ELBURN – The village of Elburn approved a non-exclusive agreement with fiber provider Metronet to install underground fiber optic infrastructure throughout the village at the Feb. 17 Village Board meeting.
Metronet’s market manager Joe Salerno, and two of his colleagues attended the meeting to present information about the proposed services his firm is offering, including fiber-optic internet, television and phone, which will be available to homeowners and businesses throughout the village.
According to Salerno, Metronet currently operates in 80 communities in eight states, throughout Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio, as well as 17 communities in the Chicago-land area, including Elburn’s neighbor Sugar Grove. Salerno lives in Sugar Grove, and the franchise office, from which he and his two co-workers work, is located in Geneva.
According to the agreement, Metronet proposes to offer a video lineup consisting of over 240 digital channels, including an ever-expanding high definition lineup currently at 128 channels. Established in rural areas in Indiana in 2004, Salerno said Metronet services are also ready for 4K TV, “lightning-fast” internet, which uploads as fast as it downloads, allowing for simultaneous streaming.
Salerno said that another benefit to the service is the increase in one’s home value of 3.1 percent.
“Streaming is becoming much more prevalent,” he said. “That’s what all the kids ask about.”
Often in the area, Salerno said he shops at Reams Meat Market, where he has been approached by Elburn residents who observed his Metronet work shirt and asked when the company would be locating here in town. He said that Metronet is making a significant investment in the area, and they plan to be around for the foreseeable future.
Metronet plans to build the network, coming west on Keslinger Road from Geneva and then north on Route 47. Completion of the network is planned on a staggered schedule between March and October, when Elburn residents will be able to receive services for an initial individual fee plus a monthly fee. No long-term contracts are required.
Trustee Ken Anderson interjected a note of caution into the discussion, stating that he wants to make sure Elburn’s “wetland issue” is taken into consideration when laying down the fiber through town.
“When you’re boring, bad things can happen,” he said. “We need to make sure the sites get restored.”
Trustee Bill Grabarek noted that the fiber will get buried two feet underground.
The vote was unanimous in favor of approving the agreement, with Village President Jeff Walter and trustees Sue Filek and Pat Schuberg absent.
“It’s (fiber is) the way to go,” trustee Bill Grabarek said.
He said that it has the speeds the village needs, and with fiber, there is little to no maintenance involved.
“I’m all in favor of having fiber available, and the more providers, the better,” he said.
Village officials in January announced that Everstream, a Midwest business-only fiber network, will run fiber through town along Main Street and Route 38 and within a half-mile will provide their services to businesses in those corridors. AT&T is the current service provider for Elburn Station’s fiber needs. Metronet will serve all of Elburn except for Elburn Station, and may serve the Shodeen Subdivision’s future phases.
Mediacom is Elburn’s current cable company, offering their services for all of the village except for Elburn Station.
Village receives at least one call a week regarding cannabis cultivation
Building Commissioner Tom Brennan provided the Village Board with literature regarding cannabis cultivation centers and language from the village’s zoning ordinance outlining possible zones within the village where such a business could be located.
Brennan said that Village President Jeff Walter had asked that he gather some information on the topic so that the village officials could be more informed about this aspect of the cannabis business.
“I get at least one call every week on this topic,” he told the Board. “Usually it’s from out-of-state.”
Brennan said he assumes the reason Elburn is receiving these calls is due to the fact that the village is on the state’s list of towns that allow dispensaries. In his memo to the board, he states that a cultivation center typically comes under the agricultural umbrella, and that “it is defined as a facility operated by an operation or business licensed by the Department of Agriculture to cultivate, process, transport and perform other necessary activities to provide cannabis and cannabis-infused products to cannabis business establishments.”
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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