Riverhead finalizes contract negotiations with Cablevision, sets April 5 public hearing on new franchise agreement

Public wi-fi on the downtown riverfront, online uploads of town board meetings and continued senior discounts on Cablevision services and installations are all part of a new franchise agreement negotiated between Riverhead Town and Cablevision.

The 10-year agreement would give Cablevision exclusive rights to install and maintain new and existing utility poles and equipment on town property and along town roads.

Negotiations between town officials and Cablevision began about three years ago, when their previous 10-year agreement expired, according to town attorney Dan McCormick.

A key factor to negotiations was the continuation of the town’s 15-percent discount for senior residents, which applies to both Cablevision services and equipment installations and upgrades. “We haven’t had a contract for three years because we wanted that 15 percent,” McCormick said at a town board work session last Thursday.

Though Cablevision wanted to lower the discount to 10 percent in the new contract, town officials managed to negotiate an extension of the current discount of 15 percent.

The agreement also includes a $100,000 grant for Riverhead to use on public access channel costs and technology and equipment upgrades – including new cameras and microphones in Town Hall’s board meeting room. An additional $5,000 grant will be used to offset increases in internet costs for town departments.

Town officials and Cablevision are also considering bringing public Optimum wifi access to the riverfront boardwalk in downtown Riverhead. “It’s an important spot,” said Joan Gilroy, Cablevision’s director of government affairs. “A great number of people walk down there. We all know how important mobile devices are to people today.”

Recordings of town board meetings would also be streamed online for the first time under the agreement. Currently, meeting recordings are only shown on the town’s public access channel (channel 22) several days after they take place.

A public hearing on the agreement will be held April 5 at Town Hall.