To the Editor:

Broadband is now front and center with the residents of Westerlo.  Currently, about one-third of the township is served by Mid-Hudson Cablevision.

Those who don’t have access to cable seek out other options — Dish, HughesNet, NYAir, Verizon just to name a few. The cost for the various services and the quality of service is all over the board. Some people are paying $800 per month just to have Internet, television, and phone.

Last November, the Westerlo Planning Board sponsored a Broadband Conference that was chaired by Senator George Amedore and the panel was made up of representatives from Mid-Hudson Cablevision, NyAir, and Hudson Valley Wireless. Each panel member presented his company with a description of its services.

It was an active meeting with numerous residents questioning the panel.

Senator Amedore spoke about the $500 million grant in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s budget and how, he hopes, it will impact the Hilltowns.

The interest and the overall need for this form of communications is no longer considered a luxury. It has become a necessity.

Children in the area are given school assignments that must be completed online. Some nights, when you travel through the hamlet of Westerlo, you might not be able to, comfortably, make the turn from Route 1 to Route 143 due to all of the cars parked near the library. Parents are bringing their children down (after the library has closed) so that the homework can be completed because they can access the library Wi-Fi.

There are a number of other examples, but the purpose of this letter is to seek out residents in the town of Westerlo who have a desire to assist the members of the planning board. The Westerlo Town Board has authorized the planning board to form a Broadband Research Committee, which will consist of the members of the planning board and three Westerlo residents.

There is no financial remuneration for serving on this committee.

The overall driving factor, and final result, is broadband service for all of the residents in the town. This is a very aggressive goal, so there will need to be a real commitment on the part of the applicants to see this through.

This newly formed committee will meet, on the fourth Thursday of each month, immediately following the regularly scheduled planning board meeting. It is unknown how long this committee will meet.

Members must be Westerlo residents and must be committed to designing a plan to present to the cable company so that Westerlo residents will all have service. Computer and/or financial background is desired.

Applicants must be able to exercise deductive reasoning in problem-solving, because this is a big problem.

Anyone who is interested may send me their name, address, email, and phone number along with a short description that supports your qualification. These may be sent to: 933 County Route 401, Westerlo, NY  12193.

Dotty Verch, chairwoman

Westerlo Planning Board