(Updated 3/16/21 @ 10am to include PDF attachment of proposed ordinance)

PUBLIC NOTICE INTENTION TO ENACT PROPOSED ORDINANCE TAKE NOTICE that the Board of Supervisors of Barrett Township hereby gives public notice of its intention to enact the ordinance summarized below at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors to be held on March 24, 2021 at 8 a.m. at the Barrett Township Municipal Building, 993 Route 390, Cresco, Pennsylvania 18326. As summarized below, the proposed ordinance would approve the terms of a cable franchise agreement between the Township and Blue Ridge Communications and would authorize the execution of that agreement. At the time of the public meeting, the Supervisors will listen to comments by members of the public concerning the proposed ordinance. If substantial amendments are not offered to the draft of the proposed ordinance, the Supervisors intend to consider enactment of the proposed ordinance immediately thereafter at the public meeting. The proposed ordinance is entitled: AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWNSHIP OF BARRETT, COUNTY OF MONROE, COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF A CABLE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT BETWEEN BARRETT TOWNSHIP AND BLUE RIDGE COMMUNICATIONS. The following is a brief summary of all of the sections of the proposed ordinance: Section 1 provides for the Board's approval and execution of the cable franchise agreement with Blue Ridge Communications. Section 2 provides for the repeal of all prior inconsistent ordinances and the termination of all prior franchise agreements with Blue Ridge Communications. Section 3 provides that the ordinance is severable and if any section is declared invalid the remainder of the ordinance will continue in effect. Section 4 provides that the proposed ordinance will take effect 5 days after it is adopted. The full text of the proposed ordinance is on file for inspection and review without charge (or a copy may be obtained for a charge not greater than the cost thereof) at Barrett Township's offices at 993 Route 390, Cresco, Pennsylvania 18326. A complete copy of the proposed ordinance has been provided to and may be reviewed at the Pocono Record and the Monroe County Law Library. If you require special accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, contact the Township at 570-595-2602 at least 1 business day in advance. Weitzmann, Weitzmann & Huffman, LLC By: Todd W. Weitzmann, Esquire 700 Monroe Street Stroudsburg, PA 18360 Barrett Township Solicitors P - March 15 

I attended the supervisor meeting on June 22, 2010 to express my displeasure as a member of the community about the Blue Ridge Communications franchise fee. My concern was with an exclusive franchise agreement in place, our service would suffer, as there is (and was) no other choice of TV / Internet service provider.  What will motivate Blue Ridge to improve their services with no competition?

However, the meeting minutes indicate the exact opposite:

To whom it may concern:

Until recently, with Blue Ridge Cable's phone service, the modem came with a battery backup.  This way, if the power at your house goes out, you can still call 911 while the battery is still charged (approx. 4 hours).

Now, Blue Ridge's modems are the new "DOCSIS 3.1" technology, and they don't include a battery!  They now require you to purchase the battery separately (see below).  Customers that still have the old DOCSIS 3.0 modems will continue to have battery backup available until Blue Ridge replaces that modem.  

For now, my suggestion is that you purchase your own "UPS" battery backup (Amazon link) instead, so that you can plug not only your cable modem, but also your WiFi router, cell phone, laptop, etc.

Blue Ridge Communications has completed a 12-month project to bridge gigabit-speed internet to its entire service area, the company announced in a statement Tuesday.

Its top-tier offering now boasts download speeds of 1,000 megabits per second — one of the fastest speeds available to residential consumers in the U.S.

“Our 1 Gig launch represents our commitment to continued investment in our network and infrastructure,” Mark Masenheimer, vice president of operations for Blue Ridge, said in the statement. “We are deeply invested in this region and the people who live and work here.”

[Full Article]

Here is the letter received from Blue Ridge:

Dear Customer:

Internet access is an integral part of all of our lives and the consumption of data and need for speed has increased dramatically over the years. Almost every household has multiple Internet enabled devices (smartphones, laptops, tablets, smart TVs and gaming systems) consuming massive amounts of data and challenging network capacity. In anticipation of these needs, we have invested millions of dollars into network and speed improvements.