Mundelein, Comcast negotiate over board meeting broadcasts

Mundelein officials and Comcast representatives are negotiating a deal that would see the village taking more responsibility for broadcasting board meetings on local cable.

There is no danger of the meeting broadcasts going off the air, Village Administrator John Lobaito said.

"That's not an option," Lobaito said. "The Mundelein village board has committed to showing these (meetings) to the public."

Comcast has a franchise agreement with the village that's good until 2015. As part of that deal, the company offers the village government and other local government agencies time on a municipal channel to air board meetings.

Such deals are common throughout the suburbs.

Comcast officials want the village to take over video playback responsibilities, including maintaining the equipment needed for such efforts, company spokesman Rich Ruggiero said.

Lake Zurich, Highland Park and Zion are among the communities that recently have agreed to taking on those responsibilities, Ruggiero said. The move gives communities more control over production and playback, he said.

In Mundelein, a programming deal likely also would affect several local public agencies that also have meetings broadcast on Mundelein's Comcast channel, such as the Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 board, Ruggiero said.

Mundelein officials are open to taking on more responsibility, Lobaito said, but they want Comcast to contribute financially if they do.

"We're negotiating that," Lobaito said.

The village board is set to discuss the issue on Monday, Jan. 25.

The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the basement of the main fire station, 1000 N. Midlothian Road. It is open to the public.

Both Lobaito and Ruggiero are optimistic a deal will be reached.