At the Tallapoosa City Council meeting Monday night, the council approved a referendum that allows residents the option of obtaining WiFi Internet access at an affordable rate.

The city has entered into an agreement with Nistworks, an Internet provider company that will service the city of Tallapoosa with its service: Spot the Internet. Nistworks has agreed to provide city residents with wireless Internet for $20 a month per household. In exchange the city will allow the company to place its antennae in different locations on the city’s right-of-way as customers sign up for the service. The city is also providing a sign up process to make it easy for residents to acquire the service if they wish.

“This is an important step for our community because it gives everyone the opportunity to access the Internet everywhere at an affordable price,” said Council member Connie Gentry.

Nistworks touts its product as a high-speed broadband connection faster than DSL or a T1 connection. Nistworks employee Lee Markham says that the service can grow outside the city limits as more users sign up and the number of “Spots” in the city increases.

“This could grow into the type of service you only see in large metropolitan areas,” said Tallapoosa City Manager Philip Eidson.

Anyone wishing to sign up for the service should contact City Hall and allow 30 days for the service to begin.

In other news, the city approved a referendum to enter into an agreement with Atlanta Gas Light Company and the Georgia Public Service Commission outlining a county-wide natural gas safety plan. The plan outlines service and delivery areas within the county as well as addresses safety issues.

The city also approved a referendum naming Turnipseed Engineering as the engineers for the city’s streetscape project.

The council announced that work is being done on Kiker Street to improve the drainage; however, progress has been held up by recent rains. It was also announced that the Lighted Christmas Parade will be held the second Tuesday of December at 7 p.m.

The council’s last referendum of the night approved the observance of Christmas Day as a holiday.