Public Notice: Manchester Township

Manchester Township Hall

RESOLUTION NO. 18-13

A RESOLUTION REQUESTING BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY FOR ALL RESIDENTS OF MANCHESTER TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN

Motion by Carey, Support by Milkey

Manchester Township Board of Trustees

August 14, 2018

At a regular meeting of the Manchester Township Board, Washtenaw County, Michigan, held at the Township Hall, 275 South Macomb, Manchester, MI, on the 14th day of August, 2018, at 7:00 pm.
PRESENT: DeRossett, Milkey, Proctor, Carey, Moutinho, Macomber, and Seefeld
ABSENT: None

The following preamble and resolution were offered by Carey and seconded by Milkey.

WHEREAS, Manchester Township, Michigan is a rural community with approximately 4,617 residents; and
WHEREAS, Manchester Township, Michigan is inclusive of the Village of Manchester, wherein 45% of the township population resides; and
WHEREAS, a disparate allocation of basic resources, specifically broadband connectivity, exists between the village and the township of Manchester, MI; and
WHEREAS, the residents of the Village of Manchester enjoy broadband service from their choice of providers; and
WHEREAS, the residents of the rural Township are not afforded broadband coverage, instead, they must rely on cellular or wireless internet services; and
WHEREAS, the internet coverage in the rural Township is unreliable and costly; and
WHEREAS, the residents of rural Manchester Township who lack broadband accessibility experience social, economic, educational and financial disadvantages; and
WHEREAS, this inequity is a quality of life issue that seemingly exists due to the population density of rural Manchester Township; and
WHEREAS, a broadband solution does exist for the residents of the Township of Manchester, however, if utilized, would create an unnecessary burden on the residents of the Village as well; and
WHEREAS, the law in the State of Michigan as currently written, would require a public funding solution to be repaid by all residents of the Township, even those who reside in the village and already have access to broadband connectivity; and
WHEREAS, this solution is not viable as it is inequitable to our neighbors in the Village as they already pay for access to broadband; and
WHEREAS, a community the size of rural Manchester Township could not easily bear the incredible cost of broadband implementation; and

WHEREAS, this challenge is not exclusive to Manchester Township; small, rural communities throughout Michigan are experiencing the same challenges as it pertains to broadband equity

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, the Manchester Township Board of Trustees hereby requests Comcast, AT&T and Frontier consider expanding their network of broadband coverage to include not only the entirety of Manchester Township, MI, but all rural areas of Michigan that are within their respective coverage areas, thus creating equitable distribution of broadband services and resources to all residents, regardless of the location of their home or business.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Manchester Township Clerk shall forward a copy of this resolution to all broadband/internet providers in the community as well as all federal, state and locally elected officials who represent Manchester Township and its residents.
The foregoing Resolution was offered by Board Member Carey and supported by Board Member Milkey.
A roll call vote on the above Resolution was taken and was as follows:

ADOPTED:
Ayes: DeRossett, Milkey, Carey, Proctor, Moutinho, Macomber, Seefeld
Nays: None

CERTIFICATION:

I, the undersigned Township Clerk of the Township of Manchester hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is a true and complete copy of a resolution adopted at a regular meeting of the Township Board of the Township of Manchester held on August 14, 2018, the original of which is on file in my office, and that notice of such meeting was given, and the meeting was conducted, pursuant to and in compliance with the Act No. 267, Michigan Public Acts of 1976, as amended.

Danell Proctor
Manchester Township Clerk

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.