Select boards in Jay and Livermore Falls have authorized town managers this month to sign an agreement to join a local cable access alliance that would offer services to residents.

Central Maine Media Alliance is an education, government media and television station management organization serving municipalities. The agreement allows the alliance to operate the local cable access channel formerly on Channel 7 and now 1301 on the Spectrum digital cable box.

Jay and Livermore Falls annual cable franchise fees paid to both towns from Charter Communications would go to the alliance for the benefit of the local cable access channel. For Jay it is $5,000, and for Livermore Falls it is $3,000.

Under the agreement, the alliance would prepare classes and offer training to the residents of member municipalities who want to learn how to produce television shows, public service announcements and films.

Jay selectpersons made the decision June 11 in a 3-1 vote and Livermore Falls selectmen made the decision unanimously on June 19.

Kymberli Bryant, manager of the local channel, wrote to Jay and Livermore Falls town managers and officials in May of the prospect of joining forces with the alliance, which would make the local access channel a resource for the community. 

The alliance would be able to do the things that Bryant wished she could but didn’t have the time or funding to do it.

JP Fortier of Farmington is the executive director of the alliance and station director of Mt. Blue TV, which is under the alliance’s “media umbrella.” The station is on the University of Maine at Farmington campus and runs programming on Bee-Line Cable, which serves the Farmington and Wilton area.

“The merger would result in more and broader content for the community that would span the entire area and not just be limited” to Jay and Livermore Falls, Bryant wrote. She is willing to act as a local liaison for the station and to work with the alliance to develop local programming.

“In addition, the equipment and training that (Central Maine Media Alliance) could offer to community members would far exceed anything we could do on our own,” according to Bryant.

Alliance members will also be approaching the town of Livermore to see if they are interested in joining, Fortier said. Livermore does not give its franchise fees to the local access channel.

Fortier said shows are also live-streamed on mtbluetv.org.

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