Reminder Publishing submitted photo
SOUTHWICK — Because Town Meeting voted down the borrowing needed to build a town-owned fiber optic network by 14 votes, the town is now moving forward with building a much smaller one using existing funding sources.
“We’re working with [Whip City Fiber] to finalize a much smaller kind of trial project while at the same time connecting under the existing funding structure that we have to connect some of our municipal facilities including the library, the schools, and DPW,” Select Board member Doug Moglin said during the board’s Aug. 25 meeting.
He also said that by using “careful routing” the town would be able to move forward on a pilot program to offer homes in three of the 19 “fiberhoods” identified when it was developing the plan to extend the network to every house in town.
With the board’s blessing, Moglin will now work with Whip City Fiber, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Westfield Gas and Electric, to develop a contract that will spell out where the fiber optic cable will be strung.
In one of the fiberhoods — six — the cable will be routed to will be the property owned by the town for the Old and New Cemetery.
Of the other two — 13 and 14 — on the fiberhood map, 13 would include the area along the north side of Depot Street where the 100-unit condominium project is planned, and along the north and south sides of South Longyard Road to Liquori Drive, and along the east and west side of Powder Mill Road up to Legion Road.
The cable that will be used is what was installed when the rail trail was being built that crosses Depot Street where it intersects Powder Mill and South Longyard roads.
The Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District would also be connected, and the Public Library, which would allow Hudson Drive a connection to the cable at some point in the future.
Fiberhood 14 would have cable strung along Sheep Pasture Road starting at about 210 Sheep Pasture Rd. and then continuing along Point Grove Road on the northern side until it reaches the culvert between the North and Middle pond of Congamond Lakes. It will be hung on the southern side of the road until it reaches 49 Point Grove.
“Roughly, fiber service areas 13, 14 and six would be built out … without having to implement a hut here on the town campus, which WCF would host … until we get to the point that we see the results of the trial,” Moglin said.
The hut would be a central and secure facility the network cables would extend from.
With the long-term goal of building out the network to cover the town, the town would continue to secure space on the utility poles on which the cable will be hung, he said.
Select Board member Russ Anderson wanted clarification on the plan.
“So just to be clear, so this is taking existing money already approved. [And Whip City Fiber will be] doing a test trial to see what the take rates are,” Anderson said.
The take rate — also known as the participation rate — is the percentage of potential customers and will subscribe to the service, which will have an estimated price of $89 per month.
During the development of the townwide network plan to present at Town Meeting, it was estimated that a take rate of between 40% and 50% would be needed to pay for the network’s build out without needing taxpayer funds.
The town has at its disposal $900,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds, a $250,000 state grant that must be used for the network’s construction and a bonding authorization of up to $3 million approved by Town Meeting in 2023.
During the May Town Meeting, residents were asked to approve borrowing $16 million to build out the network and using subscriber fees to pay off the debt.
The article needed to be passed by a two-thirds majority. The final vote, after two tries, was 353 voting yes, and 204 voting no, missing the two-thirds threshold by 14 votes.
