Hardwick Select Board Renews Comcast Franchise, Approves November Election Warrant

HARDWICK -- October 24, 2022, Hardwick Select Board renews Comcast cable franchise through 2032 and approves state election warrant. The board voted unanimously Monday to sign a new ten-year agreement with Comcast, setting the annual franchise access grant at three percent in years one and two and stepping up to five percent in years nine and ten, a structure town officials said would preserve financial flexibility if Hardwick eventually launches its own cable channel, with buildout costs drawn from the town's PEG account. The board also unanimously approved the warrant for the November 8, 2022 state election at Hardwick Elementary School, covering four statewide ballot questions and a local carbon-fee advisory question. Chair Jeffrey S. Schaaf reported that a furnace failure the prior Friday had damaged 80 to 85 percent of rooms in the municipal building, forcing the Treasurer-Collector's office to relocate and prompting officials to note that insurance proceeds would cover office renovation costs previously earmarked for ARPA funds.