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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CABLE-1991-02-04 t. (-- 2/5/91 SCANNED Minutes Cable Access Advisory Board Feb. 4 meeting Present : Jim Blizzard Richard Gray Cathy Johnson Mary Jo Dudley Eloise Greene Lauren Stefanelli, ACC Peter Hess , Cable Commission Missing: Floyd Johnson Public : David Lynch Bill McCormick Convened at 7 : 15pm At Mary Jo' s suggestion, the three public comment sections in the agenda were reduced to one, and order of items changed. Minutes approved with one revision . 1 . Jim initiated discussion of minute-taking. It was agreed all around that documents including the ACCreport, the Cable Commission report , the minutes of last AAB meeting, and any committee reports (either complete or in progress) be provided to the AAB chair at least 10 days prior to next AAB meeting. The chair will forward those items together to the City Clerk for duplication and mailing to the AAB members . This is in order that members can review documents prior to meeting for more efficient use of meeting time . No one objected to Jim using electronic recorder when it was his turn to take minutes . 2 . ACC report A. IC in compliance on producer forms and presently on sponsor format . B. Floyd Johnson was sent letter with deadline of 1/15 for response due to his having missed ten of past fifteen meetings . While he told Lauren he intended to attend future meetings including 2/4 , he was not present . AAB voted to remove Floyd on basis of lack of attendance , As he was ACC appointment , Lauren will communicate . Additionally, the Board RESOLVED: Three consecutive meeting absences without notice constitutes grounds for removal from the Cable Access Advisory Board. C . Replacement being sought for J. Cuevas access employee position . 13 candidates interviewed by Lauren, Mary Jo and Jim Blizzard. Selection will be made presently . D. In response to AAB' s written request , ACC will not proceed with capital spending until a procedure for spending is established. E. Dealing with access TV content vis a vis viewer .� �►x complaints . A situation badly handled two weeks ago precipitated this . Lauren suggested a standard letter to the complaining customer . Mayor suggested AAB develop a document tht could be sent , AAB suggests caller' s name/address be taken for response to be sent . (There is ACC policy on handling viewer complaints . Lauren will circulate copy of this policy .) Jim Blizzard and Peter Hess (and possibly members of public) will draft a letter . F. Lauren distributed quarterly report of Oct-Dec . 3 , Cable Commission Report . Peter said capital spending procedure was issue of last meeting. 4 . Public comment David Lynch will to participate in access stuff . Thinks most people unaware of access' s value and would like to see access promoted. Bill McCormick A. Cablecast crunch: need temporary solution such as use ch . 53 for some playback B. Broaden mandate of content complaints committee C . Wants producers to be anonymous when requested D. New parking restrictions prohibit parking by volunteers before 5pm. All parking at 612 access building is being used by ACC employees , fly 5 . Peter Hess nominated, voted new AAB Chair . Appreciation was extended to Mary Jo for her service as Chair . 6 . Brief discussion of Advisory Board duties/responsibilities . Noted that proposed changes in wording make for more proactiveness , specifically that ACC consult the AAB in advance regarding any changes it proposes to make in access policies or operation . 7 , Jim Blizzard is new ombudsman . 8 . Capital equipment budgeting. Jim distributed a four-page proposal (items #1 , 2 , 4 and 5 substantially addressed at meeting) that included temporary settlement using some of 1991 franchise fee to enable additional channels , Eloise said the costs were never determined because a satisfactory (to AAB) equipment configuration for an expandable multi-channel system was not determined. For ideas about what to do, a tour of the ' hub' with engineer Joe Powers was agreed upon; this will take place Monday 2/11 or Thursday 2/14 at 4 :30 . Lauren will confirm time. 9 . Jim would like meetings to extend longer to accomplish more . Board felt two meetings/month preferable to longer meetings , or, more committees to tackle specific things . w.. .rte...rat:v.a:x_..v.+.......•z".. 