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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CABLE-1991-11-04 r . Minutes of the Cable Access Advisory Board (CAAB) Meeting of 4 November 1991 The meeting was called to order at 7:20 pm, Tompkins County Public Library Present: Jim Blizzard, Harvey Gitlin, Rick Gray, Pete Hess (Chair, Ex officio) , Floyd Johnson, Robert Manvell , Lauren Stefanelli (Ex officio) Minutes were approved for the meeting of 7 October 1991 Chair' s report: Pete announced the November 11th meeting between Barbara Lukens, Tom Terrizzi , and himself to discuss unresolved issuet between the City and ACC. These would include further defining the 2% capital equipment allocation , the capital spending proceedure, and the calculation and availablity (quarterly vs. yearly) of that allocation . Enough comments were made to warrant setting up another meeting (November 18th) to draft a letter with additional issues and concerns of the committee for Barbara Lukens before the next meeting between the General Manager and the CAAB (Dec . or Jan . ) . These include: - Paying refurbishment ( labor) costs out of capital equipment allocation - ACC definition of "necessary video converters" in the I- net section of the franchise - Local origination equipment and facilities sharing with Access - Access studio building environmental controls or lack thereof Public comment: No comment. Disciplinary action review procedure: Lauren stated her appreciation for the input from the Ad Hoc Appeals Committee as an improvement to the procedure. Jim expressed a concern about the continuing negative attitude toward Bill McCormick by other Access users. Lauren confirmed this. She described the new complaint report form with the hope that it might be a partial solution in channeling the general increase in often petty and vindictive complaints. Pete called for and received a unanimous vote of commendation for Lauren and ACC in delaying the suspension in question to allow time for the appeals process. A rather lengthy discussion concerning the scope of suspension ensued ; particularly, (a) cablecasting as 1st ammendment right or user privilege and ( b) should a sanction be tailored to more closely fit the offense. An inconclusive straw poll was taken: Floyd and Rick would keep sanctions all-inclusive as they have been to this point, Jim and Pete would permit cablecasting rights throughout a suspension , and Robert and Harvey would permit some cablecasting during a suspension . More committee work was called for to deal with this issue. Committee on Educational Access (Draft Resolution ) : Pete presented this resolution with changes from the prior meeting . Robert offered several concerns, chiefly with fair representation of school districts on the committee. Pete will attempt to rework these and some minor changes for a vote at next meeting . Capital Budget Process: Time constraint limited this discussion to the calculation and disbursment of the 2% revenues for capital equipment replacement and expansion . Which enhances the access budget more, calculation and disbursment by quarter or year (and effect on tenth year allocation ) : No conclusion was drawn . Subject tabled due to lack of time. The meeting was adjourned promptly at 9:00 pm. NEXT MEETING MONDAY 2 DECEMBER 1991 AT 7 :00 PM, AT THE ITHACA CITY HALL, 2ND FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM) Minutes respectfully submitted 2 DECEMBER 1991 , by Rick Gray Report or the ithaca Cable Commission Meeting - 11/ 12/91 1. Bill McCormick and Jim Blizzard raised the issue of copyright ownership on access programming and the restrictions that ACC puts on the distribution of access producers work as a result of owning the copyright for programs produced in their facilities or with their equipment. 2. Bill suggested Tom Terrizzi and Barbara Lukens participate in a Monthly call in on cable issues. He also raised the possibility of cablecasting Cable Commission meetings. 3. We discussed possible ways to assist the access staff in dealing with disputes at the Access Center. Tom suggested that those people who are involved in most of the incidents use the services of the Community Dispute Resolution Center. 4. Barbara explained the implementation of SCOLA: -on ch 55 -not yet carried 24 hrs -Downlink now from BOCES, later from Cornell Draft Resolution on Administration of Educational and Governmental Access 1.The Community Access Advisory Board(CAAB)hereby creates a standing Committee on Educational Access and charges it enter into a written agreement with American Community Cablevision(ACC) to assume primary responsibility for the administration of the educational access channel(s). 2. After the committee is formed, its first task will be to draft an agreement with ACC outlining the responsibilities it will take on,and how it expects to discharge them. 3.The committee shall be constituted as follows: I. Internal (CAAB)representitivess • Members from the CAAB who will automatically serve on the committee are: -The two institutional appointees to the CAAB -The access coordinator -The chair of the CAAB • In addition,one other member of the CAAB who has no educational affiliation shall be appointed to the committee by the CAAB. II. External representitives. Remaining representitives to the committee shall be appointed by a majority vote of the membership of the CAAB from among nominees who are associated with chartered educational organizations operating in the ACC coverage area. Nominations may be made by the organization to be represented,the Educational Access Committee or the CAAB. No organization may be represented by more than one member of the committee,induding CAAB representitives.