Tewksbury Select Board Tables Verizon Cable Renewal, Citing Last-Minute Contract Delivery

Select Board · Meeting of February 24, 2026

Tewksbury Select Board unanimously tables Verizon cable license renewal, pending further review. The board voted 5-0 Tuesday to delay final action on a proposed five-year cable franchise agreement after Member James F. Mackey III noted the contract had arrived only hours before the meeting.

Town Manager Curran and Telemedia Director Brian Dorrington presented the deal's highlights: a franchise fee increase from 3.5 to 4 percent of Verizon's gross annual revenues, capital funding rising from $150,000 to $171,000 front-loaded over the first two years, and the addition of Tewksbury's first high-definition local channel as a fourth local channel. Town cable attorney Bill August, attending virtually, called it "a strong and beneficial license" that improves on both Comcast capital funding and channel count. The board also approved a one-year YMCA lease extension and heard Northern Middlesex Council of Governments Executive Director Jennifer Raitt and Deputy Director Kelly Leinema outline regional planning work including a new TIP pilot program that would cover 80 percent of pre-construction design costs for eligible local road projects through federal highway funds.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of February 24, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.