This process involves attorney-assisted discussions directly between the two parties. A series of these discussions took place, but information requested of Time Warner was not made available. A formal request for a more complete proposal was made in march of 2000. A partial response to this request was received in August of 2000. In October 200, steps were taken by the City of Keene, the Town of Swanzey, and the Town of Marlborough to assure that another negotiating option would be available.
Formal negotiations take the form of an administrative hearing in court.
A decision can be made to either renew or deny renewal of the current cable franchise through this formal process. The future of Keene, Marlborough and Swanzey and the communities ability to grow technologically may depend on the strength of the cable franchise being negotiated this year . It is critical to the process that, in addition to documenting the public s needs as we did in the ascertainment process, we also document the public s responses to proposals to meet those needs. We, therefore, encourage you to view Paragon Cable s Renewal Proposal. We invite you to give your reactions to the proposal at the next public hearing or by other communication with a member of the Telecommunications Committee .