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Date: 7/5/2023
BELCHERTOWN — The Select Board approved and endorsed the renewal of the cable services contract between Belchertown and Charter/Spectrum at its June 26 meeting.
Select Board member Ron Aponte and BCTV Executive Director Lew Louraine have been negotiating a renewal of the cable contract between the town of Belchertown and Charter/Spectrum.
Approximately three weeks ago the Cable Services Advisory Committee was presented with the final contract and endorsed it.
Aponte added, “It is a 10 year contract. It is going to take 4.5% of the revenue stream provided by the subscribers of the town of Belchertown and roll that back to the town of Belchertown, [it] specifically and basically becomes an operational funding stream for BCTV.”
That revenue stream allows BCTV and the town to do is to fund the operations of BCTV, which includes personnel.
Aponte thinks when this new contract expires there will be less people using cable TV.
“It’s over a 10 year stream. The numbers as far as I’m concerned, my feeling is we will start to see a decline as people start to cut the wire because this is truly just off their cable. Not off their internet, not off their bundle with their telephone lines. This is purely just for cable,” Aponte said.
Right now, there are approximately 3,000 subscribers in Belchertown and Aponte said he would not be surprised if that is significantly lower after 10 years.
“That is something that will have to be taken into account, obviously, as we start to forecast the revenues,” he said.
Louraine mentioned that he has about one year left before he thinks it is time for him to retire.
Louraine started as a volunteer at BCTV in May 1997 before taking over in June 2001.
Aponte said, “The good news is per Mr. Louraine’s forecasting with regards to equipment replacement, he is not going to do that because he wants the new executive director to be able to choose their equipment, but he believes we are still well positioned with this contract not only going into the hiring process but also to address capital needs to improvement.”
Select Board Chair Ed Boscher said if you don’t have cable television this contract does not impact you.
For anyone wondering if it must be a 10 year contract, Louraine said that surrounding towns are currently gong through the renewal process and the length of the contract is only one that Charter/Spectrum is “putting on the table.”
Aponte added he and Louraine reviewed other towns who either have a contract in place or are going through the renewal process and they were all 10 year contracts.
The Select Board shifted their attention to discuss a potential new committee that Select Board member Lesa Lessard Pearson has been designing with a working group.
Pearson proposed that the board puts out a request to see if there is interest in the community in developing a diversity, equity and inclusion task force committee.
The committee would have three aims, the first would be to develop a diversity, equity and inclusion statement for the town to consider adopting, the second would seek out opportunities to acknowledge and or celebrate the diversity within the community and welcome all to join and the third would be to offer suggestions on how the town might address specific or potential acts of violence which include hate speech.
Pearson also suggested a seven member committee that includes one representative from law enforcement, one from Town Hall and five community members “that represent diversity in one or more of the following categories racial and ethnic background, social positions with respect to gender identity and sexual orientation, social positions with respect to disability and age groups and prior vocational experiences.”
Pearson said she has heard rumors that the school department is trying to start a similar initiative of their own to have a group in each school called hero groups.
She said she wants to meet with the schools to work together and not interfere with their process, but wanted to let the Select Board know about her plan for the committee.
“I want this to be a whole community effort. The whole point is not to create more division but to come together as one community, if possible,” she added.
The Select Board agreed that Pearson should talk to the Belchertown Schools first to clarify if there are two separate projects.
Pearson added she will come back with the idea at another Select Board meeting once she gets more clarification.