1::__ ...1�]..i: x.,...,tvh....:."a. ...._... . ._. .. .a..t....a.,-a. _..V:... .r. ctt.S__...0a. .-......_...Y._.. .v. Agenda for March meeting 1 . Parking issue - Rick Gray will explore 2 . Discussion of Advisory Board Duties/Responsibilities proposal 3 . Report of content committee expanded to include aspects of complaint procedure including producer anonymity . 4 . Further capital/channels discussion Minutes submitted by Eloise Greene. addendum: list of AAB members enclosure : flow chart from Eloise for a four-channel system (channel 13 plus 3 more) , orig. submitted July ' 90 . Peter Hess (chair) - 111 W. Jay St . , Ithaca 272-1831 Jim Blizzard - 44 E. Miller Rd. , Ithaca 272-7563 Richard Gray - 302 Utica St . , Ithaca 272-2628 Cathy Johnson - 616 N. Cayuga St . , Ithaca 273-8488 Eloise Greene - RD 1 , Box 244 , Spencer 14883 273-5547 or ICB-TV 274-3244 Lauren Stefanelli - ACC, 612 W. State St . , Ithaca 272-7272 • • ,.c Subcommittee Report 2/4/91 ADVISORY BOARD DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES "The Advisory Board . .." [FA, p. 19] The Advisory Board was established under Section 14.9 of the 1988 Franchise Agreement between the City of Ithaca and American Community Cablevision. ". ..broad purview over. . .access" The Board has broad purview over all matters related to the Public, Educational and Governmental [Sc.14 title] access channels and services provided under the Franchise Agreement [Sc.15 =I-NET] in the access-related Sections 14, 15 and passim. The Board serves both the City's cable commission, and the cable company's community access department. ".. .primary mechanism for community input" For both, the Board acts as the primary mechanism for community input regarding access matters. ". . .review and monitoring of access" To each, the Board also has particular duties and responsibilities related to the Board's main function, the review and monitoring of access policy and operation. How the Board Serves the Cable Company Under the Franchise Agreement, American Community Cablevision bears sole financial and administrative responsibility for access channels and services. With the consent of the City's cable commission, the company manages access operations "in order to develop and [Stated purpose promote . . . programming . . .for the from preamble (cable) system's access channels and FA 14.1, 11.1-2] institutional services." C To best accomplish that goal, the company has undertaken: "...independent public review" [FA 14.9,1ine 1 ] (1) to support the independent public review of access policies and monitoring of operating [11. 19-24 ] practices, (2) to consult with the City, in advance, on all decisions regarding access policy and operation, including equipment purchases (3) therefore, to report relevant information about operation of access on a timely basis. To avoid the sometimes acrimonious controversies under the old Franchise, American Community Cablevision supported creation of the Advisory Board [FA 14.9, p.19]. ". . . the company's primary source of advice" [line 1: "support American Community Cablevision has undertaken the maintenance"] to maintain and consult the Board as the company's primary source of advice in [i.e. , the only access matters. source mentioned in the FA] "... consults the Board in advance" Because the Advisory Board performs an access oversight function for the City cable commission, the company consults the Board in advance regarding any changes it proposes to make in access policies or operation. • • • • • . 1(1:A • • C'Mi CPO t Qv Cyr %V A1,4 tTi N4• lt�P1X A -F�q ,JCk(S ) F �} reev�e� t' • S�ct�oN 4 �1ccess GK4•4N CZ.S ■ 4:1 S. vac - s f/he. C(.z) akd (3) C. EQUIPMENT ( 1 ) Local Programming Eguipuient. In instances, as set forth in Appendix ( 0) , where the use of local origination equipment is shared with access, this equipment shall be made available to access users free of charge at such times as the facilities are open and where the equipment is not being utilized for local origination productions. All local programming equipment shall remain the property of ACC but shall be made available for access use by the City of - Ithaca, local institutions and Jo residents and surrounding ACC System residents. ( 2 ) Public, Governmental and Educational Access GEri ERA L Equipment . New public, governmental and educational t r access equipment ( PEG) with a purchase value of V� � $165, 000 shall be purchased by ACC