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MAYOR’S MESSAGE May 2014 Being a long-time resident of Murray City and its newly-elected Mayor, I have benefited from and felt the influence of the City founding fathers and have pondered about the hardships they must have endured in laying the groundwork for such a fine city. The founding fathers saw the importance of making sure the residents had the basic utilities like great drinking water, allowances for waste disposal and providing the most reliable electricity possible to run our homes in an efficient manner. Before us right now is possibly one of the most critical issues that will impact citizens and our financial viability for decades to come--finding the best solution for UTOPIA’s future. With the increases in technology, it seems like high-speed broadband (internet) is almost becoming another utility that many are finding essential. Fiber optic cables transport signals at the speed of light and the connectivity it provides will be necessary in many industries that already exist in our community, i.e., medical services, education, public safety services and future economic development. As you may have read or already know, the UTOPIA cities entered into a Pre- development Agreement with Macquarie Capital in December of last year. On April 25, Macquarie presented to each of the cities the first phase of a four-part feasibility study, referred to as “Milestone One.” We have 60 days (June 27 deadline) to decide if we will continue with the agreement. Their proposal is to connect every home, business and apartment in the 11 cities with fiber within a 30-month time frame. A utility fee, for a basic level of service, will be assessed, but in conjunction to the fee, the system will remain operating, the required additional funding will be eliminated and by providing competition for services, current services would most likely be lowered and enhanced. The proposed utility fee was calculated to cover the costs of the system construction, the operations, maintenance and periodic refresh of the system technology. When talking to Murray City residents during my campaign for office, I took the stand of neutrality on UTOPIA, not for or against, but one of finding the best solution using this infrastructure. For a number of reasons, UTOPIA has had many obstacles—i.e., an incomplete system, limited customer base and insufficient revenues needing additional funding. At this time, we are faced with the decision of the time-sensitive proposal by Macquarie. In order to make the most informed decision, I am seeking information from every source possible--professionals in the field, other elected officials, City department heads and employees, business owners and City residents. Murray City’s elected officials are seeking input from its residents through a Citywide Citizen Meeting on Thursday, June 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Doty Education Center, 5121 Cottonwood Street (IMC Building Murray, Utah. I hope you will plan to attend, I look forward to your input. ---PAGE BREAK--- The future of fiber optics in our city will affect us in ways that our founding fathers could never have imagined and hopefully the decisions we make will provide a better quality of life for Murray City’s future generations. Sincerely, Ted Eyre, Mayor All Citizens are Invited to Attend a UTOPIA/MACQUARIE CAPITAL CITYWIDE CITIZEN MEETING Murray City elected officials would like your input on a critical decision to be made concerning a Public/Private Partnership with Macquarie Capital and UTOPIA regarding fiber optics in Murray City. Thursday, June 5, 2014 6:30 p.m. Doty Education Center 5121 Cottonwood Street (IMC Building 5) Murray, Utah