(An exception is made for school districts,as described below). • Representitives will be sought from the following organizations: Cornell University, Ithaca College, Tompkins Cortland Community College, Tompkins County Library, Tompkins Seneca Tioga B.O.C.E.S. • In keeping with the state mandate to assure appropriate representation of local school districts, representitives will be sought from each of the public school districts in the coverage area. • Up to four additional representitives may be made appointed from qualified organizations not among those mentioned above. For these appointments, preference will go to organizations that have not recently been represented on the committee. This category may include representitives of individual public schools whose district administration is also represented on the committee. 4.The committee will hold open public meetings at least twice a year,which will be announced at least one month in advance of their occurrence. Minutes will be kept which will become part of the public record. Other organizational matters are left to the committee. 5.The agreement reached between ACC and the Educational Access Committee shall serve as a model for the administration of the government access channel(s) as well. The responsibilities delegated to the Educational Access Committee by the agreement will fall to the full CAAB for government access channels. Revised Procedure and Time Line for Developing a Capital Access Budget 1. During the first two weeks in October(January"),the CAAB and ACC will conduct a public meeting for PEG access users to discuss their needs and priorities for access equipment. In the same time frame,the Educational and Governmental Access Committees will solicit the plans and needs of educational and governmental access users. 2. Before November(February)1st,the whole CAAB will meet to consider the capital equipment recommendations resulting from the public and institutional input and will prioritize these recommendations. At this meeting the CAAB will also appoint three of its members to a Capital Budget Planning Committee. 3.The budget committee will include,in addition to the three members appointed by the CAAB, the Access Coordinator and the Chief Engineer from ACC. The committee will draft a capital budget to conform to the priorities set by the CAAB,within budget constraints.The budget committee may ask the access coordinator to arrange for equipment demonstrations. The committee may ask the Access Coordinator and Chief Engineer for technical specifications, ordering specifications(make and model numbers),and prices for equipment in the categories established as priorities by the CAAB. ACC staff members will respond to these requests in a timely way. The budget committee's report will include a prioritized list of equipment, listing make,model number,and prices. If there are equipment categories where it is impossible to get specific price and/or model information, as much explanatory detail as possible must be provided. The report will be submitted to the CAAB in time for its December(March)meeting 4. At its December(March)meeting the CAAB will consider the budget plan the committee has submitted. It will approve the plan as is,approve it with modification, or refer it back to the committee for additional work When approved,the plan is sent to the Cable Commission. 5. At its first meeting after receiving the plan from the CAAB,the Cable Commission will consider the plan. It will approve the plan as is, approve it with modification, or refer it back to the CAAB for additional work The plan,as a recommendation of the Cable Commission,is sent to the General Manager of ACC for action. 6.If the management of ACC does not accept to the plan passed by the Cable Commission,the Chair of the Cable Commission,the Chair of the CAAB,and the Manager of ACC will meet to negotiate a final agreement. 7. It is the responsibility of the chairperson of the CAAB to monitor this process and see that indicated time objectives are met,with a goal of having a completed budget by January first. 8.After a yearly budget has been accepted,either the Access Coordinator or the CAAB may initiate proposals for adjustments. Changes under$2500 require the agreement of the CAAB and the Access Coordinator. Changes over$2500 require the approval of the Cable Commission and ACC management as well. "Month in 0 applies to 1992budgetyeax only. November 25,1991 Barbara Lukens, General Manager American Community Cablevision 519 W. State St. Ithaca,NY 14850 Dear Ms. Lukens, The Cable Access Advisory Board invites you to attend our January 6th meeting. We see this as an opportunity to strengthen lines of communication which have been established between us,make progress on matters we have been considering during 1991,and obtain information which will help us chart our agenda for 1992. The topics we would like to discuss with you are 1. The I-Net -How It is configured;how it is connected to the subscriber network -ACC's and the CAAB's role in developing and promoting the I-Net -Plans and schedule for additional connections -The I-Net and dedicated cable requirement of franchise(sec.15.5) 2. Use of access capital money for equipment refurbishment (vs."replacement and expansion"). 