By Setarreh Massihzadegan
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

When Sandra Peavey moved to Linden Ponds one year ago, she made an effort to get involved, not just on campus, but in the rest of the Hingham community.

Before long, Peavey, who is a lawyer specializing in regulatory matters, found her way onto a number of active committees that link the Linden Ponds community with its neighbors.

The role of Linden Ponds
“I think it’s very important that Linden Ponds both be seen by the town as an important community … and be perceived as an active part of the community,” Peavey says.

“When it’s fully developed, Linden Ponds will account for nearly 10% of Hingham’s population,” Peavey adds. This past summer Peavey began serving on the town’s Cable TV Advisory Committee.

As part of the committee, Peavey meets monthly with the group to discuss whether to renew the town’s agreement with its cable provider, Comcast, or grant the work to an additional franchise to increase competition when Comcast’s contract expires in 2008.

“I’m learning a lot,” Peavey says. “I’m coordinating with the person at Linden Ponds who is in charge of cable TV here, keeping her informed about what’s going on, and keeping the town informed about what Linden Ponds wants.

“In order to come into Linden Ponds, if it’s going to be cable, it has to have a franchise,” she adds. “I think it’s very important for the town to have an understanding of our needs.”

Keeping up with Linden Ponds
Once Peavey began her work with the town, she spoke with Linden Ponds staff members and started a committee there to survey people living at Linden Ponds, whose own network contract with Arledge Electronics will be expiring at about the same time as the town of Hingham’s.

“We want to know if the residents are happy with the programming they currently have,” Peavey says. Those living at Linden Ponds don’t pay extra for their cable television programming.