Taking action on bringing life, broadband to Falls Village

FALLS VILLAGE — First Selectman Henry Todd unveiled the Board of Selectmen’s plan for the future of Falls Village — including a proposal that the town build its own fiber optic communications network — at two presentations on Friday, Oct. 11, and Saturday, Oct. 12, at the town’s Emergency Services Center.

At the Saturday session (attended by about 25 people) Todd started with an overview of the town, concentrating on demographics. He then spoke about the downtown area, housing and internet connectivity.

Todd said fiber optic connections are “essential” for the town’s future. He said that technology jobs are the fastest growing occupational segment, covering 10% of the national economy (up from 1% a decade ago).

He noted that the Aetna insurance company switched 14,000 jobs from an office setting to remote, which made for happier employees who in turn stayed with the company longer.

Todd talked about the “digital divide,” where densely populated areas get the latest connection technology, while sparsely populated areas lag behind.

Residents of Falls Village don’t even get internet speeds of 25 megabytes per second, which is the federal government’s definition of “broadband.”

“Broadband is the most essential utility of our generation,” Todd said. “And nobody is going to build it but us.”

Todd said the selectmen have researched the subject and have come up with a plan for a fiber optic system that is paid for by users and does not require any taxpayer dollars.

The study is available on the town website.

A modern fiber optic and wireless communications network “will give us the ability to attract young people” with good-paying tech jobs.

Todd said nearby towns in Massachusetts have successfully built their own networks.

Earlier in the presentation Todd said that a lack of housing options makes it difficult for young families to either remain in town or to come in.

And seniors, an increasingly large demographic group, may wish to downsize but Falls Village has very few appropriate rental options.

Todd said that downtown needs more food options and “interesting shops,” and that the town needs “to do a better job attracting visitors.”

Not being on a main highway has advantages and disadvantages — the latter because people drive past the turn-off from Route 7 without realizing the downtown area is close by.

But the downtown area, because of the light traffic, is good for pedestrians.

Todd said the new artisan  shop, 100 Main Street, is a good start.

“But we can’t live on one store alone.”

Todd said the zoning regulations for the downtown area need to be modified to make it easier for businesses to come to town.

Residents of Falls Village will hear much more about the selectmen’s plans in the near future, and have the opportunity to participate and comment.