for additions to existing access equipment inventc:y listed in ffz-0CE=S S Appendix ( E) . ACC shall prepare an equipment Es7w31.1..sweD purchase list for City approval within sixty (60) fli s r r days or the receipt of the Franchise. . All A� esc equipment purchased shall be new and shall be 20 purchased and installed by March 1, 1989 . ( 3) Access Equipment Ownership and Availability. All access equipment shall remain the property of ACC but shall be made available for access use by the City of Ithaca, local institutions and residents and surrounding ACC system residents . Or. . ANNQilt an average annual basis ACC has agreed to provide FU N n(N( 2% of Gross City Revenues for capital PEG access • AGRGEYA \3(-.. equipment replacement and expansion: Any future access equipment replacement and expansion commitments that are made by ACC to municipalities served by the same headend as the City of Ithaca, will be deducted to a floor of one percent of .gross City revenues . All access equipment shall be • available to access users on a first priority basis before local origination users. ( 4 ) Equipment Maintenance. PEG, municipal access and local origination equipment will be maintained and/or replaced by ACC in a manner consistent with good operating practice. Maintenance of that 4 equipment will be done on site, or at any ACC facility, or at a manufacturer 's repair facility in • a reasonable timely manner . D. ACC shall maintain in its local programming studios in the City of Ithaca the equipment specified in (B) above. -16- • &Waft • Mailing Address: n j bdt . PG.rytIx 519 W. State Street C�gBL ,�.: Ithaca, N.Y. 14850 AMERICAN COMMUNITY CABLEVISION Itfldld, IN.T. 14ZS 607-272-7272 "Television for. Tompkins County" 1')/e� -tt' r 6°1 e ACCESS CAPITAL SPENDING PROCEDURE �k - 7A 1. ACC will actively seek input from volunteers, the Access Advisory Board, and governmental and educational access users on capital spending for PEG access. Such input will be sought at regular intervals, with a publicly announced deadline. Suggestions regarding desired equipment functions, as well as specific types of equipment, are welcome. Advice from the Access Advisory Board on priorities for equipment spending is also welcome. 2. ACC will develop a spending plan(s) based on this input. The plan(s) will be made public after completion. 3. Individuals or groups who feel that their needs were not adequately met by the plan may make requests / suggestions, which will be considered for the following year's capital plan. ACCESS CAPITAL SPENDING TIMELINE FOR 1991 • 1. ACC will develop 'a 'spending plan within .-the first quarter of '= 1991 to address the problem of accomodating . a-dd-itional ''access channels. This plan will be based on public'.input received in 1990 [see 1990 Capital Plan, Sec. ,_ 1] . ACC will make this plan public after its completion. 2. ACC will implement the first quarter capital plan, and determine remainin: capital funds for PEG access for 1991. 3. ACC will accept input from the public and from the Access Advisory Board for recommended uses and priorities for remaining 1991 capital funds through 6/30/91. 4. ACC will develop a second capital spending plan by 10/1/91, which will be made public upon completion. 5. Individuals . or groups who feel that their needs were not adequately met by the plan may make requests / suggestions, which will be considered for 1992's. capital plan. Subcommittee Report 2/4/91 011 • Capital Equipment Budgeting, In response to the request of the Cable Commission (Dec.1990 Mtg) and transmitted by the City representative to the Advisory Board (Jan. 6, 1991 Mtg) Barbara presented ACC's proposed procedure for the purchase of access equipment and I related the CAAB's problems with the way equipment purchases were handled this year and with the ACC proposal for the future. The commission responded with the following resolution: The Ithaca Cable Commission requests the Access Advisory Board to develop a proposed procedure (end timeline) for future access capital spending. • Upon receipt and review of this proposal,the commission will adopt it and work to achieve its implementation. [ exerpt: City rep's "Report to CAAB on December Ithaca Cable Commission Mtg," dtd 1/6/91 ] Subcommittee member Bill McCormick submits for Board consideration the following draft of a procedure and annual timeline for capital spending on access production equipment. Appendix A - Relevant Franchise Provisions Appendix B - ACC's Proposed Procedure (12/90) cep• 39 OINC eel Access Q,t.ttPrr.G • Et] t,... ACC ha 2 9Q... �r I. C (3) , Q.