HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CABLE-2009-12-08I
Cable Access Oversight Committee minutes Dec. 8, 2009 (as approved Jan. 12, 20 10)
The Cable Access Oversight Committee (AOC) met at 4:45 pm on Tuesday, Dec. 8,
2009, in the PEGASYS studio, 612 W. Green St.
Present: AOC members Wayles Browne, Mike Brutvan, Rich DePaolo, Jennifer Dotson,
Wies van Leuken; studio manager Lauren Stefanelli.
0) Notes by W. Browne as AOC secretary.
1) Rich DePaolo called the meeting to order.
2) The minutes of the Nov. 17, 2009 meeting were approved with no changes.
3) Comments from members of the public: none.
4) Member reports:
a. W. Browne has submitted to the City Clerk the AOC's response to the "Survey
regarding Various Boards and Committees of the City of Ithaca."
b. Re Quarterly Franchise Fee Reports from the City of Ithaca, Town of Ithaca, and
Village of Cayuga Heights: R. DePaolo today requested information from the Town of
Ithaca; for the City of Ithaca, we still need updates.
c. M. Brutvan is working on a survey of TV -show producers; hopes to present it to the
January meeting.
d. Responses from Time Warner Cable (TWC) to the ADC's resolutions passed at the
Aug. 4 and Sept. 8 meetings: presented by Studio Manager L. Stefanelli in writing, as
follows.
"Time Warner has responses to the ADC's recent inquiries:
1. Request that an alternate studio space be designated in case the
current studio needs to be closed for any future emergency.
Response: We will use available PEG staff time to work on a
solution.
2. Request an internet workstation or internet access at the PEGASYS
center for producer use.
Response: No requirement for the provision for free internet
services exists in the franchise. Although a computer could be
purchased from PEG capital, the internet service itself is an
operating, not a capital, expense, and no budget is available for
it. Time Warner is willing to consider creating a fee - for -use
internet station at the PEGASYS center, however PEG capital would
need to be used for the computer and fee - for -use software.
3. Request Saturday hours for make -up studio hours.
2
Response: Saturday is not an option because of limited staff
availability.
4. Request for May through November report on the 15 cent per
subscriber capital fund.
Request for reports on the collection and expenditure of PEG usage
fees by residents outside the participating municipalities.
Response: As provided in the franchise, financial reporting will be
made available in the form of an annual report. The report for 2009
will be available no later than February 2010."
Discussion of these points followed:
On 1. The AOC felt that such an alternate space could, for example, be in the 517 W.
State St. building if PEGASYS could get permission to use it. The text of the resolution
stated "manage outages" and we need a plan for doing that, including notifying producers
where they need to go. Studio Manager Stefanelli will write a document based on
experience with the summer 2009 outage.
On 2. Apparently the newly set -up "operating account" covers "non- capital equipment"
but not a "service" like internet access. But AOC could call access a "tool" for creating
producers' shows. The 2010 capital budget contains $2000 in undesignated funds. We
could have a wireless terminal to be used within the building by laptops. Stefanelli will
get a price quote for this.
On 3. --
On 4. PEG usage fees paid by producers who live outside the 3 "participating
municipalities" (outside the City, Town of Ithaca, and Village of Cayuga Heights) total
about $550 this year plus $2000 from previous years. Expenditure this year: about $1500;
in future years: $1200 -1500 per year.
AOC will update the yearly schedule to reflect when reports will be available.
5. Studio Manager's report.
- Maintenance and repair: nothing new this month.
- Updated Subscriber Fee Report (10.15 per subscriber ") and
- updated Income and Expense Statement of Usage Fees (paid by producers outside City,
Town of Ithaca, Cayuga Heights) will be provided for the Feb. meeting.
- Report on uses of studio TV equipment vs. portable TV equipment that is lent out to
producers: also for the Feb. meeting.
- List and number of producers with regular and occasional programs: can be put in
annual report for the Feb. meeting.
- Report on use of the Fall 2009 extra Friday hours: this coming Friday will be the last.
They were fairly well utilized, not as much as they might have been. [These extra
opening hours were in compensation for the period when the studio was unexpectedly
closed in summer 2009.]
Discussion: AOC is disappointed with the lack of progress over the past month in getting
TWC engineers to install equipment in the new "one- person" studio.
6. Old Business.
- Stefanelli has asked for AOC's input into revised Cablecast Rules and revised
Producer's Handbook. AOC asks her to make draft revisions, showing what she would
change. She will begin doing this and then present the proposed revisions at the Jan. or
Feb. meetings.
- Communication with producers, e -mail contact list: AOC asks Stefanelli to send e -mail
addresses to M. Brutvan. Producers have already been informed that their contact
information can be given out.
- Publicity for PEGASYS programming, so that Ithacans are aware of it: the program
schedule is on the website [below], but it's not on the Preview Guide on TWC channel 98
[update: there is a line for it on this TV Guide channel, also for channel 15 = Government
Access and for channel 16 = Educational Access, but these three lines carry only the
words "To be Announced. "]
Producers could be encouraged to write to the Ithaca Journal asking it to print the PEG
schedules.
If TWC's subscribers told TWC they wanted to see PEG schedules on Preview Guide, it
might be effective.
Can we enlist Educational and Government channel users to support our call to TWC for
this?
We could invite Prof. Peter Johanns from Video Production, Ithaca College, to come to
our Jan. or Feb. meeting, or we could visit him at IC (and ask for a tour of the IC TV
facility). Stefanelli will get in touch with Johanns.
7. New business:
- Possibilities for creating an on- demand web archive of our PEG programs? For next
meeting.
- Outreach to under - represented groups in the Ithaca community? M. Brutvan will inform
the Human Services e -mail list about PEG trainings for new producers.
- Getting English - language news programs from Deutsche Welle = German Radio /TV?
For future meeting.
- Pegmedia.org services (website that accepts video files and makes them available to
PEG producers around the country). For future meeting.
- Priority Repair Schedule for TV equipment: for January meeting.
8. Next meeting: Tuesday Jan. 12, 2010, 4:30. Place: PEGASYS studio.
9. Meeting adjourned 6:10.
Contact information for AOC members:
Jennifer Dotson, Common Council liaison <jdotson&cityofithaca.org> (replaced as of Jan. 12,
2010 by Svante Myrick <smyrick @cityofithaca.org >)
Wayles Browne, secretary <ewb2@cornell.edu>
Rich DePaolo <rd @richdepaolo.com>
Wies van Leuken <pmv4 -,cornell.edu> and <WIESVL(c-r,cityofithaca.org>
Michael Brutvan <noidea @lightlink.com >, <mbrutvan @mac.com>
Web site for the PEGASYS studio, with program schedules: http: / /www.pegasysaccess.org/
El
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. studio manager Lauren Stefanelli lauren.stefanelli&twcable.com