For four years now, the town’s Community Cable Access Committee (HCTV Committee) has been operating out of the basement of the Old Library building at 7 Fairbank Street. This space has served the town well, offering a usable work space for any townspeople to come learn about and contribute to the benefits of local public access TV.
In June 2012, the HCTV Committee was asked to evaluate available space at The Bromfield School as a possible permanent home for the town’s public access TV station. Over the course of summer and fall, the School Committee, school administration, Board of Selectmen, community volunteers, and HCTV Committee have collaborated on plans to renovate the virtually unused basement room of the Bromfield Middle School wing. Based on these plans, and on commitments from School Committee and Board of Selectmen, construction is underway, to be completed in the coming months.
The majority of labor (plumbing, electrical, carpentry) is being provided free of charge by students and teachers of Monty Tech, and by community volunteers where possible. The new facility will remain separate from the school, with its own independent, secure, outside entryway (no entry through school halls). Yet the new location on school grounds will make it easier for students and teachers to participate in community, government, and educational TV productions.
The only thing missing is…handicap access to the entryway door. Currently, a somewhat intimidating concrete stairway leads down to the door. If voters approve Town Meeting Warrant Article 14 on Saturday, April 6, the entryway will be opened up to people with disabilities by way of a ramped, easy-to-approach walkway. (See photos and sketches at www.harvardcabletv.com/hctv-bromfield-images.)
Mitch Norcross
HCTV Committee Chair
Mill Road