(. a7-28 Pa t tR 6 -Tt rn6 t.-t o.I E- o C4.- F ' t992) [1.] 5 e . ~��t-Ckzse v a t ue m a M o u.'v dv e c(2), •NO=: Fns +cKK e- S ILnS 'ib -"ccaw.aoarE fl a c.y f3uo err"�+4 '{440(-6-1:5 , e.D. decal. -,es ,n C(z) -ANN U,gc M Tffa) ( CiOwertRtt.y 73•Iot c i xe" o-vt y %, l i g l (fie duck.o f G-A.03 5.."•"`.is.en ra rlTC ) [) ACC ircr2 Pas an "•S9u,ir,tieNT -P fZc r KprsE Li s " Co-JACC assesses reeds a lvc.ss of e,$,,,rr*e^t` -to access c-o•nsfif c.,. i cr • Non: l t- ;. etc ar�1 c� usa ccs). AQ.a4-a.r l -, / • All access equipment shall remain the property of ACC but shall be made available for access use by the City of Ithaca , local institutions and °?.f residents and surrounding ACC system residents . On . Dn 7vornrto mnr...-.1 L•.-.r- i c nrr on je,n1 1 nr,.f-' user S es�S , sta.f{- recto( ' 1 c n c�,HC�CZOrI d¢..,m.sk-4-ahars and tva•de. I cQ^sen'f` ) FLAbttG47e•.l -11Grlock. 4 501%(-,`-cJ. wbtLC Carr.ProL d nJ CS+ COc1S CE . �M MAY- Au•6u.sr, licit con��w� ous cO .• st)w101 c. rAtctt. W,tk AC tz-'Lon '0 sorr+c o i tor.S -ht�,. LAS;toa-I< cfr rtu6uci' or ou 4' lrn lit- 54"e w u [b] ACC C..anSu.1-}-s w.o-h0. AdU,,soR•`l ` .r-cl - — ,, _ . _,._-- tJcsre: nom• a9cve rN Itt,1 , et. 2O- 1C- QRE't..N.%.3teay — ACC rcPo-b o-t, SSQ.ss pAe.n-i. [°•] /Nikg t tSi MTG WS thik&.1 Nov, etc. (tvi. r,,aarn-r) — Acc S, -1-s vv.,-1-<,41„A.g Pq ..g....t ,•A c o ,* c•s-h ate$ — ACC vPO S ftz'Af2-7 (tE: AufsusT" 414s APT. teZ, A -) DECI e.-r• -.75 sets sp£raomo- ='Rtc<zirt r 5• 3( rLN frt.., -- 4a. p res e..,i.,-l-s `•w vi-h a narro-rtd I 8 0 G . miu t cr. ..mm1. at c. range, $ a t-ler n. t■se s fir, G 1A-e, c.AtoosQ•s eci,V-,.?",en.t -f). -c--1‹. ,5e 'I Di a %" , C4T7 f3Pp )Prc.. ... @J A-pre> 'rf04a-s -tom Cable C4,,,"..,:s.s.c.c,.1 NOV n a. `pi 4•CI , t9. 13-1N OG. dra�i' Nbl on t'£g0.pr.... rr Pva.cr-+�s. L-L$T" M.q'm - appr,tvQ re,c.o.+-.^,4„.,d .s ,..,rf`dead'w+cs f�1QV. M14 Nov.i Fm. era. -. QK,tol.c QoS+ A1 and ma.t.At1-• Cornn..sS•a� c-��G rne.-.�bcirS b3 C,„b\e Co,,.,...s 5, >Q P arcs {-t A a( p-i,r•+o4,as e 45-1- a.,d dca d\%.+.es N 14•l CCZ) 2d 18 Ncpi, DEC, nnRaCH et. ' eaisl ) C ,, (Z. .Tiles.) er- . Q‘)-d civi o,e3 {i, q-�l tS os7 1oaran �n E'�1 1 Q� 1+2-23 .{r �hJIektIti 1.Y t�rf�1naS2 bY�� l`nS � Bere& arinl. 0 0ci' /AT C... ,��.aSe ��at l..�,c (i c T CrirTG N . I Lt O*r-1 s 21 9et5 A F •t x.54;-11 ah v ad `n t Zn- vc E f:;L.,,v,Q.r.',a 1 'Fo r , Mailing Address: Studio Address: 519 W. State Street CABLE 612 W. Green Street Ithaca, N.Y. 14850 AMERICAN COMMUNITY CABLEVISION Ithaca, N.Y. 14850 607-272-7272 Robin Palmer 108 Oak Ave. Ithaca, NY 14850 February 13, 1991 Dear Robin, This letter is an official warning regarding your conduct at the CABLE 13 community access center. The particular incident in question occured on Saturday, February 9, 1991. On that date, you entered the access office area and tried to provoke another volunteer, Bill McCormick. According to the staffer on duty and the Access Advisory Board ombudsman, who was present and who tried to diffuse the situation, you deliberately attempted to enrage Bill. You evidently had no legitimate business at the access center at that time. You would not accept his reply that he did not wish to speak with you and wished to continue his work. When he asked you to leave him alone, you continued provoking him with statements of the nature of "What are you going to do about it?" The impression gained by the staffer and the ombudsman was that you were intentionally trying to goad Bill into Making a scene or using foul language in the access office so that you could file another complaint against him and/or access staff [for failing to preserve your right to a quiet workspace! ] . The ombudsman asked you to leave Bill alone; you ignored him and continued to harrass Bill. Only when the ombudsman threatened and then started • to call for police assistance did you cease. I understand that you have made complaints about Bill's conduct recently. I have discussed your concerns with you at length on a number of occasions. However, this incident smacks of a deliberate attempt to manufacture additional grounds for complaint against Bill, instead of waiting for staff to address the complaints you had already made. This behavior