AMHERST — The Select Board is considering the effects of turning down Comcast’s latest offer for a new cable contract, as the current 10-year agreement is set to expire in mid-October.
Even with what Town Manager Paul Bockelman calls “some slight movement” by Comcast toward requests made by the town’s Cable Advisory Committee, it remains uncertain whether that will be sufficient for it to send a positive recommendation to the Select Board for a new 10-year deal.
The Select Board, which Monday postponed a decision on the franchise agreement, now is scheduled to vote Sept. 26, 10 days after the advisory committee meets Friday to make a final recommendation.
There are several sticking points, Bockelman said. One is that Comcast is offering $1.125 million in capital spending over the life of the agreement, well short of the $2.205 million requested, though substantially more than the $450,000 in the current contract.
This money would be used to upgrade equipment used by Amherst Media at its studios and for broadcasts of public meetings.
Comcast also is not promising to make the public, education and government channels high definition, even though the company concedes this will probably happen in the coming years, Bockelman said.
The proposed contract permits the town to continue using the insititutional network, or I-net, which Comcast provides, but only for the first three years of the new contract. I-net is a fiber network that allows live broadcasting by Amherst Media, and carries the town phone system, email and security camera feeds.
After the I-net is phased out, Comcast would support the town’s replacement of it with a $25,000 annual payment beginning in the fourth year of the contract.
The requests from the town were made following hearings in which residents told the Cable Advisory Committee what they wanted.
If the franchise agreement renewal is not approved by the Select Board, the matter would go to a quasi-judicial hearing where the Select Board acts as the hearing body, Bockelman said. Representatives of the town’s cable advisory committee and Comcast would then present their case and the Select Board would act as the final arbiter.
At that time, if a decision is reached that Comcast officials dislike, the cable deal could go to court.
Select Board member Andrew Steinberg said he is concerned that a preliminary denial could come at great financial cost to the town, and resolving the dispute would be complex.
Bockelman and Peter Epstein, the attorney negotiating the contract with Comcast on behalf of the town, will continue to speak to Comcast representatives until Sept. 26.
Even if a new deal is not reached by Oct. 15, the date the current contract expires, Bockelman said customers will still receive service.
“There’s no danger of our cable being turned off,” Bockelman said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.