Online Resources: Community Info

The Chelsea District Library serves a library district that includes the City of Chelsea, all residents in Lyndon and Sylvan Townships, residents in the portion of Dexter Township not in the Dexter Library District, and residents in the portion of Lima Township in the Chelsea School District.

Community

Here are some useful links from around our community:

Broadband Initiative

Testimonials

Due to the way information is gathered regarding broadband coverage, many in Lansing are under the incorrect assumption that there are no problems with broadband coverage in our area. Washtenaw County Broadband Initiative gathered testimonials and gave them to the legislature in Lansing. Click here to see a small subset of the 127 testimonials we received.

Survey Results

As part of the Washtenaw County Broadband Initiative, the Library is providing the following survey results to inform you of the need to expand and improve high speed internet service to our local residents and businesses.

Links to Survey Results:

Chelsea Dexter Lima Lyndon Sylvan Washtenaw County

Memo to Residents

RuralBroadband

In the fall of 2013, the Washtenaw County Broadband Initiative was formed through a partnership of several township supervisors, key village, city and county leaders, and Connect Michigan.  Supported by Representative Gretchen Driskell, our goal is to better understand the need for broadband service by our residents, develop mutually beneficial relationships with local broadband providers, and identify and implement plans to increase and improve service where the need exists. Connect Michigan is a non-profit that is working in partnership with the Michigan Public Service Commission to ensure that all can experience the benefits of broadband.

Earlier this year we completed a survey of over 2,700 residents in western Washtenaw County to gather more detailed information on the current need for service and other factors.  At the top of this memo you'll find links to the survey results broken out by township and a link to the survey results for everyone. The survey results clearly show that our residents and community leaders recognize the value and importance of having fast, reliable high speed internet access to support their daily lives.

We have provided our local internet service providers with a list of residents who reported that they did not have access to broadband.  These service providers were asked to explore the possibility of providing broadband to those residents. We have also had a number of townships willingly amend their ordinances to make them more “broadband friendly” and less restrictive for broadband providers to expand their services.

A subset of our group has formed a non-profit organization called Michigan Broadband Cooperative  (mbcoop.org) that is working with the local communities, local internet providers and Connect Michigan, with the goal of enabling high speed internet connectivity for unserved and underserved regions of Michigan by building a community-controlled open-access network. Their current focus is on bringing a millage proposal to Lyndon Twp. residents regarding building the infrastructure for a fiber-to-the-home network that would service all Lyndon Twp. residents on both private and public roads.

Finally, to help identify which providers may be able to service your specific address, you can use Connect Michigan’s interactive map by going to http://www.connectmi.org and then clicking on “Find a Broadband Provider”.

Our Washtenaw County Broadband Team will continue to work to help improve high-speed internet service to local residents and businesses and keep you informed of new developments.