Politics & Government
Wilton Board of Finance Dims Fiber Network Proposal
The proposed $1.5 million Wilton Shared Data Network has already gained unanimous approval from the Board of Education and the Board of Selectmen.
The Wilton Board of Finance on Tuesday reportedly declined to endorse a proposal to build a fiber optic network linking town facilities.
The proposed $1.5 million Wilton Shared Data Network has already gained unanimous approval from the Board of Education and the Board of Selectmen.
Find out what's happening in Wiltonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The Board of Finance, however, voted 5-0 with one abstention not to support the project, which will go before the Town Meeting in March, according to a report in the Wilton Villager.
It was the second time the board decided not to support the controversial project — which involves linking the Town Hall, Wilton Library and Board of Education offices/Wilton High School to create a fully redundant fiber optic network.
Find out what's happening in Wiltonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Last April the project was yanked at the last minute from the Town Meeting agenda due to a lack of consensus on the need for it.
After that initial defeat, the Board of Selectmen appointed a special Townwide Network Committee comprised of various town officials to review and further define the project. The committee commissioned Blum Shapiro to conduct a review of the project and concluded that the town could benefit from the fiber network in a number of ways, including improved network redundancy/disaster recovery, reduced dependence on third party IT support, reduced communications costs, increased security and operational efficiencies.
In December First Selectman William Brennan said he was concerned about the timing of the project, since the town was hoping to underground sections of the fiber when Yankee Gas lays new lines in sections of town next year. He said time was running out to get the fiber project through the approvals process.
During Tuesday's meeting some members of the Board of Finance said they still didn't have enough information to support the project, according to the Wilton Villager report.
The town meeting will vote on the project on Tuesday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Clune Center for the Arts at Wilton High School.
For more, check out the Wilton Villager report.
