SOUTHWICK – With a request by the High Speed Internet Committee to the Select Board to authorize a $15 million borrowing authorization article for the Annual Town Meeting warrant to build a town-owned fiber optic cable network, the board has released a survey to gauge the community’s support for the project.
“We we’re charged to send out a survey to gauge interest and support for our own municipal internet fiber project,” said Select Board member Doug Moglin during the board’s meeting Monday.
Acknowledging the amount needed was significant, Moglin said after the meeting in an email: “The HSIC’s position is to put the entire construction cost on the floor of Town Meeting. Not to borrow it all at once, but to have the ability to fund the complete project as costs are incurred. The only way this service covers its costs and debt service is if we build out the entire infrastructure, as is being done in other communities.”
