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TCTV pitches digital sign; select board weighs costs and a contingent supplemental appropriation
Summary
TCTV director asked the board to keep considering a permanent digital sign at town hall tied to a $200,000 earmark; the board discussed costs and software/maintenance implications and reviewed a proposed $22,000 supplemental appropriation for the cable fund contingent on DOR certification of retained earnings.
Steve Castles, director of TCTV, told the Select Board that TCTV’s proposal for a permanent digital sign in front of town hall was part of a prior $200,000 economic development earmark and could be used for town messaging and advertising revenue. “It would show our town to be professional and modern,” Castles said, urging the board to continue considering the project.
Board members discussed prior local examples and costs. The chair reported a stationary school sign previously cost about $38,009.70 (FY 2021–22) and that portable electronic signs previously purchased cost about $17,550 each; those quotes may vary depending on donated electrical work and installation. Members raised life-span, software, maintenance, permitting and town-budget questions, and several asked for clearer estimates, installation scope and responsibility for maintenance and content moderation.
Separately, Castles requested a supplemental appropriation of $22,000 to the cable department’s FY2026 operating budget to cover personnel and timing gaps while grant reimbursements are pending. The town accountant advised any transfer from cable retained earnings should be contingent on Department of Revenue certification; the chair drafted contingent-language so the warrant article could move forward but the transfer would only take effect upon certification.
What happens next: TCTV will provide a plan and refined cost estimates; the board will decide whether to include a digital signage request in its capital or warrant process. The supplemental appropriation language will remain contingent on DOR certification if the Select Board moves the article forward to town meeting.
