Charlotte Congregational Church, Charlotte, Vermont, September 2016.
*Original photo taken by* *Niranjan Arminius* *can be found* *here*.

The Charlotte Selectboard will spend nearly $45,000 of its $1.2 million in federal pandemic relief funds, otherwise known as ARPA, toward a fiber optic project with Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom, or WCVT. The project will allow for 219 homes in Charlotte to gain access to high speed internet, according to discussions at a January 24 Selectboard meeting.

ARPA provides pandemic-related aid to state and local governments. The act is designed to help struggling businesses, maintain essential public services, and make investments toward a strong recovery from the pandemic, according to Vermont League of Cities and Towns.

The town of Charlotte has about $1.2 million to spend, which must fall under one of three “buckets,” as Selectboard Chair Jim Faulkner refers to them — expenditures relating to COVID, water and sewage facilities, and broadband.

WCVT is trying to expand its fiber capabilities to more of the state. Replacing copper wire with fiber optics allows for access to much faster internet speeds as well as increased reliability, according to WCTV’s website.

“Our plan to get broadband to the last mile of every premises is something that is good for Vermont, good for the people of Vermont and good for the citizens of Charlotte,” Representative Mike Yantachka said during the January 24 Selectboard meeting.

The push for the fiber optic project stems from the broadband issue in Vermont emphasized by the pandemic, Yantachka said.

“There are many, many families we saw during this COVID outbreak that were unable to access the resources that were available for remote lessons to the schools because the state did not have adequate service,” Yantachka said. “If it's working from home or kids trying to do their schoolwork, it's inadequate.”

Yantachka and others who were in favor of the spending argued that high speed internet is of a necessity in the modern age.

“It's not just that it's going to be benefiting 219 households,” Selectboard member Matt Krasnow said. “It's going to be bringing them up to the standard that the rest of the households in Charlotte already enjoyed, which is high-speed broadband internet, which is a critical piece of modern-day living in the pandemic.”

Selectboard member Lewis Mudge also pushed hard for the spending to pass during a meeting earlier in January, arguing that time is of the essence. Mudge cited supply chain issues and the process of lining up contractors as reasons for acting fast.

“If we can get in line, we'll be just after Bolton. And we'll have it ready to lay this year,” Mudge said.

The town of Bolton committed half of their ARPA funding toward broadband expansion, according to a Vermont Biz Article. Other towns are expected to commit to fiber optics as well, which is another reason to act fast, according to Krasnow.

The fiber optic project is roughly 3.6% of the federal money given, Krasnow said. This leaves the Selectboard with plenty of funds to allocate in the coming months.

The motion passed unanimously in a vote by the five Selectboard members.

Original story can be found at the Charlotte Bridge.