WILLOW CREEK — The Board of Selectmen ended a contentious two-hour session Tuesday evening without approving Second Selectwoman Eleanor Vance’s proposed $35,000 feasibility study into expanding broadband internet access in town.
The vote deadlocked along familiar lines, with Vance and Third Selectman Frank Delgado in favor, and First Selectman Arthur Pendelton and Town Treasurer Hap Whitcomb (who sits in for the absent second selectman seat) opposed.
“Every business in this town that tries to operate online is working off a cellular hotspot or a DSL connection from 2004,” Vance said after the meeting, pacing the community hall floor as she addressed a small crowd of residents. “Julia Chen runs a guide service out of a building where the broadband is so slow she can’t process credit cards during peak foliage. That is not acceptable for a town that wants a future.”
First Selectman Pendelton, who opposes the expenditure from general funds, suggested the town apply for a state grant — the same mechanism that funded the earlier tourism signage project.
“I’m not against broadband,” Pendelton said, speaking slowly and deliberately. “I’m against spending money we don’t have on a study that might tell us what we already know — that the infrastructure is expensive and the private providers aren’t interested.”
The issue is expected to resurface at the annual Town Meeting in March.
Among those watching from the audience was Julia Chen, owner of Northwoods Outfitters, who said she drove 45 minutes to Fort Kent last week just to upload a batch of photos for her website.
“If they need a testimonial, I’ve got plenty,” Chen said.