3. Studio conditions -repair of editing facilities and lights -temperature in studios and offices 4. Possibilities for expanding hours for video editing 5. Establishment of not-for-profit cable management 6. Use of government channel as an emergency channel 7. Procedures and rules about programming audio on inactive access channels In addition,members may wish to ask questions about such long-standing topics of discussion as the 2%allocation for access capital spending,the capital budget process,and prospects for coping with the studio and cablecasting squeeze. We look forward to seeing you in January. Sincerely, Peter Hess,Chair Cable Access Advisory Board CABLE 13 POLICY SUGGESTION / COMPLAINT FORM If you have a suggestion for a change you would like to see in our policies and procedures, or if you have a complaint about your treatment by staff or other volunteers, please describe it below. The access coordinator will get back to you with a responSe within 10 days. [Note: If you believe a policy should be changed, please give us a suggestion for what you believe it should be changed to, and why; if you have a complaint about how you have been treated at the access studio, please provide a chronological account of any incidents, including names of those involved and any witnesses. ] Your Name: Date (s) of Problem or Incident:_______ Dpsgrisition of Policy Sqggestion or Complaint: • Signed:_ Today' s Date: (Proposed) Procedure and Time Line for Developing a Capital Budget for Access The following procedure and time line has been developed by the CRAB to formalize public input into the capital budget process for the ACC access facility. 1. During the first two weeks in January,the CAAB and ACC will conduct a public meeting for PEG access users to discuss their needs and priorities for access equipment. In the same time frame, the Educational and Governmental Access Committees will solicit the plans and needs of educational and governmental access users. 2. Before February 1st, the whole CAAB will meet to consider the capital equipment recommendations resulting from the public and institutional input and will prioritize these recommendations. At this meeting,the CAAB will also appoint three of its members to a Capital Budget Planning Committee. 3. The Capital Budget Planning Committee will include, in addition to the three members appointed by the CAAB, the Access Coordinator,and the Chief Engineer from ACC. The committee will draft a proposed capital budget to conform to the priorities set by the CRAB,within budget constraints,and will report a budget plan to the CRAB in time for its March meeting. The committee may ask the Access Coordinator to arrange for equipment demonstrations. The committee may ask the Access Coordinator and/or the Chief Engineer for technical specifications and ordering specifications (makes, model numbers, prices) for equipment under consideration, and staff members will respond to these requests in a timely way. The report of the committee will include a prioritized list of equipment, specified by make and model number with current pricing. If it is impractical to get specific information, as much detail as possible should be provided, along with a brief explanation of why more precise information is not available. 4.At its March meeting, the CRAB will consider the budget plan the committee has submitted. It will approve the plan as is,approve it with modification,or refer it back to the committee for additional work. When approved,the plan is sent to the Cable Commission. 5.At its first meeting after receiving the plan from the CAAB,the Cable Commission will consider the plan. It will approve the plan as is,approve it with modification,or refer it back to the CAAB for additional work. The plan,as a recommendation of the Cable Commission, is sent to the General Manager of ACC for action. 6. If the management of ACC does not accept to the plan passed by the Cable Commission,the Chair of the Cable Commission, the Chair of the CRAB,and the Manager of ACC will meet to negotiate a final agreement. 7. It is the responsibility of the chairperson of the CAAB to monitor this process and see that indicated time objectives are met. Normally, the budget process should be completed by the end of the first quarter of the calendar year. 8. After a yearly budget has been accepted, either the Access Coordinator or the CRAB may initiate proposals for modification of the budget. Changes under $2500 require the agreement of the CRAB and the Access Coordinator. Changes over $2500 require the approval of the Cable Commission and ACC management as well. Draft Resolution; 1 1/4/91: 1. The Community Access Advisory Board(CAAB) hereby creates a standing Committee on Educational Access and charges it enter into a written agreement with American Community Cablevision (ACC)to assume primary responsibility for the administration of the educational access channel(s). 2.After the committee is formed, its first task will be to draft an agreement with ACC outlining the responsibilities it will take on,and how it expects to discharge them. 3. The committee shall be constituted as follows: •The committee shall include the two institutional appointees to the CAAB. •The CAAB shall appoint one of its members with no institutional affiliation to serve as an independent liaison between the board and the committee. •The access coordinator serve as an ex-officio member of the committee. • The chair of the CAAB, if not already one of the three voting members of the CAAB on the committee, shall serve as an ex-officio member of the committee. •All other appointments shall be made by a vote of the membership of the CAAB from among qualified nominees who represent chartered educational organizations in ACC's coverage area. •Nominees shall be sought who represent one of the following major educational institutions in the coverage area. These institutions are assured of representation if they request it. Cornell, Ithaca College,the Ithaca School District, Tompkins Cortland Community College, Tompkins County Library, Tompkins Seneca Tioga B.O.C.E.S. •In addition to the representitives listed above,the CAAB will seekup to four other representatives to fill at-large seats on the committee. The Committee or an organization seeking representation may offer nominations to the CAAB for appointment to these at-large seats. •To assure broad a representation of the educational community, when at-large vacancies occur the CRAB will seek to fill them with representatives of organizations which have not previously been represented on the committee. For the same reason, no single organization may have more than one representative to the committee at a given time. •In keeping with the state mandate to assure appropriate representation of local school districts within the service area, the CRAB will make a special effort to recruit representatives from B.O.C.E.S and the Ithaca School District, as well as other school districts,to participate on the committee. 