City of Springfield to Hold Virtual Public Hearing for Comcast Cable TV Franchise License Renewal
What: Virtual Public Hearing for Comcast Cable TV Franchise License Renewal
When: Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic the Virtual Public Hearing for Comcast Cable TV Franchise License Renewal will be conducted virtually via Zoom and streamed live on the City’s Office of Communication Facebook page
Springfield, MA – Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, as statutory issuing authority for the City of Springfield, will be holding a virtual public hearing for Comcast Cable TV Franchise License Renewal on Tuesday, February 23, 2021, at 6:00 pm. Deputy City Solicitor Kathleen Breck will serve as the hearing officer.
The purpose of the hearing will be to review the performance of the current cable television operator – Comcast – during its license term, which ends in December 2021, and to hear testimony on future cable-related needs and interests of the Springfield community for the next 10 years.
The City is seeking public comment on these issues. Persons interested in offering testimony on these cable television-related matters are encouraged to register in advance for the virtual public hearing and offer testimony, or to submit their comments by email or first class mail.
Below are the steps on how to participate and the steps to take during the meeting:
- There will be one link for participants to use. Attendees will register in advance of the Public Hearing at the following link: focusspringfield.com/license-renewal
- Once the registration is completed, a link will be automatically sent to the email address entered to attend the ‘public hearing’.
- Once logged on, participants will be on as ‘attendee status’, where they can watch and listen but not speak.
- Those who are interested in providing comments, will be able to use the command function on the webinar to ‘raise their hand’ and the moderator will call on them and allow them to speak. More information on this feature can be found here.
- Those who will be speaking will be moved from ‘attendee status’ to ‘panelist status’
- During this process, the webinar will re-log the participant into the webinar as a panelist where they may speak and provide comments. (During this process, the user will experience the webinar reloading where the live video feed and audio will cut out temporarily as they are transferred and switched from attendee to panelist)
- Once the participant has given their comments or their time is finished, the moderator will move them back into ‘attendee status’. Again, during this process the webinar will re-log the participant into the meeting as they were when they first joined the meeting.
- Attendees may also type their comments into the Q & A comment section of the webinar, with the option to do so anonymously.
Those wishing to present written public comments on cable television-related matters in advance of the Hearing may submit them by email to cabletv@springfieldcityhall.com. In the email, please include your name, and indicate whether you are a Springfield resident or business.
Public comments on cable television-related matters can also be submitted by mail on or before March 9, 2021 by mailing them to:
Cable Television Hearing Officer
Attorney Kathleen Breck
City of Springfield
Law Department
36 Court Street, Room 210
Springfield, MA 01103
When sending comments please include your name, and indicate whether you are a Springfield resident or business.
The Public Hearing will be livestreamed on the City of Springfield’s Office of Communications Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CityofSpringfieldMA. In addition, the Public Hearing will be recorded and aired on Channel 17 on Springfield’s Comcast Cable Channel and online at http://focusspringfield.com/watch/government.
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