Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CABLE-2011-09-14Cable Access Oversight Committee minutes Sept. 14, 2011 (as approved Oct. 4, 2011) The PEGASYS Access Oversight Committee (AOC) met at 4:50 pm on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011, in the PEGASYS studio, 612 W. Green St., Ithaca, NY. Present: AOC members Wayles Browne, Mike Brutvan, chair Rich DePaolo; studio manager Lauren Stefanelli. Excused: AOC member Wies van Leuken. 0) Notes by W. Browne as AOC secretary. 1) Rich DePaolo called the meeting to order. 2) Agenda Additions and /or Deletions: none. 3) Minutes of the Aug. 9, 2011 meeting were approved with a minor correction. 4) Public Comment: none. 5) Ithaca College report: none. 6) Member reports. a. Use of staff time for Production and Transmission Services: no report, pending update from the City Attorney. 7) Access Studio Manager's Report. Presented in writing (attached). a. Time Warner Cable (TWC)'s Maintenance and Repair Report. Stefanelli: A change in studio opening hours is proposed beginning Jan. 2012, which would have Wednesday hours 1 to 5 pm instead of the present 5:30 to 9:30 pm. AOC will consider this proposed change. b. Updated Subscriber ( "PEG ") Fee report (the 1.15 "). TWC manager Thomas Doheny has asked Stefanelli to relay to AOC that TWC's accountants have figured out the problem with the figures previously submitted to AOC [in which there were negative amounts for certain months], but TWC's attorneys insist on having anyone who sees the new figures sign a non - disclosure agreement. Stefanelli's understanding was that not even the entire AOC membership would be allowed to see them. Doheny had expressed a willingness to talk to AOC when he became free, and since he had been seen in the vicinity, AOC invited him in to the meeting room. He asked rhetorically why the AOC would want to know exact figures about the $.15 /subscriber /month receipts; aren't the estimates of $179,000 (total since the beginning of the present franchise) that he and Stefanelli had previously provided sufficient? He said further that only the City Attorney would be a person at the proper level to see the exact figures. "AOC's job is not to audit Time Warner but to facilitate PEG." The AOC, seeing its job as overseeing the spending of available money for PEG, felt astonishment that a reputable firm would not want to explicitly correct inaccurate information that it had previously furnished, and referred Doheny to section 15.3.2. of the Franchise Agreement with the City of Ithaca, which reads: "Access Facilities and Equipment Fund. During the term of the Franchise, the Franchisee shall collect from each directly billed subscriber in the City $0.15 per month for the construction and 2 purchase of access facilities and equipment for the studio. Said $0.15 shall be a line item on said subscribers bills. The Participating Municipalities shall approve the timing, use and amount of PEG access equipment and facilities to be acquired each year over the term of the Franchise. The City shall be responsible for establishing an Access Oversight Committee responsible for the aforementioned decisions. The voting strength on said Committee shall mirror that of the subscriber base of the municipalities, but at no time shall the City's representation on this Committee fall below 50 %. A representative of the Franchisee shall serve as a non - voting, ex- officio member of this Committee." If AOC approves, it must know what it is approving. But Mr. Doheny stated that he does not read this section in the same way as the AOC. 8) Old Business: a. Updated Quarterly Franchise Fee Reports from City, Town & Village: none at present. 9) New Business: a. Producers' input on equipment needs. Brutvan will consult with Stefanelli on needs he has observed. 10) Next Meeting: Tuesday Oct. 4, 4:30. 11) Adjourned 5:45. Contact information for AOC members: Svante Myrick, Common Council liaison <smyrick @cityofithaca.org> Wayles Browne, secretary <ewb2gcornell.edu> Rich DePaolo, chair <rd @richdepaolo.com> Wies van Leuken, vice chair <pmv4gcom ll.edu> Michael Brutvan <noidea @lightlink.com >, <mbrutvan @mac.com> [Current] Web site for the PEGASYS studio, with program schedules: http://pegasys.webstarts.com/index.html 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.stefanelliktwcable.com To: AOC September 2011 Access Studio Coordinator Report - Institutional Access The ICTV has resumed for fall 2011. They started their season with a special live Ithaca Mayoral Debate on Sept. 10. Live football games, including the Cortaca Jug, are scheduled all season in addition to regular programming. - Building Repair and Maintenance Report We had yet another AC problem in our building in early September. A faulty circuit made the heat exchanger fan cycle continuously, burning out a capacitor. Both parts have been replaced and the system is working normally again. Programming and production operations were not compromised. - Programming Highlights A new producer, Sonya Hicks, has started 2 series: a talk show and a religious sermon show. Several artists have competed short subjects of video experimentation. Tony Ingraham has been doing short reports on the effects of Hurricane Irene on Tompkins County. - PEGASYS Hours New hours are proposed for January 2012: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday 5:30- 9:30pm 5:30- 9:30pm 1:00- 5:OOpm 5:30- 9:30pm The total hours remain the same. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday hours remain the same. The only change is to Wednesday hours, which are shifted to afternoon instead of evening. Reasons for this proposal are two -fold: 1. Offering daytime hours would offer more "choice" to individual producers who prefer these hours, plus non - profit organizations whose staff have regular workday hours. 2. The access coordinator would take over videography of city meetings, which are held Wednesday nights. Having additional PEG duties in non - operational hours would help ensure that a full -time access position is maintained.