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Boscawen board agrees to 3.5% Comcast franchise fee, legal recommends five‑year term
Summary
Town Administrator Katie Phelps presented edits from legal counsel recommending a 5‑year Comcast franchise term and noting the statutory ability to request up to 5% (passed to customers); the board settled on a 3.5% fee and will await Comcast's revised agreement for final approval.
Town Administrator Katie Phelps presented legal counsel’s suggested edits to the Comcast franchise agreement and explained that the town may request up to 5 percent of cable operator gross receipts (a fee typically passed to customers) and that legal recommended a five‑year term rather than ten. Phelps said her survey of peer communities found an average franchise fee around 3 percent.
After discussion about contract term and provider options, the board agreed to the 3.5 percent franchise fee recommended by legal. Phelps said Comcast would finalize the agreement with the edits and return it to the town for final approval from the Select Board. The board discussed excluding sold or transferred town buildings from free internet provisions in the agreement.
No final contract was signed at the meeting; the Select Board’s action was agreement on the fee percentage and to move forward with legal edits.