fall under the section of our policy manual devoted to minor violations [Sec. VII.4.3.2, p.8] , which prohibits "disorderly conduct which disrupts the working environment of the access facility for other users or staff." In addition to Bill himself, other volunteers present found your performance highly disruptive and reported it as such. This is not the first time you have been warned about disruptive behavior at the access center. You have participated with Bill and others in shouting matches in the recent past in which staff "Television for Tompkins County have had to ask you to cease. You have been informed on quite a few occasions that such behavior is inappropriate. But this incident, in which you tried to entrap another volunteer against whom you had a complaint into engaging in disruptive behavior, apparently as part of a campaign to have him disciplined, is quite a bit more serious. You have left me in no doubt that you are enbarked upon a campaign to have him disciplined; you have made that very clear to me through a number of conversations, the last on Monday February 11, in which you threatened to make complaints against my conduct as well unless you had some assurance that he had been disciplined. In addition to this incident, I would like to formally warn you against a repeat of your incidents of harrassment of me personally. If you feel a need to discuss access policies, or complaints about their enforcement, with access staff, please do it at the access center during our hours of operation. If the discussion will take some time and you would prefer that it be conducted in private, please make an appointment through me or another staff member. We will try to arrange a time when I will be in, and when another staffer can cover other office functions. Calling me at my home number at 8:45 am to repeat complaints you had previously made at the access center was an inappropriate intrusion on access staff. I am available 40+ hours per week at the studio. I often work until midnight. I interpreted such a call at such an hour as harrassment, plain and simple. You were verbally warned after the first incident. That you found it necessary to make several similar calls to my home a few days later, on February 9, is very difficult for me to understand. Again, you had communicated the same information to me over the phone that you had in previous complaints to me at the access center. No new emergency which could not have waited until my arrival later that day was communicated. Again, you informed me that you intended to pursue complaints against my performance as well, and linked these intended complaints to my performance at punishing Bill McCormick. Harrassment of access staff is another minor violation of CABLE 13 policies [Sec. VII.4.3.10, p.8] . Further minor violations of CABLE 13 policies will lead to a suspension of access privileges for a period of two weeks. If you have any questions about CABLE 13 policies and procedures, please feel free to contact me at the access office. Sincerely, /1'1" 44111k4 Lauren. . 111 Communtt• A Coord ator cc: Barbara Lukens, ACC General Manager Access Advisory Board FEB . 8 1991 List of Committees of AAB 1) Investigative committee on LO/Access equipment and facilities . Purpose : to examine the issue of shared equipment , from the point of view of Access possibly easing studio crunch by sharing LO (channel 7 ) studio use , and easing edit crunch by Access using LO edit suites . 2) Studio adequacy/expansion committee . Purpose : to assess studio needs , both short and long term, review ACC ' s promised level of commitment to provide space for Access , 3) Committee on transfer of control of Access to another group , such as a not for profit corporation , or a group appointed by the City. 4) Committee to research and develop the use of computers in the Access studio . 5) Access outreach committee . Purpose: to .review. ACC ' s compliance with the Franchise mandate to promote and develop Access , and to determine what forms of additional outreach are appropriate or necessary . 6) Franchise committee Purpose : to read the Franchise Agreement and try to locate problem areas , so that the AAB can advise ACC and the City to make any necessary• changes before there is a crisis . Supporting documents • such as those related to State and. Federal regulations must be identified and consulted . An example of '..hat we are looking for is the . word "designate" as used in "ACC shall designate an addit- ional nine channels . . . " . 