Lexington Select Board Approves Six-Year LexMedia Contract at $200,000 Annually

LEXINGTON -- June 8, 2026, Lexington Select Board approves six-year LexMedia contract and stalls three Eversource utility permits over unresolved double poles. The board voted 5-0 Monday to approve a six-year public-access broadcasting contract with LexMedia, setting the town's annual subsidy at $200,000 for fiscal year 2027, already in the budget, and $225,000 for fiscal year 2028, a significant reduction from January projections that had put the final-year ask above $650,000; the improvement stems from a leadership transition at LexMedia and renegotiated capital payments from Verizon and Comcast under a recent FCC ruling. The board also continued two Eversource grant of location hearings to June 22 after the company acknowledged it had not yet scheduled wire transfers on identified double poles near Massachusetts Avenue and Hartwell Avenue, while conditionally approving a third petition covering Waltham Street and Worthen Road because it supports construction of the new Lexington High School. In a non-voting working session on the Article 31 trash referendum, set for June 16, all five members outlined expectations for any future policy, including multiple cart sizes, fee accommodations for residents with disabilities or financial hardship, and no limits on recycling. Four members of Lexington Firefighters Local 1491 told the board the department had gone nearly 700 days without a pay raise, with union President Rob Green saying the town has "a value problem here with Town Hall towards the fire department."