News : VMEU Votes to Begin Construction of Broadband Project

In the midst of whiteout conditions, close to 40 people made it to the Vinton City Hall to show their support of the Broadband Project.

Ironically, the use of electronic devices assisted in all of the board being able to "attend" the meeting. Board Member Alan Woodhouse was available for the meeting via speaker phone and the company in charge of planning the project Farr Technologies was also available via an iPad so that they could answer any questions that arose.

After a vote of 5-0 there were quiet glances among those holding their breath in the room as well as nods of congratulations for the hard work.

This project has been in the works for more than 14 years with countless hours of donated time by concerned citizens longing to improve Vinton.

This was all just a dream or an "imagine if we had broadband" back in 2005 when the first vote was held.

In 2015 iVinton formed and helped to get the issue on the ballot once again, this time passing with a whopping 88% of the vote.

Many in the community have helped to push, pull and drag Vinton into the 21st Century.

Probably the guy that saw the need for the project as well as pursuing it with dogged determination was Kurt Karr. He initiated the first vote back in 2005 and helped to organize the iVinton group.

Others involved in the long process included : Kim Myer, who now serves on the VMEU board. Jason Hicok is on the school board now and is also the guy responsible for our weather update on Vinton Today's home page. Nathan and Ashley Hesson were involved early on and Nathan now serves on the city council. Ray Knopf was one of the people that helped everyone understand a lot of technical details Karr explained: "that we still don't understand as Ray does." Brenda Hackbarth also stepped up taking signs to businesses and explained that they weren't political signs, but explained the purpose of the vote. Brian Larkin also contributed legwork to the project

At the inception of this idea of broadband, there were some that were sure that this project would never happen. At the same time while they thought the idea would be great, and they'd love to help...but only if it ever went anywhere.

Many residents understand the importance of this project. If you work from home, you know what slow internet is. If it goes out, you understand quickly that your call is not at the top of the priority list.

Vinton owning and operating their own service should be able to change all of that.

Now that the wheels are finally turning, note a few importing things concerning this project.

1) If you are a property owner, you will want to give the project permission to connect your home as they build this project, it will save you money should you change your mind later.

2) If you are in a contract with another provider, you may not wish to renew and become locked into your plan. Vinton is pretty sure that they will be able to be competitive and offer better service.

3) Another thing, when the option comes to sign up, seriously consider supporting this project.

Throughout all of the meetings, it has been clear that this service should exceed anything we now have available in town.

Thanks to the VMEU Board for the vote to proceed. As someone who attended the meeting last night said it was a historic decision.