City Council in brief: WCAC warns network funding could run out by 2030

Maryann Pescatore, finance director of the Waltham Community Access Channel, told city councilors this week that the organization was looking at a looming funding crisis.

WCAC, established in 1985, broadcasts city meetings and events to public television, hosts shows by and for Waltham residents and holds a weekly local television news program called Waltham Newswatch. Its funding comes primarily from cable companies ComCast, Verizon and RCN, who pay part of their yearly revenue to WCAC through grants overseen by the City Council’s Ad Hoc Cable Committee.

Pescatore said as cable companies’ revenue has been falling, so has WCAC’s funding. She projected that the organization’s costs may continue rising by 3% to 5% per year while its revenue continues to fall by about 5% annually.

That will put the network in financial peril. “Halfway through 2030, which is only in four years, we are literally out of money,” Pescatore said. “We really don’t know what to do. And four years is going to creep up on us real fast.” 

She said WCAC runs lean, leaving little room to cut costs. “Right now we’re really at the bare minimum of employees,” she added.

Ward 2 Councilor and Ad Hoc Cable Committee Chair Caren Dunn thanked Pescatore for bringing the matter to the committee’s attention before an actual financial crisis hits.

Councilors encouraged Pescatore to work with Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy and city officials to brainstorm ways to keep the organization funded.

Additionally, the City Council

• Approved a reimbursement of $108,500.47 to WCAC from its cable company grant money for salaries and for equipment, software and music purchases. (Ad Hoc Cable)
• Opened nominations for the Kevin M. Ritcey Public Service award and set a June 12 deadline for submissions. (Ad Hoc Kevin M. Ritcey Service Award)
• Reassigned the chairship of the Ad Hoc Kevin M. Ritcey Service Award Committee. Ward 3 Councilor Bill Hanley resigned as chair, and Ward 8 Councilor Cathyann Harris took the position. (Ad Hoc Kevin M. Ritcey Service Award)
• Approved three land licensing agreements for Waltham Fields Community Farm, Green Rows of Waltham Inc. and Healthy Waltham Farm. Ward 6 Councilor Sean Durkee said the council’s previous discussion about the terms of the license agreements and their requirement that the WFCF repair its fence were beyond the council’s purview, adding that WFCF is in talks with the mayor. (Committee of the Whole)
• At the request of the mayor, went into executive session to discuss purchasing a building at 14-16 Spring St., which is beside the Waltham Public Library building. The potential purchase ties in with the latter’s ongoing renovation. (Committee of the Whole)
• Heard a presentation from Travis Pollack of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council on residential parking supply and demand in Greater Boston.. (Committee of the Whole)
• Accepted a $4,200 state grant for the Fire Department’s Senior Safe Program, which educates seniors about medication safety and slip/choke/fall protocols as well as outfits their homes with smoke detectors. (Finance)
• Accepted the final installment of $34,689.60 of a multipart state grant for the Council on Aging, which funds community programming for seniors in the city. (Finance)
• Approved $50,458.50 of funding to purchase 85 new police body armor pieces and 11 bulletproof vests. The funds match a contribution from the state, making a total of $100,917 in funding. Police Chief Kevin O’Connell noted that these technologies become outdated every few years and that frequent replacements are necessary to keep officers safe. (Finance)
• Appropriated $2,500 for the Disability Services Commission to fund the Opportunities for Inclusion program. (Finance)
• Approved requests to install and name a bench at Waltham High School in memory of Josephine Finnegan and a bench at Lowell Field in memory of Malcolm Bourgeois. (Licenses and Franchises)
• Renewed the used car sales license of Pilgrim Auto Body Inc. (Licenses and Franchises)
• Approved outdoor dining permits for Sweet Basil, Lizzy’s Ice Cream, Deep Ellum, Rassa, Farmers India Market & Cafe and Amuleto Mexican Table. (Licenses and Franchises)
• Preliminarily approved seeking an $8.6 million loan to purchase 600 Main St., a building across the street from City Hall, as a new site for municipal offices. (Long-Term Debt and Capital Planning)
• Approved a two-year extension from June 2026 to June 2028 for a special permit at 1265 Main St., originally granted for a boutique hotel plan that recently fell through, and a one-year extension for the start of construction. (Ordinances and Rules)
• Preliminarily approved two changes to the zoning code for minimum affordability offerings in newly constructed housing and for pet businesses. (Ordinances and Rules)
• Held a working session with real estate companies BXP Inc. and 1265 Main Street LLC to work out final language for a proposed zoning amendment that would allow them to build residential and mixed-use properties on three parcels of land. The council will hold a final public hearing on the amendment on June 8. (Ordinances and Rules)
• Tabled discussions about cleaning up Waltham monuments to the Revolutionary War and to Waltham veteran, author and public servant James J. Fahey. Ward 9 Councilor Robert G. Logan asked for some time for committee members to coordinate a plan and requested former Councilor-at-Large Sally Collura attend a future committee meeting on the subject. (Veterans’ Services Committee)