HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CABLE-2011-12-06Cable Access Oversight Committee minutes
December 6, 2011
(as approved Jan. 17, 2012)
The PEGASYS Access Oversight Committee (AOC) met for a special meeting at 4:40 pm
on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011, in the PEGASYS studio, 612 W. Green St., Ithaca, NY.
Present: AOC members Wayles Browne, Mike Brutvan, Svante Myrick, Wies van Leuken,
chair Rich DePaolo; studio manager Lauren Stefanelli; Time Warner Cable (TWC) manager
Thomas Doheny.
0) Notes by W. Browne as AOC secretary.
1) Rich DePaolo called the meeting to order. He announced that video teachers Mike Levy
and Chris Sperry at Lehman Alternative Community School (LACS) will soon provide
programming. He hasn't yet reached other teachers in the school system.
2) Agenda Additions and/or Deletions: none.
3) Minutes of the Nov. 1, 2011 meeting: Moved by DePaolo, seconded by van Leuken,
unanimously approved with one change.
4) Public Comment: none.
5) AOC Resolution 11/1/2011 re Hours of Operation: discussion. DePaolo: Outstanding
issue of AOC asking TWC for 4 extra hours weekly of staff time; TWC did not approve our
request. AOC's understanding was that there is sufficient money for 24 hours /week.
T. Doheny: DePaolo's communication spoke of the studio manager's "contradictory
testimony on amount of hours" but I thought everyone knew there is money for 24 hours of
studio manager time. Important for AOC to understand: it's not that TWC can't afford longer
opening hours, but the funding is supposed to come from the municipalities and is insufficient
for longer opening.
L. Stefanelli: At the beginning of the franchise (2003) we were open 20 hours /week, but
then TWC reanalyzed my work and decided I could only give 16 studio opening hours plus 8
hours for administration and other services. But I'm happy to work with TWC and AOC to cover
whatever you decide.
DePaolo: Let the record show that you (Stefanelli) have said there's opportunity for more
studio opening time.
Stefanelli: Yes, sometimes I could let producers work Friday but other times I might be
doing something else.
Doheny: She's working extra time to fill open slots in the broadcast day with programming
as was requested by AOC - -this may become an issue soon. If we had no committee and no
franchise, TWC would have to playback whatever shows member of the public brought in. But
replays above 3 are more than we need to do under TWC regional rules.
DePaolo: So under the present arrangement municipalities in this county are paying for
something that elsewhere TWC pays for?
Doheny: Lauren clarified for me that filling open schedule slots takes about 2 hr. /week
extra. In'07 or'08 we met with councilwoman J. Dotson and Asst. City Attorney Pat Dunn, went
over the numbers and found there was money for 22 to 23 hours' worth of her time, and agreed to
a total of 24 hours.
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December 6, 2011
DePaolo: It still seems that we could ask for more hours based on Lauren's information to
us over a period.
S. Myrick: My recollection is that 24 hours was first intended to be production time, but
later that it was for administration plus services plus production, and the amount for production
could be somewhat adjusted.
Doheny: We have to watch out in this part of town. 30 minutes work before and 30 min.
after opening hours is reasonable. - We have not been able to address the funding issue. I see no
benefit in offering funding now that can't be offered 3 or 4 years from now. When we discussed
it in '07-08, studio time was in fact used slightly less than 16 hr /week.
M. Brutvan: But that was a historical low.
Doheny repeats the need for additional municipalities to contribute and the present 3 to put
in more money. Yes, we're charging fees to producers from outside the 3 municipalities, but $20
per 6 months is not enough.
DePaolo: Public access need not be gratis, but shouldn't be prohibitively expensive.
Myrick: What should the next agreement do? Increase fees from contributing
municipalities [DePaolo: no.] or increase fees from outside producers?
Doheny: I suggested $35 /month for outside producers but you all felt this was prohibitive.
Van Leuken: All 3 municipalities backed up our $20/6 mo. fee with a resolution.
Doheny: When the new franchise comes, maybe TWC won't provide a building any more.
This is the direction the last 3 franchises have been heading.
DePaolo: That'll be a subject for negotiation. We're not writing the new franchise here.
Doheny: The latest figures I have are that franchise fees cover almost 23 hours of Lauren's
time. We'll have new figures soon and can tell better. AOC passed a resolution for 28 hours...
[ Brutvan: 28 ? ?] 20 plus 8 for administration.
Myrick: It's not a reallocation, 20 plus 4?
Doheny: I asked the PSC [NY state Public Service Commission]... I concede that Lauren
led you to believe she could do 20 hours opening and the rest administration.
Brutvan: Administration includes playback?
Doheny: No, I figured playback separately, because we do have a legal obligation to do
playback. But without the AOC we'd follow our own rules and only do 3 plays of a show. AOC
can change rules and ask for more playbacks.
DePaolo: Not yet clear how much time the present extra playbacks take. When can we go
over hours and costs?
Doheny: I'm waiting for info now. Overriding point: who's getting hurt by having only 16
opening hours?
Brutvan: I asked for "Safe Harbor" late -night hours (for "adult content ") but couldn't get
them back after one season away from programming.
