This letter is being re-printed in it’s original text. The Register edited it when a complaint was made about the ‘failed’ “Land for Southport’s Future”. I, Jennie Mitchell, am putting it out there that this is a bad deal for Southport. Readfield just axed the whole concept with Axiom because it was a bad deal for their town. The needed sign up to make it tax neutral is not even close and the selectmen have just doubled down on a bad bet which will cost the taxpayers of Southport big bucks.
VOTE YES on Article #2
VOTE NO on Article #3
Dear Editor:
Southport Selectmen’s latest emotional fit should prove to islanders that the broadband debate was never about Southport’s future. By refusing to accept Spectrum’s offer to wire up the 21 unserved houses for $0, and digging in on our Broadband Committee’s alternative costing $2.4mm of taxpayer money, it’s clear our Selectmen are more concerned about their egos than our finances.
Southport Selectmen and their Broadband Committee, headed by the same person that brought us the failed “Land for Southport’s Future,” have also admitted that they’ve failed for 30 years to get broadband to 21 houses in a town where 90% of us have been well served by Spectrum. They blame Spectrum for that problem, claim we can’t trust them, and launched the $2.4mm redundant and undersubscribed town-owned network in bitterness. That’s like saying that a child who came home with a score of 90% should be punished, pulled from school and sent to prison.
Has it occurred to our leadership that perhaps it’s their dictatorial style that, maybe, just maybe, contributed to the disconnect?
In spite of the Selectmen’s obvious anger at 144 citizens daring to ask for a vote on this fiasco, it’s past time to do just that. The world is an expensive place these days, and the last thing we can afford is a personal fight at our expense for something we do not need. Don’t believe the fear tactics from the same people that brought us their “tax neutral”propaganda - most of the spent money is recoverable and some towns, like Swan’s Island, actually deserve the grant money.
A “Yes” on Article 2 stops this mess, and a “No” on Article 3 confirms that our Selectmen never had the authority to spend $640k in down payments in the first place. Please do vote on or before June 28th or you can be assured that just 96 who did before will be telling you how to spend lots more money for the next 15 years without asking again.
Tom Myette
Southport
