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Home My WebLink AboutMN-CABLE-2008-12-15Cable Access Oversight Committee minutes (approved Jan. 13, 2009) The Cable Access Oversight Committee (AOC) met at the PEG Studio on Monday, Dec. 15, 2008, at 5:15 pm. Present: AOC members Will Burbank (chair), Wayles Browne, Jennifer Dotson, Trish O'Rourke, Wies van Leuken; studio manager Lauren Stefanelli; Rich DePaolo, resident of the Town of Ithaca (and member of the Town Board). 0. Notes by W. Browne as AOC secretary. 1. The minutes of the Nov. 11, 2008 meeting were approved with some changes. 2. No comments from the public. 3. Member reports. W. Burbank posted the agenda for this meeting at City Hall. L. Stefanelli posted it at the PEG studio. Burbank will get in touch with Gary Stewart of Cornell (requesting him to refer to Channel 16 explicitly as Educational Access channel 16, see previous minutes). [Stewart did so in his subsequent newspaper columns.] W. van Leuken will draft a similar letter to Cooperative Extension for Burbank to sign and send. J. Dotson: city departments are not comfortable with letting AOC use their City of Ithaca letterheads for AOC's letters. Burbank: we'll have to create our own, mentioning the Chair's address. Van Leuken: the default signal on channel 16 is Ithaca College's view of the lake - -which is somewhat monotonous. Stefanelli: In fact, no user of 16 agreed to provide a default signal. The lake view is the only continuous signal we have. IC could provide other signals from satellite dishes it has: I'll discuss this with IC representatives at our meeting Dec. 16. They could provide Classic Arts Showcase or the Free Speech Network, or perhaps the NASA space exploration signal. Moved by Van Leuken, seconded by Dotson, adopted unanimously: the AOC Secretary should write to Stefanelli, asking her to state to Ithaca College TV our interest in CAS or FSN or NASA being the default on Channel 16. [The letter was sent the same evening, and Stefanelli undertook to discuss it with ICTV director Peter Johanns. See appendix.] Burbank asked Stefanelli about the reports of possible change from local to statewide franchise of public access in California. Stefanelli: If this is passed in CA, it would supersede local franchises. This is a danger in New York State too, though no legislation is pending in Albany. Van Leuken: one city in California has asked for PEG channels back for its own use. 4. Studio manager's report. Stefanelli: will provide a written report. Cris McConkey wants to get information to producers on how to webcast their programs. 2 or 3 producers are doing this now, each one in a different manner. One IC student who knew a way to do it is now in Taiwan. Cris has sent an e-mail to several producers on the topic (which Stefanelli will forward to AOC members). Capital Budget: some items have arrived, and some others are being shipped! Lehman Alternatives Community School (LACS) will thus get the equipment it needs. Stefanelli reminded members of the Holiday Party on Wednesday Dec. 17. Concerning a replacement for her while she is on vacation: one of the city videographers will be hired. (AOC members greeted this news with enthusiasm.) She will be training him in January. She plans to be here all the time until May. She finds she can prepare almost everything in advance for absences, so that the replacement would need to be on the job only 1 hour per week. Ideally there would be a second person being trained too. She meets Dec. 16 with the ICTV director, as mentioned; also perhaps with the Ithaca City School District board. The issue that the ICSD feels concern about is that County Legislature meetings and School Board meetings shouldn't collide with each other on Government Access channel 15. One possible resolution is for School Board meetings to be broadcast on Educational Access channel 16 on Tuesday nights. To a question about how School Board meetings are broadcast: the same videographer does it as does City meetings, even though the City uses several cameras and varies the shots, whereas the ICSD seems to use 2 cameras without moving them. Rich DePaolo asks why we supply equipment to other locations than the studio. Stefanelli: TWC provides equipment to schools under agreement. It's consumer -grade equipment and exhausts its life quickly. The video teacher from LACS comes to request equipment for making programs which are to be shown on PEG channels. 5. New business: Trish O'Rourke cannot continue as an AOC member, though she can give us legal explanations when needed. There will thus be a vacancy among the 3 seats that are held by City residents. Members and the Studio Manager will consider possible candidates. 6. Next meeting: Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009, 4:30 in the PEG Studio. 7. Adjourned 6:30. Subject: AOC letter - -for meeting with IC From: "E Wayles Browne" <ewb2 @cornell.edu> Date: Mon, December 15, 2008 8:20 pm To: " Stefanelli, Lauren" <lauren.stefanelli @twcable.com> ACCESS OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE Will Burbank, Chair <willburbank @twcny.rr.com >, 132 Glenside Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850 Wayles Browne, secretary <ewb2 @cornell.edu> Jennifer Dotson <jdotson @cityofithaca.org> Trish O'Rourke <trish @ithacalaw.com> Wies van Leuken <pmv4 @cornell.edu> and <WIESVL @cityofithaca.org> December 15, 2008 Ms. Lauren Stefanelli, Time Warner Cable access studio manager Dear Lauren: The Access Oversight Committee has noticed that the default picture shown on Educational Channel 16 is the Ithaca College camera offering a continuous view of the lake. It is there at all times when there is no other program. However we understand that IC could easily supply a signal received by one of its dish antennas. We discussed this at our meeting today, Dec. 15, and voted to let you know that we would be delighted if the default signal on Channel 16 could be the Free Speech Network, or else the Classic Arts Showcase, or even the NASA space missions program, all of which we have seen and which IC could easily provide to the access studio on a continuous basis. The more value to viewers the PEG channels have, the more likely they are to be maintained in their present position on the cable service, i.e., Channels 13, 15, and 16. Yours sincerely, Wayles Browne, secretary for the Access Oversight Committee Contact information for AOC members: Will Burbank, chair <willburbankktwcny.rr.com> Wayles Browne, secretary <ewb2(cr�,cornell.edu> Jennifer Dotson, Common Council liaison <jdotson@cityofithaca.org> Trish O'Rourke <trish&ithacalaw.com> Wies van Leuken <pmv4@,comell.edu> and <WIESVL@cityofithaca.org> Web site for the PEGASYS studio, with program schedules: http://www.pefzasysaccess.org/ studio location: 612 West Green Street, Ithaca, New York mailing address: 519 West State Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 phone (607) 272 -7272 fax (607) 277 -5404 PEGASYS staff: Lauren Stefanelli Lauren. stefanelligtwcable. com