To the editor:

I would hope the City Commission would think long and hard in making their decision whether to extend the proposed $300,000 loan guarantee to Wicked Broadband. Sure, it’s great to see competition in the market place and ,while I think local government should be involved in the debate, I didn’t come away with the proverbial “warm fuzzy” feeling after reading Chad Lawhorn’s article in Sunday’s paper.

The fact that Wicked won’t provide hard numbers on its debt level and cash on hand is worrisome to say the least and leads one to speculate as to its ability to repay the loan. Mr. Montgomery’s cavalier comment that “every business has a mix-up with tax authorities” wasn’t substantiated with facts or examples. Some of the other legal issues described in the article that have embroiled Wicked in recent years leaves one to ask (as I hope the City Commission is asking) whether the company is on a sound footing economically.

Yes, the Internet is a wild and volatile domain. Should the City of Lawrence play a role in financially taming it? Mr. Montgomery made two comments to that point that seem to conflict — that Wicked is not comprised of “business people” while at the same time assuring the reader that they “are very business-oriented.” I question that kind of confusing business acumen of a company that wants local government, charted to be stewards of the public’s tax money, to underwrite its investment in Lawrence’s future.