Psarouthakis applauds high voter turnout for broadband vote

Sharon Township Hall

Sharon Township supervisor Peter Psarouthakis couldn't be happier with Sharon Township voters last Tuesday. Township residents voted no to a broadband measure that would have borrowed up to $4,900,000 to be paid back over 20 years by 597 "No" to 319 "Yes." Sharon Township's 60.62% voter turnout was the highest in Washtenaw County for this election.

He explained how the vote came to be on the ballot. Years ago, 300 to 400 people came to the board and asked the board to please give them a solution to the lack of a broadband option in much of Sharon Township that they could vote on. "Yes, they wanted it put to a vote, they had the integrity," he emphasized. "We did what we were asked."

Psarouthakis believes that in addition to the people who voted "yes" many of the people who voted "no" still want better broadband access for the Township. He believes that many voters voted on this as a tax issue and that the "no" vote reflected a rejection of the taxes as opposed to a rejection of broadband.

The Township board will continue to work on bringing better broadband access to Sharon but there is not currently a "plan B." Psarouthakis stated, "Based on our talks to wireless providers in the past, there is no other plan." If anyone has an actionable plan, he asks them to please contact the board. If the plan utilizes taxes, it has to provide service to 100% of the township. "If there is another solution out there, we’d be happy to hear it," he stated.

While the plan the board had been working on since 2016 was voted down, Psarouthakis explained that the board was just doing what the residents asked of them. The board created the plan, put it on the ballot, and in the end, they are happy with the voter turnout. "[The board] has no issues with it being voted down, just like if it had been voted to go forward," Psarouthakis stated. "We couldn’t be more proud. I was at the polls all day and everyone was happy to come in and exercise their constitutional rights. It was a great day for democracy."

For as little as $1 a month, you can keep Manchester-focused news coverage alive.

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.