Revere working on local cable corporation

REVERE-A consultant will help city officials take the legal and organizational steps necessary to form a local cable television corporation.Once the several month-long process is completed, the non-profit corporation and its board of directors will be in charge of a local cable studio and media center.The transition to local control over Revere-oriented cable TV programs is an important one, mandated, as Mayor Thomas Ambrosino told City Council members earlier this year, by Comcast’s decision to no longer fund a local studio.Ambrosino expressed frustration in January after completing what he described as largely “fruitless” negotiations with Comcast that produced a new, 10-year contract with the cable provider.”Without competition,” the mayor told City Councilors, “the City has very little leverage to demand any major concessions from Comcast.”Consultant Rika Welsh is helping the city set up a “convener board” that will draft articles of incorporation and by laws for the cable corporation.Welsh will also work with elected officials and Cable Advisory Board members to establish a corporation board of directors.”Our goal is to ensure that a new corporation, with an initial Board of Directors, can be operational by the June 1, 2008 transition date,” Ambrosino told councilors.Councilors, including Ward 6’s Charles Patch and Ward 5’s John Powers, want more cable and Internet service options available to Revere residents. They plan to discuss the subject at their March 24 meeting.”I think residents would overwhelmingly support a competitive atmosphere,” Powers said.Comcast spokesman Mark Goodman called the company’s decision to shift control of the local studio to the city “a transition that returns access to rightful owners and gives the community more access to localize.”