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KSAR station manager urges contract renewal as council hears about student programs, finances and an upcoming captioning mandate
Summary
John Dietrich, KSAR station manager, told the Saratoga City Council that the community station has expanded student internships, upgraded facilities and balanced modest revenues from a city contract, underwriting and donations, and warned a new city captioning requirement (April 26, 2027) could affect costs. Council members praised KSAR and signaled support for staff pay increases.
John Dietrich, station manager for KSAR, told the Saratoga City Council in a joint session that the community broadcaster has rebuilt capacity since the COVID downturn, expanded student internships and community programming, and will seek renewal of its city contract ahead of an upcoming captioning requirement.
Dietrich said KSAR recently secured dedicated office space and upgraded its broadcast booth, including improved ventilation and cooling. "We now have cool air which also protects your investment in the equipment," he said, describing the changes as critical to sustaining meeting coverage and other production work.
The presentation laid out KSAR's programming and educational work: student internships and mentorship tied to Saratoga High School sports and other community projects, PSAs produced for local organizations, and short-form summaries of KSAR's 2025 activities. Dietrich said the station broadcast four or five home varsity football games last season and emphasized that training students is a key goal: "They're getting some work experience that typically, at this age, would not get," he said.
On finances, Dietrich described KSAR as a small operation that relies on several revenue streams. He told the council the city contract is KSAR's largest revenue source, underwriting produced about $11,000 last year (notably tied to football and a car show), and individual donations totaled about $1,900. Dietrich said his board raised staff wages to roughly $22 per hour to retain technicians and that his own 15-hour weekly allocation equates to about $21,700 for 2025. He characterized KSAR as "very economical" compared with regional peers.
Dietrich also warned of a new municipal requirement that he said will take effect on April 26, 2027, requiring captioning and audio descriptions for government meetings. "That is a huge unknown at this point," he said, and offered to work with city staff to research technical and cost solutions.
Council members asked several clarifying questions. One councilmember asked whether KSAR's view metrics reflected local audiences; Dietrich said some programs draw a worldwide audience (for example, family viewers in India for cultural programming) and that Comcast-provided HD metrics are not readily available without additional vendor work. Council members also pressed on how football broadcasts were funded; Dietrich said underwriting covered game costs (he estimated a nominal cost of about $3,000 per game historically), aided by a $6,000 anonymous donation and a $3,000 contribution from a school booster group.
Council members and KSAR board members lauded the station's outreach and student work. Vice Mayor Tina Waglia and others described KSAR's programming as an example of lean, effective community service and voiced support for increasing staff pay. Cookie Timmons told the station, "You're an amazing leader," and several councilmembers encouraged KSAR to continue pursuing outside underwriting and partnerships.
There were no public comments on the presentation; the council closed public comment and returned to discussion. The council did not take formal votes during this session; Dietrich said KSAR has submitted contract renewal figures to Acting City Manager Leslie Royal and expects follow-up. The council then adjourned this portion of the joint meeting and moved the next business to the Civic Theater.
