SANTA MONICA—Residents will still be able to tune in to City Council meetings on 89.9 FM KCRW after council members agreed to extend the city’s contract for an additional three years.
The Santa Monica Community College District, which owns KCRW, has been contracted to broadcast council meetings from 8 p.m. to midnight for more than 20 years. The current contract expires on June 30.
The council and the district settled on the three-year agreement, worth a total of $267,063, at a rate of $86,403 for the first year, $88,995 for the second year and $91,665 for the third year. The new rates are a three percent per year increase over the previous contract.
In its report to council members, city staff noted that the station was “sole provider of services that perform the intended function and meet the specialized needs of the city.” City staff also praised KCRW for being “a reliable source for the radio broadcasts of the meetings.”
KCRW is the only major public radio station in Santa Monica and has approximately 552,000 listeners each week in Los Angeles and Orange counties in addition to satellite stations across Southern California.
