SCTV flies on its own despite concern

SAUGUS-The Board of Selectmen set Saugus Cable Television free in a sense when it released the last of the money it had been safekeeping for the station.A federal law passed more than two years ago allowed Comcast to divest itself of running local stations and instead hand them over to local communities. In doing so, the cable network gave the town a payout of $317,000 to help get the new station up and running and will continue to fund it through a percentage paid through local cable bills.Since the town began running the station, first with Joseph Kennedy at the helm and now with Richard Garabedian, the board has handed over money at the request of the station director.Tuesday, however, Garabedian asked the board to turn over the remaining $116,000, effectively cutting the apron string. Not everyone thought it was a good idea.Selectman Stephen Horlick said if the board handed over the last of the money, SCTV would have nearly half a million dollars in its account and he wondered why they needed that much.Garabedian said the station would soon be instituting a program at the Belmonte Middle School and the Senior Center and needed to upgrade some equipment.”So how much could you spend by March?” he asked.Garabedian said he would spend $70,000 on upgrades alone. He also said he realized that he could come back before the board, but frankly he was getting tired of the paperwork.”It comes down to credibility and accountability for us,” he said. “We’ve produced, we’ve answered questions – I feel we could be responsible for the money.”Horlick wasn’t convinced. He told Garabedian that when the town first set up the account for SCTV it had said it would hang on to $40,000 to $50,000 in case any problems arose.”But wouldn’t it be nice if we already had that money if any problems arose,” Garabedian countered. “I’ve read the agreement and we’ve exceeded all the promises.”Rossetti reminded the committee it wasn’t technically their money to hold. The money came from Comcast and could only be used for SCTV and nothing else.Selectman Stephen Castinetti said he had no problem with cutting the station loose and made the motion to transfer the funds.”I think they’ve done a commendable job and demonstrated their ability to manage,” he said. “I don’t think we need to babysit their funds.”Selectman Michael Kelleher along with Rossetti agreed.”I think you’ve done your due diligence,” Rossetti said.Horlick relented in the end and supported the motion that passed unanimously.”In the beginning it was tough and I wanted to make sure things were done the way they should be,” he said.