NORWAY – A local public television station is planning to double its coverage, pending support from Time Warner Cable.

Steve Galvin, station manager for Norway-Paris Community Television, said the station will expand its coverage to West Paris, Oxford, and Harrison.

“The main thing is, we want to get the towns in the school district on our system, so they can get our programming,” said Galvin.

The station serves Norway, Paris, and Waterford. The three towns, along with the three towns approached for extended coverage, are part of SAD 17.

West Paris receives Bethel’s public broadcasting signal, while Oxford receives Great Falls Television out of Lewiston. Harrison gets Lake Region Television.

West Paris resident George Twine presented the issue to selectmen, and the issue was taken to the annual town meeting on March 1.

“After George spoke, we took a straw poll and everyone at the meeting seemed to be in favor of it,” said West Paris town manager John White.

Oxford selectmen voted to pursue the change after a presentation by Twine at their last meeting.

“Harrison was a little hesitant,” said Galvin.

Galvin said that while Harrison is tied to the Oxford Hills through its school district, it is linked to the Lake Region by its geographical location.

“The board told them to submit a proposal to the town, and they would review it when they review the budget with the budget committee,” said Harrison town manager Michael Thorne. “It may or may not go to town meeting after that.”

Galvin said the station is funded by franchise fees from Time Warner Cable. He said the station does not use town tax dollars, but rather receives 5 percent of the gross revenue of the cable company’s subscribers.

West Paris and Oxford would not contribute franchise fees, but Galvin said he expects the fees Harrison pays to Lake Region Television would be transferred to Norway-Paris Community Television.

“The next trick is getting the cable company to play,” said Galvin.

While the station’s signal is routed through a Time Warner facility in Augusta, the signals that Oxford and Harrison receive come from a southern facility. Galvin says extending service to the two towns would include expanding the station’s signal to a second facility, which could lead to extra costs for Time Warner.

Galvin said the station will be making changes based on new equipment starting on April 1. He hopes to expand the station’s programming – which includes municipal meetings and school concerts – to include school board meetings and sports.

“We want to have more production, but we also want to keep the quality up,” he said.