Town Meeting approved Article 28, a $53,690 appropriation from the PEG access cable-related fund to purchase and install a replacement HyperCaster broadcast server for Northborough Cable Access Television (NCAT).

Dana Volk, the NCAT director, said the current server — purchased as a flagship component of the public-access operation nearly a decade ago — is approaching end-of-life, vendor support will end in early 2027, and failure would interrupt live municipal-meeting coverage and on-demand archives. The replacement unit provides inputs and outputs for three channels, manages streaming to Verizon and Charter, powers on-demand archives and supports the community bulletin board and signage.

Volk said NCAT is funded through a share of residential cable-subscription revenue (PEG funds) and that this appropriation carries no property-tax impact. Appropriations and Financial Planning committees recommended approval unanimously. The director said the vendor provides service plans and that the purchase will allow NCAT to continue 24/7 coverage online and over cable.