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Home My WebLink AboutMN-CABLE-2015-10-05City of Ithaca Cable Access Oversight Committee (AOC) minutes Monday, October 5, 2015, 4:30 PM Meeting Room, PEGASYS Access Center, 519 West Green Street, Ithaca, NY As approved December 14, 2015 Present: chair Rich DePaolo, AOC members Wayles Browne, vice-chair Wies van Leuken, studio manager Lauren Stefanelli. Absent (ill): Common Council liaison J.R. Clairborne. 01. Call to Order by DePaolo at 4:36. 02. Agenda Additions and/or Deletions: none. 03. Public Comments: none. 04. Approval Minutes of the August 31, 2015 Meeting: approved with one change, 3 to 0. 05. Access Studio Coordinator Report a. 2015 Budget – Progress Report. See Report (attached). AOC expressed serious concerns about the recurrent problems within TWC in expending monies from the account that TWC had set up last year to streamline PEG receipts and expenditures. The Committee also regretted that A/V Corp. was unable to find parts to repair the (20- year-old) malfunctioning studio camera; fortunately the other 2 studio cameras are still operating. For Stefanelli, this is OK as a stopgap but not a good long-term situation. If the studio camera cannot be repaired, the old fleet of cameras will have to be replaced by digital cameras, because the 3 cameras in the studio have to be compatible. b. PEGASYS’ Facility Improvements – Progress Report. See Report (attached). The AOC looked over the quote for exterior building signs, and decided to approve the larger sign (with the text PEGASYS and a transparent door covering a corkboard, so that information can be posted on the corkboard) but not an additional smaller sign that had been proposed. Motion moved by Van Leuken, seconded by DePaolo: RESOLVED, that the AOC approves the outdoor corkboard, including installation and 1 sign permit, not to exceed $750. Passed 3-0. c. Schedule of PEGASYS Studio closings. PEGASYS will be closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the first 2 weeks in early November during Stefanelli’s vacation. Mike Cederstrom will work on the Mondays and Thursdays during that period. Substitutes are paid from Usage Fees. See attached Report. 06. Member Reports a. Publicity. Van Leuken asked for input on additional ways that the services of PEGASYS could be publicized. The Committee will explore having this information included on the websites of the participating municipalities and compiling an address list of churches and community organizations in the area for outreach. b. Business Hours and Staffing Levels - Annual Review. AOC could not decide on this, due to lack of relevant information from TWC. DePaolo will let David Whalen of Time Warner Cable know that the franchise requires AOC to consider this topic. It will also be part of ongoing negotiations with TWC on the new franchise agreement. c. Usage Fees - Annual Review. These are now $40 per half year for individual users who are outside the three Participating Municipalities (= outside the City, the Town and the Village); and $100 per half year for organizations outside these three. After brief consideration the AOC decided not to change the usage fees. d. PEGASYS' Access Rules. Van Leuken asked for input of the Committee on certain sections of the PEGASYS Policies and Procedures Manual that deal with the AOC’s responsibilities and about the wording of the Manual’s Cablecast Agreement. DePaolo asked that she mail him a red-line version of this Agreement so that he can discuss it with the City Attorney. 07. Old Business a. Franchise Agreement. DePaolo: the Negotiating Committee met last month and reviewed the|AOC’s concerns. b. 2015/2nd Quarter Franchise Fee Report from City and Town. Both reports are due. DePaolo reported that the Town’s report is in the (E)mail. 08. New Business a. Charter/TWC/Brighthouse Network merger. DePaolo understands that in New York such a proposed merger would need approval not only from the FCC but also from the New York State Public Service Commission. The Common Council of the City of Ithaca will have an opportunity, as it did in 2014 when a TWC/Comcast merger was under consideration, to adopt a resolution concerning the merger. b. Van Leuken will notify J.R. Clairborne that the AOC is in need of a city resident as a replacement for AOC member Michael Brutvan, who no longer lives in the City. 09. Next meeting: Monday, November 23, 4:30, PEGASYS Access Center. 10. Adjournment: 6:10. Notes by W. Browne as AOC secretary. ===== Contact information for AOC members: City of Ithaca: Wayles Browne, secretary <ewb2@cornell.edu> City of Ithaca: J. R. Clairborne, Common Council liaison 2014-5 <jclairbo@cityofithaca.org> Town of Ithaca: Rich DePaolo, chair <rd@richdepaolo.com> Village of Cayuga Heights: Wies van Leuken, vice chair <pmv4@cornell.edu> 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.stefanelli@twcable.com> October 2015 Access Studio Coordinator Report - Building Improvements  The interior renovation project is mostly completed. The wall repair and painting is done. The office carpet and baseboards were installed this past weekend. Left to do are baseboards in my office and entryway, the awards wall and the studio carpet [which has been ordered].  We had a quote done over the summer for a couple of exterior building signs to help visitors find our entrance door. We were informed that such signage would have to come from the PEGASYS equipment and facilities fund, as it is a department-specific improvement. - Equipment and Facility Maintenance and Repair  STUDIO: Our studio camera 1 was unable to be repaired. The repair company, A/V Corp., looked for weeks for parts for this 20 year old camera but was unsuccessful. Currently, they are trying to see if they can fix the camera’s power problem themselves. If they are unsuccessful, we will need to consider replacing the studio cameras, which means complete transition from analog to to digital in our studio. I will try to get a consultant to help us understand what would be involved. Upgrading our studio to digital has been the biggest long-term equipment cost facing us; accordingly, we have kept our equipment expenses behind our collections so that we can plan for this upgrade when it is finally upon us. I am still hoping that they are able to fix camera 1. - Equipment Fund Update  I am trying to get the other items on our equipment plan through our purchasing system. Something about the coding developed to let our equipment fund be counting monies collected against monies spent in one account is creating a real problem in allowing the accounting people to get both purchase orders and payments approved, however I am working on it. - Institutional Access  Ithaca High School had more problems with their live video signal for their Board of Education meetings. Their modulator power switch and their INET connection cable both broke. Consequently, they missed another live broadcast. Our engineer made a house call and fixed both problems and they transmitted their last meeting successfully. - Hours of Operation  I will be on vacation the first 2 weeks of November and my usual temp, Mike Cederstrom, will be covering for me at PEGASYS. The usage fees will just cover having him here on Mondays and Thursdays while I am away. He will also be doing City budget meetings in October and council meetings while I am away, covered by a separate Franchise fee arrangement.