7) Inter-Access communication committee Purpose : to learn more about the problems , successes , and program- ming of other Access studios , offer and accept advice , and facilit- ate exchange of programming . 8) Equipment quality committee Purpose: to examine the issue of equipment quality from several angles . The Franchise Agreement requires that equipment he of good and durable quality , but if costs for equipment of extremely good quality are so high that only a few pieces of equipment can he purchased , then the overall program might suffer . 9) Committee to examine staff issues Purpose: to determine if the City has any right to influence ACC ' s policy on Access staff hiring , firing , and pay . If staff pay is too low to retain qualified employees then Access users and view- ers will suffer . Should the City have some sort of veto power? 10) Committee to determine if ACC can deny any equipment request made b-y 'the City. 11 ) Capital expenditures timetable committee 12) .AA purpose/function committee 13) Additional channel committee 14) Parking committee 15) Bill McCormick committee Purpose : to research applicable laws to determine the legality of proposed changes of his RAI show timeslot , or other restrictions of liberty to speak when , where and how he wants . 15) First come first served committee Purpose : to decide how this concept meshes with the cencept of of equal access to Access . 17) Committee to prioritize committees FEB . 8 1991 List of Committees of AAB 1) Investigative committee on LO/Access equipment and facilities . Purpose : to examine the issue of shared equipment , from the point of view of Access possibly easing studio crunch by sharing LO (channel 7 ) studio use , and easing edit crunch by Access using LO edit suites . 2) Studio adequacy/expansion committee . Purpose : to assess studio needs , both short and long term, review ACC ' s promised level of commitment to provide space for Access , 3) Committee on transfer of control of Access to another group , such as a not for profit corporation , or a group appointed by the City. 4) Committee to research and develop the use cf computers in the Access studio . 5) Access outreach committee . Purpose: to review ACC ' s compliance with the Franchise mandate to promote and develop Access , and to determine what forms of additional outreach are appropriate or necessary . 6) Franchise committee Purpose : to read the Franchise Agreement and try to locate problem areas , so that the AAB can advise ACC and the City to make any necessary chanees before there is a crisis . Supporting documents such as those related to State and Federal regulations must be identified and consulted . An example of :ghat we are looking for is the . word "designate" as used in "ACC shall designate an addit- ional nine channels . . . " . 7) Inter-Access communication committee Purpose : to learn more about the problems , successes , and program- ming of other Access studios , offer and accept advice , and facilit- ate exchange of programming . 8) Equipment quality committee Purpose : to examine the issue of equipment quality from several angles . The Franchise Agreement requires that equipment he of good and durable quality , but if costs for equipment of extremely good quality are so high that only a few pieces of equipment can be pur'chased , then the overall program might suffer . 9) Committee to examine staff issues Purpose : to determine if the City has any right to influence ACC ' s policy on Access staff hiring , firing , and pay . If staff pay is too low to retain qualified employees then Access users and view- ers will suffer . Should the City have some sort of veto power? 10) Committee to determine if ACC can deny any equipment request made by the City. 11 ) Capital expenditures timetable committee 12) AAB purpose/function committee 13) Additional channel committee 14) Parking committee 15) Bill McCormick committee Purpose : to research applicable laws to determine the legality of proposed changes of his RAI show timeslot , or other restrictions of liberty to speak when , where and huw he wants . 16) First come first served committee Purpose : to decide how this concept meshes with the concept of of equal access to Access . 