China Broadband Committee (CBC) revises documents to present to selectmen

by Mary Grow 

At their first in-person meeting Aug. 5, after months of zooming, China Broadband Committee (CBC) members spent almost three hours revising documents they intend to present at the Aug. 16 selectboard meeting.

The background papers and financial charts will accompany a request to selectmen to ask voters on Nov. 2 to approve a bond issue to pay for building new internet infrastructure throughout the town.

The Aug. 5 discussion covered making sure figures were current and consistent. One problem has been matching calendar-year bond repayment calculations with China’s fiscal year.

CBC members also revised wording, eliminating repetition and increasing clarity as they explain complicated issues. They ended up unanimously approving final documents, subject to future non-substantive grammatical and numerical changes if needed.

The documents include:

— The proposed Nov. 2 ballot question;
— A five-page document titled “China Community Broadband Project Information Summary and Recommendations”;
— Seven pages of figures on proposed borrowing and repayments; and
— Another five-page document titled “China Community Broadband Frequently Asked Questions.”

Committee Chairman Robert O’Connor asked town office staffers to put the documents on the town website. Information will also be available on the CBC website, chinabroadband.net.

The Aug. 16 selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., in person, in the portable building behind the town office. Technology willing, it will also be streamed live and recorded for future viewing.