Doheny: "Safe Harbor" hours will have to take time away from something else.
DePaolo: Who has authority to approve a scheduling proposal? We could say TWC has
overstepped its bounds by saying without corroboration that Lauren's hours were insufficiently
funded and had to be changed. Wednesday afternoon hours may be good for producers [ Brutvan:
yes, they seem to be] but who is it that can decide that Lauren needs to do meeting broadcasts
Wednesday evenings?
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December 6, 2011
Doheny: The city pays us independently to broadcast meetings Wed. nights. If we can add
4 hours of funding, that strengthens our case for keeping Lauren as a fulltime TWC employee.
Early in the franchise, TWC and (then mayor) Alan Cohen discussed her and agreed she's
experienced and deserves to be kept.
Brutvan: I meant: why send Lauren to city meetings vs. pay a temp employee?
DePaolo: We're asked to change horses in midstream. We have only assumptions about
Lauren's use of time. Why change it now, vs. at the end of the current franchise?
Doheny: TWC looks at funding for its employees all the time.
DePaolo: Were the Wed. afternoon hours up to AOC to approve, or not?
Doheny: The problem is that you exceeded the 24 hours (recall the wording "subject to
funding ").
Myrick: Is the issue that we didn't include enough administrative time, or that we made a
counterproposal at all?
DePaolo: If we had made an alternative proposal keeping the Wed. eve. studio hours,
would that not have been a favorable response? The status quo isn't acceptable?
Doheny: Yes, the Wed. eve. schedule would prevent her from doing all the city work.
Sometimes the city calls a meeting 2 weeks in advance and our schedule is already set.
Van Leuken: Payment for city meetings is outside the 0.50 %?
Doheny: Yes. 40 -24 = 16 hours per week is Lauren's other (non - studio) work for TWC.
Van Leuken: We thought 4 hours of Lauren's administrative work could be done while the
studio is open.
Doheny: But I said no. I invite any of you to follow Lauren around.
Brutvan: Usually her time is pretty filled up when I'm here.
Myrick: Can you let us know in the next couple of months how many hours really are
possible?
DePaolo: We'll go over the figures at a meeting with Doheny - -to be set up.
Doheny: Lauren tries to be helpful but the business side of the operation is not hers... We
would not unilaterally impose a schedule.
Resolution: "Whereas, Time Warner Cable (TWC) has proposed a change in studio hours
so as to provide Wednesday afternoon hours, namely Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 5:30 pm
to 9:30 pm; Wednesday 1 pm to 5 pm; and
Whereas, AOC sees value in investigating the usefulness of adding afternoon hours;
Now therefore be it resolved, that AOC recommends a schedule of studio opening hours
for 2012 as follows: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm; Wednesday 1 pm to 5
pm.
Moved by Myrick, seconded by Brutvan.
Discussion: after a certain time let's request a report on Stefanelli's PEG - related
responsibilities.
Brutvan: friendly amendment: this proposed schedule will be in effect until the end of
April; we'll reconsider it in February or March. (Accepted). DePaolo: This will rescind the Nov.
1 resolution. (Accepted.) The resolution as amended:
"Whereas, Time Warner Cable (TWC) has proposed a change in studio hours so as to
provide Wednesday afternoon hours, namely Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 5:30 pm to 9:30
pm; Wednesday 1 pm to 5 pm; and
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December 6, 2011
Whereas, AOC sees value in investigating the usefulness of adding afternoon hours;
Now therefore be it resolved, that AOC recommends a schedule of studio opening hours for the
first four months of 2012 as follows: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm;
Wednesday 1 pm to 5 pm, and
Be it further resolved, that the resolution of Nov. 1, 2011 on opening hours is hereby rescinded."
Vote: 5 -0 in favor.
6) AOC Policy re: Minutes. Discussion. DePaolo (to Doheny): You can let us know your
intentions in connection with your statement at the Sept. 14 meeting, but we can't call it a
correction to the minutes. Offer a statement and we can append it to the minutes.
This policy met the approval of AOC.
7) Other business. Van Leuken and Brutvan repeated concerns (from last meeting) about
slippery, wet conditions and poor lighting immediately outside the entrance door to the studio.
Myrick: This is my last meeting. As Mayor of Ithaca I will find a replacement liaison
person from Common Council. Suggestions?
Van Leuken: Regular attendance is important. We need someone to assure connections
with the City, even if he /she can be here for only part of the meeting.
8) Next Meeting: Tuesday Jan. 17, 2012, 4:30 p.m.
11) Adjourned 6:00.
Contact information for AOC members:
Svante Myrick, Common Council liaison [from 1.1.2012: mayor] <smyrick @cityofithaca.org>
Wayles Browne, secretary <ewb2@cornell.edu>
Rich DePaolo, chair <rd @richdepaolo.com>
Wies van Leuken, vice chair <pmv4@,cornell.edu>
Michael Brutvan <noidea @lightlink.com >, <mbrutvan @mac.com>
[Current] Web site for the PEGASYS studio, with program schedules:
http:// pegasys.webstarts.com/index.httnl
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