A series of public meetings is planned over the next two weeks about the proposed purchase of the former Adelphia cable television/internet system by four Lake Norman area towns, including Davidson.

On Monday at 6 p.m., officials from the four towns (Davidson, Cornelius, Mooresville and Troutman) will meet at the Charles Mack Citizens Center, 215 N. Main St., in Mooresville, to discuss the proposal. The meeting is open to the public.

Then next week, the towns will hold local meetings to update residents on progress of the proposal. Those sessions begin in Davidson on Tuesday, May 22.

The meetings will include town officials as well as representatives of Bristol Virginia Utilities, the outside management firm the towns are considering hiring to manage the system.

SYSTEM UP FOR GRABS

The cable TV and internet system is up for grabs because of the 2002 bankruptcy of Adelphia. Under terms of local agreements with Adelphia, the town’s have the right of first refusal to buy the system.

The four-town group is continuing to study the idea of the purchase, after an earlier proposal by a larger group of local governments fell apart earlier this year. The larger group had included Huntersville, which has the largest number of subscribers in the area, and Mecklenburg County. But the group was unable to reach agreement on a governing body to oversee the system.

Time Warner Cable and Comcast, two of the nation’s largest cable TV providers, bought most of Adelphia’s assets. Time Warner, which operates in Charlotte and other surrounding communities, is operating the system temporarily and it is eager to add the Lake Norman area system to its holdings. But it has had to stand by and wait while the towns consider the purchase.

Before the purchase can happen, the towns must agree on terms of their cooperation, and how they would share costs and revenues. Also, the bankruptcy judge in New York overseeing the Adelphia case must set a price for the local system. The towns then would know whether the deal was financially feasible.

NEW MODEL, NEW NAME

The smaller four-town group has put together a new financial model and is drawing up an interlocal agreement, spelling out the terms of their cooperation. The public meetings will include information on those topics, as well as other changes since a public hearing was held in Davidson last fall about the proposed purchase by the larger group.

Officials also say they will unveil the name they’re planning to use. Some local officials have been informally using the name “MI Connection” to describe the four-town unit.

MEETING SCHEDULE

MONDAY, MAY 14, 6 p.m. – Officials of the four towns meet to discuss the purchase, Charles Mack Citizens Center, 215 N. Main St., Mooresville.

TUESDAY, MAY 22, 7 p.m. – Davidson public, meeting, Davidson Town Hall

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 7 p.m. – Mooresville Town Hall

THURSDAY, MAY 24, 7 p.m. – Troutman Town Hall

LINKS

Read our previous coverage and reader comments about the cable proposal.