LEYDEN — Leyden residents will be asked to consider appropriating $63,000 from the town’s technology stabilization fund to support installing a broadband network.
The question will be presented during a special town meeting Monday.
The meeting will be held at Leyden Town Hall at 16 West Leyden Road starting at 7 p.m.
The proposed broadband spending constitutes one of five articles to be voted on during the meeting, and the most significant, according to Municipal Assistant Bob Hardesty.
Bob Ryan, chair of the Broadband Committee, said the money will be used to submit applications to Eversource and Verizon, and to give Massachusetts Broadband Institute a partial payment toward getting the utility poles ready to be wired.
Application fees account for approximately $20,000 of the funds. The remaining $43,000 will go directly to MBI.
In all, bringing broadband to Leyden will cost $1,750,000, of which MBI will pay $680,000 and Leyden will pay $1,070,000. Ryan said the town must provide 30 percent of its total payment, or $321,000, in order for MBI to start the project. Thus, the $43,000, which is what remains in the technology stabilization account, will go toward the $321,000 payment, with Ryan expecting to use renewable bonds to cover the rest.
“Without these monies being moved, we can go no further,” Ryan said.
Provided that the town votes to transfer the money, Ryan expects wiring to begin in late fall 2017.
Hardesty said another significant article before voters involves replenishing the town’s building maintenance account by appropriating $6,000 from surplus.
Hardesty explained that about $5,000 is appropriated for the building account annually, but the necessary maintenance to town buildings this year – including getting new sidewalks at Pearl Rhodes Elementary School — nearly depleted the account.
“Unfortunately, all these things happen when we don’t expect them,” Hardesty said. “Now, it’s almost depleted, so we’re putting money back into it.”
The third article, which proposes using $2,008 of surplus to reimburse Pioneer Valley Regional School District, is related to the depleted building maintenance account. Hardesty said the district agreed to replace the toilets and sinks at Pearl Rhodes Elementary School this year, provided that Leyden reimburse them.
The two remaining articles to be voted on involve transferring $3,000 from free cash to replace the playground fencing at Pearl Rhodes Elementary School, and transferring the remaining balance of free cash to the town’s stabilization fund.
http://townofleyden.com/files/2016-11-14_Special_Town_Meeting_Warrant.pdf