Residents in five Chittenden County municipalities voted Tuesday to form a Communications Union District (CUD) to pool demand, resources, and speed up the build-out of universal broadband. 89% of voters cast a ballot in favor of forming the Chittenden County CUD.
Voters in Essex, Essex Junction, Shelburne, South Burlington, and Williston approved the CUD, a municipal organization of two or more towns for the purpose of building communication infrastructure together. Forming a CUD creates a single point of contact to negotiate with providers and leverage grants, making it more likely for municipalities to attract a provider and leverage financial resources.
Each member municipality is now looking for residents interested in volunteering to be appointed as a representative or an alternate to serve on the CUD board. That board will work with the VCBB to develop a feasibility plan for building the network and raise funds to construct and manage it.