by Bea Peterson
At a special Town Board meeting held on Thursday, April 30, Tom Vallone, a Hoosick resident and volunteer of Hoosick Rising, joined in a discussion with the Board regarding Bouncelinx, a high speed internet company, and its interest in serving Hoosick residents now. [private]This small company is interested in self funding service to the whole town, Vallone said. What they ask in return is that they receive a tax abatement on their towers for two years. Vallone explained that the company offers a starter service of 100 gigabyte usage for $59.95 a month, with no contract. This far exceeds what is available now at that price. It was also pointed out that Bouncelinx have an installation charge of $199. Councilman Bruce Patire said, “we have to be proactive on this.” Supervisor Mark Surdam agreed. Discussion included seeing if the Company would lower the installation rate in exchange for the Town tax abatement. It was also pointed out that Bouncelinx would have to go before the ZBA and/or Planning Board regarding installation of the towers.
The discussion concluded with Patire and Surdam and Vallone agreeing to keep in touch with Bouncelinx through phone calls and e-mail, hoping to have something ready by the May Town Board meeting.
In other business the Board appointed Joyce Whalen to serve on the Assessment Review Board. The Board also adopted a change to the employee health care plan allowing pre-tax funds to be used to pay for their their portion of their health care.[/private]