Tonight I attended a meeting of the Utah Technology Commission to speak on opening up UTOPIA. The presentation went well, and I think it helped bring the shortcomings of the current law into the minds of the Commission. I also walked away with more ideas on where to go next.
One of the great suggestions from Rep. Dougall, the committee chair, is to explore forming a cooperative within my township, White City, which could then contract with UTOPIA to bring the service here. One big barrier to that is being surrounded by Sandy, a city that isn't participating. This means that even if we formed a cooperative, Sandy would either need to become a UTOPIA member or give permission to run the lines through their city. It's a good idea, but my little slice of the county would have some trouble with it.
I'm also going to see about making presentations to various community councils, the county council, and even a few city councils. I've got a few contacts right now working on getting business leaders involved in voicing their concerns about the lack of UTOPIA availability as well. As we gain more voices, we'll see greater adoption and increased availability of services.
Do what you can to help out. Write your representatives in government. Talk to local business leaders. Attend hearings and meetings to voice your concerns. Enough of us together can get things changed.
