Pittsfield Cable Committee to Vote on Spectrum Contract Attorney

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Cable Advisory Committee wants more information on pricing before choosing an attorney for the Spectrum contract renewal.

On Thursday, the panel interviewed two candidates, Stoneham attorney William Solomon and Boston attorney William Hewig, and voted to push the decision to a special meeting this week. Both specialize in cable negotiations.

Solomon offered a rate of $200 per hour and Hewig, $300 per hour and $150 per hour for the paralegal. Committee members would like an estimate of the total fees so they can make a well-informed decision on legal services.

That recommendation will go to Mayor Linda Tyer and City Council.

"I think the level of knowledge for both candidates is superior and obviously they are very well versed in the law and have significant experience means so I don't think that's an issue really at all," said Shawn Serre, executive director of Pittsfield Community Television.

"It's really more of philosophy and approach that I think that we'd be selecting on and then of course, the numbers and the hours."

The panel was reconstituted in December. Pittsfield’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.

Solomon explained that he would have a two-tiered approach.

"The two tiers are we're going to do everything that we need and more to convince Charter [Communications] that they need to meet your reasonable needs," he said.

"But if they don't do that after we do all this and have the hearings and negotiate, then we go to step two, which is like preparing for litigation."

1Berkshire Marks Halfway Point of Pandemic-Altered Blueprint

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:22PM / Monday, June 10, 2024

1Berkshire President & CEO Jonathan Butler notes how much the world has changed since the release of the 2.0 version of the blueprint five years ago.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — 1Berkshire's blueprint for economic development was adaptable when it needed to be and today, paves steps for a post-pandemic Berkshire County.

1Berkshire marked five years since the Berkshire Blueprint 2.0 release with a progress report May 30 on the plan shaped by the pandemic's impact on the region and beyond.

President and CEO Jonathan Butler noted that it was an intentional decision to deliver the update from the Berkshire Innovation Center, which was being built when the blueprint was released.

"On the one hand, it's hard to believe that it's been over five years since (Vice President of Economic Development Benjamin Lamb) and myself stood in front of nearly 300 people at the Colonial Theatre attempting to explain this whole framework that we call the Berkshire Blueprint," he said.

"But on the other hand, 2019 is in the very distant past. We've seen the world change, the region change, and plans change. We've lived and worked through a pandemic that consumed nearly three years of our lives and continues to influence it today. Yet, despite all of that, we stand here today at the halfway point of a regional strategy that is still very active but like each of us, has had to pivot, adjust, and rethink its priorities."

Five years ago, the "last thing on our mind was the thought of a life-altering pandemic," he said, but that is exactly where they were a year later with the Berkshire Blueprint 2.0. The 10-year plan was released in February 2019 after two years of planning and adjusted to the pandemic after its onset.

"The impacts of the pandemic are vast, complicated, and will continue to influence how business is done in the Berkshires and beyond for years, if not decades, to come," Butler said. "And that was something that we did not plan for."

Lamb noted that recovery and resiliency really became the focus post-pandemic.