Letter: Amherst Needs Municipal Broadband Feasibility Study

A recent effort to include a non-binding ballot question onto this fall’s municipal election ballot ran out of time- but not for lack of community interest. The non-binding petition called upon the town to undertake a feasibility study on whether the Town of Amherst should proceed with implementing a municipal broadband and the costs of such an endeavor..  

Amherst Media had offered to assist with this initiative and help to obtain the required 250 Amherst registered voters’ signatures.  These signatures would then be vetted by the Town Clerk before the petition’s introduction to the Town Council who would then send the proposed language to the Town Counsel, which had 21 days to review for any irregular legalities.

The good news is that the initiative had obtained 263 signatures but failed to meet the pending deadline of all aspects by October 3.   

The resounding positive response we heard was “Why Not?” “We need Competition”.

Some people asked where they could read more about Municipal Broadband and we directed them to Amherst Media’s newest platform, “Common Ground”

Join us in discussing the the pros and cons of municipal broadband, we really can’t afford not to.

Jim Lescault
Jim Lescault is Executive Director of Amherst Media