17) Committee to prioritize committees February 24, 1991 Members of the CAAB, Enclosed you will find a number of items to be discussed at the next AAB meeting. Please look these over and bring them to the meeting. I will not have extra copies. Items enclosed: Agenda for CAAB meeting for March 5th Minutes of CAAB meeting of February 5th Report of ICC meeting of February 19th List of current AAB Members Proposal on Equipment Purchases from P. Hess Proposed list of committees from J. Blizzard Diagram of sources and routing for 4 ch. system from E. Greene Letter from Lukens to Palmer Letter from Lukens to McCormick Proposed complaint response letter from ACC to customers. _P; , • Agenda for AAB Meeting, 3/5/91 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of minutes of 2/5/91 3. Chair's Report -Recognizing speakers -Preparation of resolutions -New membership 4. Public Comment 5. Discussion of ACC and ICC reports 6. Old Business A. Committee Reports -Parking -AAB duties and responsibilities -Letter to people complaining about access programming B. Capital spending procedures C. Report of meeting with Joe Powers D. Attendance policy -Floyd Johnson E. Proposal for additional committees F. Designation of contact with City Attorney 7. New Business A. Policy about giving out producer information B. Reaction line C. Recommendations regarding playback facilities for Ch. 53 D. Recommendations regarding mixed use of Ch. 53 To: MB From: Peter Hess Subj: Report of the February, '91 Cable Commission m::ting Date: 2/24/91 1. From the Chair's report: Tom Terrizzi met in Albany with representatives of the N.Y .State Cable Commission (2 municipal consultants and the attorney for our region). The municipal consultants are available to come to Ithaca to talk to us. Tom suggested to the Commission that this be part of our April meeting. MB members would be notified and invited to attend that meeting. In addition,NYSCC staff might be available during the day to meet with an MB delegation. 2: From Public Comment: -Jim Blizzard suggested that the MB designate a member as a contact with the City Attorney. Jim also spoke of the need for action to provide 9 access channels,expand studio facilities,and promote access. Jim further suggested that communication of information from the Commission to the AAB be improved. -Annie Ball asked how the vacancies on the MB would be filled and requested to be considered for the non-City opening. She was told to submit a letter of application before the next cable commission meeting and told that she would be considered with other applicants at that time. -Bill McCormick spoke of staff shortages,equipment shortages,and limits on cable-casting time. He urged the commission to press ACC for solutions. Bill reported on the letter he had received from Barbara Lukens regarding his alleged use of profanity on his show 'Round About Ithaca,and her pending action to move the program to an after 10:00 pm time slot. Bill responded to a series of questions from Tom regarding what sort of warnings he had received from ACC and the access staff. Bill stated that his position regarding restrictions on his use of language was that he would use all legal means to fight such restrictions,but after these were exhausted he would abide by any restrictions that stand. Later in the meeting the commission passed a motion instructing Tom,as chair.,to communicate to Barbara Lukens our concerns about the procedures used in this case and to work cooperatively with ACC on the larger issue of whether any such action based on program content is permissible. 3. From the ACC report: - -In response to the motion of the MB regarding equipment purchases,ACC has 'tabled'action on creating a third access channel. ACC has requested input from the CRAB on purchase of a switcher. -Chris Doyle, Marketing Director of ACC(who was presenting ACC's report)stated his personal opinion that the City should take a stand on the use of profanity in access programming. 4. From MB report: -The Commission made some suggestions regarding the wording a letter which a committee of the MB is working on. This letter is directed to people who make complaints to ACC. Mayor Nichols had recommended, in a letter to the Access Coordinator (Lauren), that the MB draft such a letter. -The Commission,acting on an MB recommendation,voted to make Peter Hess the Chair. of the MB. Proposal and Time-line for the Annual Process of Developing to a Time to Capital Spending Plan for Access next event 1. The MB and ACC sponsor a public meeting for access volunteers to discuss their 2 wks. priorities for access equipment. 