Public Access Television    

Most towns use public access to broadcast public meetings and hours upon of ads and announcements. Larry Jackson, Public Works Director, uses public access television to his advantage. He believes that it is a “great educational tool” and a valuable public relations tool.
    Every spring Larry does a “Road Review.” He has the streets slated for improvement filmed, and filmed again in the fall after improvements are completed.  Night sweeping was filmed and a catch basin replacement, first starting with the traffic control. Someone from the public access station rode with a large and small plow so that people can see what it’s like “out there.” 
    Larry has had the film crew show the public works facility, highlighting equipment. Larry is always amazed at the number of people who stop him and say that they didn’t know something he featured.
    The Littleton access station runs a bulletin board. Larry advertises street closures, tips for driving around plow trucks, and often emphasizes the importance of slowing down around workzones. He says, “people just don’t slow down.”
    Bob O’Connor, the Station Manager, says the most popular show broadcast was on plowing operations. After this show was broadcast the highway department’s phone complaints about plowing operation was cut in half. 
Last year, the station sent a crew to the Mountain of Demos where the Littleton High School students demonstrated their sidewalk project. Larry described the day’s activities for the camera crew.
    In Littleton, the station is Governmental Education meaning the town pays the school to run the access station. All shows are broadcast at least three times. The station covers anything the town believes to be of interest. Recently, they’ve aired a program about what happens after midnight. They ride with police and visit hospitals and convenience stores. The station broadcasts to northern Grafton County and reaches 12,000 people in 45 towns. 
    Other towns are taking advantage of their public access stations. During emergencies, the town of Derry advertises road closures and emergency services.
    During Public Works Week, Laconia ran a series of informational segments on their public access station. Doug Sargent, Public Works Director, presented the facilities, and discussed issues such as building bridges, rough roads vs. smooth roads, and the proposed scenic road near the Weirs. In Rochester, the public works department regularly runs the stormwater video, “There is No Away” to fulfill the NPDES II requirement to do public education.
    The UNH T2 Center has a library of videos. Many are not copywrited, and could be shown on public access television. Contact the center to borrow a video.

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