PETERSHAM — Voters will be asked to consider an $800,000 debt exclusion to complete the community’s broadband network.
The selectmen Tuesday voted to approve the posting of the warrant for a Special Town Meeting scheduled for Nov. 19. At the same time, the town’s finance committee unanimously voted to recommend passage of an article — one of just two on the warrant — which would set the stage for a Special Town Election to consider the $800,000 debt exclusion to fund completion of the broadband network.
Broadband MPL Board Chairman Chip Bull told the selectmen and members of the finance committee that his panel was close to hammering out an agreement with the Massachusetts Broadband Institute for the state to reimburse the town $880,000, thus covering the cost of the debt exclusion. Bull said the state wants the town to complete the town-wide broadband network, an entirely fiber-optic system, before state funds are forwarded to the town.
“If the debt exclusion passes we would anticipate the state reimbursement to come to the town sometime late next year, probably in November or December,” said Nancy Allen, chairman of the Board of Selectmen and a member of the Broadband MPL Board.
Providing some history of the effort to bring broadband to Petersham, Bull noted that voters in December 2016 approved spending $560,000 on the project. Of that amount, nearly $471,000 has been spent, with another nearly $58,000 earmarked for pending expenses. More than $200,000 of the funds already spent have gone to Verizon and to National Grid for so-called make-ready projects which allow for a fiber-optic network to be strung along the utilities’ infrastructure in Petersham.
The $800,000 debt exclusion would cover remaining make-ready costs — $231,759 for Verizon and $448,389 for National Grid — as well as $129,075 for additional National Grid licensing costs.
FinCom member Richard Cavanaugh asked why $30,000 in expenses for items such as police details that had been included in a previous budget had been omitted from the latest spending plan.
Broadband MPL Board Vice Chair John Blum replied, “We originally had an item for police details. Then we were informed that is included in the make-ready costs of the utilities. In the previous budget we wanted to build in as much caution as possible.”
“When we put in that police detail,” said Allen, “we were trying to give the best conservative number to everybody. We were trying to think through every possibility for which we might need funding, with the hope always being that we wouldn’t need it.”
The article seeking approval for the $800,000 debt exclusion will require the approval of two-thirds of those voters who show up at the special town meeting. That meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 19 at the town hall.
If the measure passes, a special election will be held on Dec. 10. At that time, a simple majority will be needed to approve the expenditure.
A public information meeting to discuss the plan has been scheduled at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10 at the town hall.
In other action Tuesday night, selectmen voted unanimously to appoint Sandra Paige to the Council on Aging.