Pittsfield Cable Panel Maps Out Work Before Spectrum Talks

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:54PM / Wednesday, January 18, 2023Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — At its second meeting, the reconstituted Cable Advisory Committee looked ahead to its hiring of outside counsel and ascertainment process for negotiating a new contract with Spectrum.

An attorney is being considered to guide the process with a price tag ranging from $7,000 to $14,000 and a subcommittee was created to make an ascertainment schedule for the next nine months.

"It's an important process for the stakeholders in the community to have their say and to have varied and diverse communities to be able to hear from them," said member Shawn Serre, who is the executivedirector of Pittsfield Community Television.

"And those are the kinds of things we will have to design as a committee to make sure that we can reach out and bring those voices in to make commentary."

A funding request was tabled until they have more information on the resources needed for outside counsel.

The city's 10-year contract ends in September 2024 and it is recommended that the contract negotiations take place over 12 months.

Before September of this year, the committee will gather feedback from the community on what is and is not working with Spectrum and any additional needs.

This includes reviewing documents and forms, surveying, having a focus group, and public hearings.

"I think the very first thing is we have to have a schedule," said member James Moran, who will help draft a schedule for the ascertainment process.

Serre reported that he researched three attorneys in the state that specialize in cable television franchise renewals. Two of the three responded and after one dropped out due to a possible conflict of interest, one remained.

William Solomon, who is based in the eastern end of the state, has a good amount of experience working with Comcast and has done several charter renewals.

"He has a pretty good feeling for how Comcast operates and the types of resources that they have at their disposal and the types of tactics that they will use in situations like this, Serre said.

"So I was very comfortable hearing that from him and knowing the experience that he has, I feel like he would be an excellent fit for representing us at the table."

The attorney expressed interest in working with the city and said he would be available to meet with the commission at its next meeting.

The cost estimate of $7,000 to $14,000 would depend on the number of times Solomon would have to come to the area.

Committee members agreed that it is a reasonable ask for an attorney.

"I think that’s reasonable, personally," Serre said, adding that there would be other costs if it turned into a court case or needed an official review.

There was some concern about only having one candidate for the job and he agreed to reach out to the attorney whom he hadn’t heard back from again.

The committee will also look to other communities such as Falmouth and Worcester to inform its process.

For the next meeting on Feb. 9, the panel hopes to have a schedule for community input actions to take before September as well as a scope of work and funding request to send to the mayor.

Tags: cable television,

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Prospect Meadow Farm Opens New Vocational Barn

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:40AM / Thursday, June 18, 2026

A charcuterie board at the event displays fare from some of the regional producers.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prospect Meadow Farm last week officially opened a new barn to sell plants and other goods it produces.

Prospect Meadow Farm Berkshires is an expansion of ServiceNet's first farm in Hatfield that has provided meaningful agricultural work, fair wages, and personal and professional growth to hundreds of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities since opening in 2011.

The Berkshires farm opened on Crane Avenue two years ago and has now introduced a new vocational and unwinding space for the more than 25 farmhands who get paid a minimum wage.

"This is a facility for our folks who work on the farm to learn additional skills and do additional work," said Vice President of Vocational Services Shawn Robinson at the Friday event. "So we have a food packaging space, we've got a walk-in cooler space, we've got a floral design space, we've got a farm store room for staff, lunch room, and then a meditation room that we're standing in now, which is when you're having those hard moments and you need to get away from everything.

"This is going to be a peaceful place you can find and sort of find some comfort, and then hopefully get back to work."

The barn was built by funds from the state Executive Office of Economic Development and the state Department of Agricultural Resources that equated to around $600,000, with ServiceNet contributing around the same amount. The structure took over a year to build.

The state's Department of Developmental Services Commissioner Sarah Peterson spoke on how meaningful this farm and ServiceNet is to her and that this place is important to those who need it.

"Places like this are so crucial because they create opportunities for people living with disabilities that aren't plentiful," she said. "People living with developmental and intellectual disabilities have an unemployment rate over 25 percent five times the rate for people without disabilities, even more jarring is under appointment, which is at 80 percent. That means that four out of every five people with disabilities earn below market rate wages and have limited upward mobility.

"The building itself is really impressive, but what you're really seeing here is the result of vision. It's about opportunity, it's about community, and it's founded in the belief that every person deserves the chance to learn and work and contribute to thrive under the leadership of ServiceNet."

One aspect of the barn will be the market where produce from the farm and other local growers will be sold as well as keeping the tradition of Jodi's Seasonal, which previously occupied the location, alive with plant sales. The market will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"Everything you see in terms of the tomatoes, the fresh produce, that's all done with the hands of our farm hands here, individuals with disabilities who get out every single morning, get in those greenhouses, put their hands in the dirt, and make all of this happen, and this is just the start," said Robinson. "This farm is a little over a year old at this point, but give it another two years, and we hope to be growing enough food to share throughout the Berkshires."

Robinson said the farm is focused on local food security, recently partnering with the Hatfield Council on Aging and planning to work toward making enough food to partner with places in the Berkshires.

He said the barn serves the Hatfield farm and what the employees here needed.

"We've been able to learn the needs of the farm hands who work there and so we have learned that they need a comfortable break space for those times where it's hard to be out in the fields, we've learned that a quiet space for when you're going through something you need to be away from people are key, and then also we have a small farm store in Hatfield, but we've seen increasing interest in retail work from our participants, so we thought it was time for a larger-scale farm store," he said.

Robinson noted that Prospect Meadow Farm has helped the individuals working there feel valued and head.

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