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Date: 11/23/2022
SOUTHWICK – A municipal broadband network is one step closer after Town Meeting voters on Nov. 15 overwhelmingly supported the creation of a municipal light plant.
Only a few sparse “no” votes rang out from the audience in the Southwick Regional School gymnasium after the majority gave an emphatic “yes” vote to approve the first step in establishing municipal internet in Southwick. It required a two-thirds majority to pass.
This vote is not the final say in the matter, however, as state law requires that voters must approve the exact same measure at the Annual Town Meeting in May.
“Forming a municipal light plant essentially gives the town access to the poles and rights-of-way throughout the town of Southwick to construct a high-speed fiber internet network to deliver high speed internet to residents and businesses throughout the town of Southwick,” said Select Board member and High Speed Internet Committee Chair Douglas Moglin before the Nov. 15 vote.
If the measure passes again in May, a buildout could begin for internet infrastructure that would give residents and business owners a broadband alternative to Comcast’s Xfinity cable service. The most likely candidate to move in is Whip City Fiber, the internet service provider run by Westfield Gas & Electric, which has built municipal fiber-optic networks in Westfield and in other communities in Western Massachusetts.
Moglin and the High Speed Internet Committee will also explore other options for service providers like BrightSpeed or GoNetSpeed. The town of Southwick itself would not manage the day-to-day operations.
Moglin and the Select Board have made a point that if this moves forward, the buildout would pass every single property in Southwick. The majority of homes in Southwick could be connected at a fixed installation price, he said, but in extreme cases where the home is set too far back from the road, there may be extra installation costs for the property owner.
“Most homes will be served by standard installation,” said Moglin.
If the article were to fail at the Annual Town Meeting in May, Southwick would be barred from bringing such a measure forward again for another two years.
Town Meeting voters also approved a tax-increment financing incentive (TIF) for Whalley Computer Associates. Under the terms of the TIF, Whalley will expand its operations on Hudson Drive and continue paying 100 percent of the taxes it owes on the present value of its property, but will receive a discount on taxes owed on the increased valuation from its expansion. The discount starts at 90 percent but is reduced every year, and after the 10-year agreement ends, Whalley would pay taxes on its full valuation.