field. Don’t tread on me.
I am not for or against broadband but I am against taxpayer dollars paying for it. Our taxbase is allready struggling to support whats here. If anyone can prove to me they have enough business coming here to pay taxes to support the cost of putting it in I will listen. Unless you can produce more tax revenue then your own the fact is your getting city pay and a country home price and taxes which is great if you can talk some outfit into putting broadband in without taxpayer money. If you want taxpayers to spend money you have to bring a little more to the table then your own personal convenience.
with that mindset Old Crone, wilton is doomed. All those wanting 21st century services where they live should just move, or don’t move here to begin with?
Welcome to the retirement village ala Wilton. With no businesses and its dying population living on SSI, what a flourishing town we shall have…
Kind of, yes…in a city where there are tons of utilities and houses are fairly close together- you will find better internet and as mentioned better electric, water and sewage. I’m not even sure why this is hard to understand….
There it is, a close minded view to refute what you find to be a close minded view, can you maybe for just one second realize that there are a lot of non elderly in our town and we don’t all want to put a boot on others throats to pay for your Disney+?
Richard I think you have added to my point.You went around the proverbial bush and never mentioned anything about this post.