Bensenville might build TV station in village hall

Bensenville officials are poised to approve a measure Tuesday to spend nearly $45,000 to build a TV studio in village hall.

The village currently has a franchise agreement to record its public education and government access programs at Comcast’s Addison studio. But Village Manager Mike Cassady said Comcast is closing the Addison site, so the in-house station seems like the best solution.

“We thought maybe we could be better able to communicate with our customers,” he said. “This would allow us to go to 24/7 programming for just the village of Bensenville (on Comcast).”

Right now, Bensenville’s programs only air at 7 p.m. Wednesdays and 1:30 p.m. Thursdays on Comcast Channel 6, while its programming runs nonstop on AT&T U-Verse Channel 99.

Comcast has agreed to donate much of the equipment Bensenville would need for its own studio, which would be located on the lower level of village hall in an area now used for storage.

The project would cost roughly $22,800 for additional equipment from AVI Systems of Bensenville, about $12,100 for installing fiber optics and roughly $10,100 for construction.

Cassady said the project ultimately will allow local taxing bodies such as schools, the park district and community groups like the Bensenville Chamber of Commerce to spread their news more effectively.

“We have very active local governments,” Cassady said. “Community surveys show us people are watching, so we thought it would make sense to invest.”

The Bensenville village board meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at village hall, 12 S. Center St.