HATFIELD — Town officials and Comcast are nearing an agreement on a new 10-year contract that will provide support for capital needs for Hatfield Community Television and ongoing financing for its operations.
At a hearing before the Select Board this week, Eileen Leahy, senior manager for government affairs, said the proposed cable license renewal will provide $69,000 for capital projects over a three-year period, beginning with a $23,000 payment in January 2023. The arrangement will also provide the town annually 4.75% of gross revenues, an increase from the 4.5% in the current deal.
The two Public, Educational and Governmental, or PEG, access channels, will remain, with the local channel upgraded to a high definition signal and the other one, originating in Northampton, offering city programming, Leahy said.
If agreed to by the Select Board, the contract would go into effect Sept. 18 and run through Sept. 17, 2032.
Though the board took no vote as the town’s Cable Television License Issuing Authority, putting that off until Sept. 13, attorney William Solomon told members it is a good deal.
Solomon observed the town will get updated equipment at the local access station and be able to move that operation to Town Hall.
Chairwoman Diana Syznal said the Hatfield Community Television has been critical to providing coverage of meetings, including pivoting to both remote and hybrid formats during the course of the pandemic.
In other business, Szynal announced that a proposed multiuse path that would connect Hatfield to the regional trails system in Northampton will be the subject of a meeting Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. in the Smith Academy gymnasium. Szynal said she expects that Northampton officials will be on hand to outline and explain the project.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
