DALTON, Mass. — The Cable Advisory Commission presented its pressing needs for local cable access to a Charter Communications representative, with hopes they will be included in the cable company's draft license.

 

The town's attorney on the issue, William Solomon, advocated for negotiating on the biggest issues first, specifically capital funding, but noted that there has been an impasse for other towns for which he has negotiated contracts.

 

"Nowadays, I think they're telling people they don't give any capital," Solomon said before the presentation portion of the meeting.

 

The commission presented its 13-page cable ascertainment to Nancy Clark, Charter Communications director of government affairs, during its meeting on Monday. Clark participated via Zoom. 

 

The station manager Michael Sinopoli collaborated with consultant Eric Dresser to produce the document, which goes into detail about the station's mission and vision, examples of current programming, one-year metrics, strategic priorities, letters of support, needs, and challenges.

 

More on the station's needs here. 

 

The town expects that some compromises are possible on various sections. However, Solomon recommended that Charter first respond with its perspective on addressing the major issues. Once those are discussed, Charter can introduce additional topics as it sees fit, allowing for a more focused and productive negotiation process, he said.