AMHERST — The Select Board on Thursday approved a new 10-year cable deal with Comcast that includes $1.125 million in capital funding for Amherst Media, as well as provisions to continue providing the fiber network that allows live broadcasting of meetings.
Even though the contract falls short of the $2.3 million sought in capital needs by the Cable Advisory Committee, the Select Board, with no discussion, unanimously approved the contract that will run through Oct. 15, 2026.
The capital funding is more than double the $450,000 in the expiring contract. In addition, Comcast pledges to maintain the institutional network, or I-net, for up to four years. This carries the town phone system, email and security camera feeds.
Though some residents had encouraged the Select Board to reject the deal by issuing a preliminary denial, or request an extension of negotiations, no members of the public were present Thursday to speak about the deal.
The town also negotiated two informal agreements with Comcast. One ensures that a Comcast service center will be located in either Amherst or a neighboring town. The other is that the public, educational and governmental channels will be broadcast in high definition within six months of that becoming available in any of the other 33 western Massachusetts communities served by Comcast, except Longmeadow.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com
