Marshfield's Communications Department Taking Shape
Friday, March 1st, 2019 -- 8:56 AM
(WDLB) -Marshfield's new Communications Department approved last fall is starting to take shape.Following the addition of new Communications Director Tom Loucks in January, the city is planning to relocate the Marshfield Community Television studio from its current location West McMillan to the City Hall Plaza building on Central Avenue. City Administrator Steve Barg says the relocation of a current tenant inside the building will free up space that will now be utilized by MCTV.
Mayor Bob McManus says the rent going to the current property on West McMillan is around 38-thousand dollars per year, and rises to more than 42-thousand with utilities figured in. And with those operations now moving to a building the city owns, the savings will be enormous--at least until the city sells the facility.
The new leases for the City Hall Plaza spaces go into effect on April First. Meanwhile, the city is currently hiring for a second position in the communications department, as they prepare to end their current contract with an outside cable coordinator company on March 31st. Meanwhile, the city will also be disbanding its current Cable TV Committee, and implementing a new Communications Committee, to coincide with and help guide the new Communications Department. Barg says the city will open the new communication committee to former cable committee members, as well as others from the community. The intent is to have the new committee in place by May First.
Barg said that the committee would now be more hands on with the cable station and that they would seek new members that want to be involved. He also says the city would be looking for diversity in age and backgrounds. The original recommendation for the Communications Director and Department came from a special Communication Committee assembled by Mayor McManus following his election last April. The Communications Department comes with an estimated price tag of just under 204-thousand dollars. The expenses for the new department will not be covered by tax dollars. Instead it would utilize the current franchise fee paid to the city by Charter Spectrum, which currently goes to Tri-Media to operate M-C-T-V. That amount is roughly 225-thousand dollars per year. The current contract with Tri-Media expires at the end of March.
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