2. At a special meeting,the MB determines its priorities among access needs,based on the 1 wk. input from the public meeting. At this meeting,the MB also appoints three members to an Equipment Committee. 3. The Equipment Committee consists of 3 MB members,the Access Coordinator,and the 4-8 wks. Chief Engineer from ACC. This committee draws up a list of equipment to meet the priorities set by the MB,within budget constraints, including makes and model numbers, prices,and suggested vendors. Recommendations are approved by majority vote of the committee. 4.At its next monthly meeting,the MB approves the recommendations (as is,or amended) 1 wk and sends them to the Cable Commission. S.At its next monthly meeting,the Cable Commisssion approves the recommendations(as 1 wk. is,or amended)and sends them to the General Manager of ACC. 6.The GM of ACC approves or rejects the plan. 1 wk. 7a. If approved, purchase orders for equipment are issued. done 7b. If rejected,a conference committee consisting of the Chair of the Cable Commission,the 1 wk. Chair of the MB,and the Manager of ACC meets to reconsider the plan. A plan approved by majority vote of this committee is binding,and purchase are issued. Total time to completion of task: 10-14 - wks. If at any point the time-line fails to be met, money set aside for access spending will be deposited in an escrow account and all accrued interest will become part of the access equipment fund. to o T <-14_4).13 s S a,_ T..►o a w _i_T L3 S YapypaaJ w1 33a 1,/ "too` /( :.3-i.).(1 9 ?('.. `N' - •?Y t1 5..,kai3 )tea Trtop < h SDI 01 s k 1 -zr) /\ < &.__ i-T,cis rti\ratv To2,,_\_..,/\ < 3:) z. { . .' � Q.— C,o a { aui a! o 5 -4-J1\ l 1 � L ii ✓�Q a 55a*D7kV P P')oM a er. 1 -arN < CA a3 e. r. —� u` 1r S i SS »L < a z ' awvvt� i-.) 's} o'� CLZ U-- -z a� s � r OJ r .a.nn a S i i 1 , ....:.. �.... ...... r..n, r r r ♦.'r: -' a..« r. -.._....-. AMERICAN COMMUNITY CABLEVISION February 11, 1991 Mr. William McCormick 531 West Green Street ithaca, NY 14850 Re: "Round About Ithaca" Dear Bill: Section VII .7 of the Policies and Procedures relating to public access provides in part as follows: Programs classified as "adult will be eligible to be cablecast after 10: 00 pm only on Cable 13 cablecastings evenings, preceded by a content warning. A pro- cram will be classified as "adult' if it contains harsh profanity, or sexually explicit images. Due to the harsh profanity contained in your live call in shows, we must require that henceforth "Round About Ithaca" and any other programs you may produce which include profanity be scheduled after 10: 00 pm. You may contact Lauren Stefanelli at the access studio to, arrange such scheduling. Barbara L. Lukens "; / / ACC General Manager t � cc: Cable Access Advisory Board, Peter Hess Ithaca Cable Commission, Tom Terrizzi - Lauren Stefanelli • 519 West State Street Ithaca, New York 14850 607-272-3456 DRAFT To: Lauren Stefanelli From: CAAB Sub j: Proposed response letter to people who complain about program content on public access Thank you for your comments about public access programming. State, Federal, and City regulations do not allow ACC any control over the content of programs on public access channels. The City of Ithaca and the FCC also do not have authority to regulate access programming, nor does any other governmental agency, We understand that occasionally access programs will offend some viewers. When the simple solution of turning off the offending program is not adequate, we make available to customers a device which can block the signal on the access channel. Public access was established by state, federal and local laws as a communications medium for those who don't get to appear on other television channels. We believe that public access cable is a unique and valuable community service. It provides people in our coverage area with the opportunity to use television to express their ideas, to promote their activities, to inform, entertain and enlighten their neighbors. We hope that you agree that the benefits of public access programming outweigh the occasional inconvenience of avoiding material you don't like. We encourage - you to consider using public access yourself in support of ideas or activities which are important to you.