Hatfield Select Board Holds Comcast Franchise Hearing, Vote Expected September 13

HATFIELD — August 30, 2022 — Hatfield Select Board hears Comcast franchise renewal terms, delays vote to September 13. The board convened August 30 for a public hearing on a proposed 10-year cable franchise agreement with Comcast covering September 2022 through September 2032, with Attorney Bill Solomon, representing the town, calling it "a good license legally, a good license financially." Under the draft terms, Comcast would pay 4.75 percent of gross annual revenues quarterly — up from 4.5 percent — and provide $69,000 in capital support in three installments of $23,000 each in 2023, 2024, and 2025, with an HD upgrade for the local public access channel. The board also voted unanimously to approve a $16,200 ARPA-funded lease for historical artifact storage at the Elm Street Diamondback Properties building, made an interim appointment to fill the vacant Treasurer-Collector role following Sharon Strzazkowski's resignation, and received word of a $284,000 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant awarded to the town.