According to the broadband committee and Monday night’s UberConference selectmen’s meeting, Westport Island has about three weeks to agree to chip in with Spectrum and ConnectME Authority on a project, for the proposal to have its best shot at a ConnectME grant.

“We’re going to need some time to try to logistically and safely pull this off,” including picking a venue and meeting COVID-19 restrictions that still include six-foot social distancing, Deputy Municipal Agent and Deputy Emergency Management Agency Director Gaye Wagner said of a special town meeting.

The grant request, due April 12, seeks to wire 27.3 miles of road to provide access to 195 addresses, according to the committee’s summary. As proposed, Spectrum would cover $338,314 of the project, ConnectME $225,542 and the town $62,651.

The committee’s summary states a town contribution “significantly improves (the) chance of being awarded a grant by reducing the amount requested and increasing the score our application would receive under ConnectMaine's evaluation system. The ... Authority has made it clear that a town's commitment to the project is a significant factor in their decision whether (or not) to award a grant.”

First Selectman George Richardson said holding a referendum instead would run past the deadline, but would allow more time to inform voters and would draw ones who will not attend a town meeting due to the pandemic. “The deadline makes everything overcomplicated.”

That was ConnectME’s timeframe, committee members said. The committee is unsure Spectrum would take part in another grant application.

“(You’ve) got your work laid out for you,” Second Selectman Gerald Bodmer told Wagner and Town Clerk Julie Casson. Committee representatives plan to talk with selectmen again Monday, March 29 in the board’s 7 p.m. UberConference call.