4. The committee will hold open public meetings at least twice a year,which will be announced at least one month in advance of their occurrence. Minutes will be kept which will become part of the public record. Other organizational matters are left to the committee. 5. The agreement reached between ACC and the Educational Access Committee shall serve as a model for the administration of the government access channel(s) as well. The responsibilities delegated to the Educational Access Committee by the agreement will fall to the full CAAB for government access channels. . • a t; . - 1 Report of the Ad Hoc Appeals Committee of the Cable Access Board to the Management and Access Staff of American Community Cablevision October 15, 1991 The appeals committee of the CAAB which met to consider Bill McCormick's appeal of his three week suspension supports the decision of ACC management and the Access Coordinator in imposing that penalty. Although we see the events cited as the cause for the suspension of Mr. McCormick as minor infractions, we believe that they form part of a pattern which is disruptive and disorderly. Mr. McCormick should understand that his"volatility",which he acknowledges,engenders distress and animosity in people at whom it is directed,and in bystanders as well. A number of people have stated to members of the committee that their predominant response to the negative feelings engendered by Mr. McCormick's behavior is avoidance. The access staff and the CAAB have a responsibility for assuring that no one be permitted to take actions that restrict another's right to use access facilities without due cause and process. We believe that the sanctions applied to Mr. McCormick are in keeping with that responsibility. Mr. McCormick has compared the responses to his volatility and anger to discrimination. We do not accept this interpretation. We believe his behavior can and must be controlled in the access facility. We are, in addition, very much troubled by the uncontested description of the incidents involving Mr. McCormick and Stella Okigbo on Sept 15th and 16th. No issues of performance ever justify such behavior toward anyone in the access facility. We are further dismayed that apparently no apology was offered to Ms. Okigbo by Mr. McCormick subsequent to these events. Notwithstanding our support of ACC's decision, several aspects of this situation remain troubling to us. It seems that there is a concerted effort on the part of some volunteers to encourage the access staff to reprimand and sanction Bill for the slightest infraction. This relentless dogging of an access volunteer, if proven,would be reprehensible to us and would be a restriction of access rights in much the same way that Mr. McCormick's volatile behavior is. We do not feel that suspension of Mr. McCormick is likely to address the roots of the behavior problems at the access facility. Indeed,encouraged by this success, it is likely that Mr. McCormick's adversaries will be even more relentless in their pursuit of him. We make the following recommendations to the access staff: The access staff should take a proactive rather than a reactive stance toward behavior problems in the access facility. They should attempt to interdict disruptive behavior as they see it happen. Specifically, they should ask any parties involved in a dispute to separate,and if that is not effective,should ask those who are violating rules to immediately leave the premises. Access staff should come immediately to the CRAB if any volunteer fails to comply with their attempts to suppress disruptive behavior. Suspension should be applied as the sanction of last resort (short of judicial action). The committee believes that it is very important that the conditions at the access center resulting from animosity between access volunteers be rectified. We thank the access staff for their efforts at dealing with these problems and offer our support to anyone making a good faith effort to resolve them. REPORT BY ITHACA CABLE ACCESS ADVISORY BOARD CAPITAL ALLOCATION COMMITTEE RE: Recommendations for third and fourth quarter 1991 Cable Access Capital Spending MEMBERS: Jim Blizzard, Harvey Gitlin, Rick Gray ACC CONSULTANTS: Lauren Stefanelli , Joe Powers SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS AT MEETINGS ON 8/27, 8/31 , &9/8/91 RECORDED BY: Harvey Gitlin ITEMIZED SUMMARY OF PRIMARY ALLOCATION PRIORITIES:- ( Items are listed in order of priority) Immediate Requirements:- . Office Reconfiguration $4000 • 12x4 Expandable, remote control , programmable PEG switcher $6000 . S-VHS Deck for Channels 53 & 54 playback $2000 (Above requires TBC, dedicated CG, and rack, some of which may be made available by upgrading present public access equipment) . Discretionary fund for Access Coordinator $500 • Run cables between ACC & Access bldgs . for PEG cablecast. . . . $1000 • Software & Hardware for govt . bulletin board compatible with City Hall PC' s • Remote control for B-3 deck in control room $ 250 • Second Chroma-Key Curtain $ 200 Priorities requiring further pricing and configuration research:- . Equipment for permanent PEG playback arrangement ( including rack & TBC for channels 53,54 and additional public access channels) . Amiga-based graphics system configuration, including VideoToaster and replacement or supplementation of Knox CG' s with Amigas500s • Hi-8 and S-VHS camcorders with manually controllable audio, low light requirements , convenient right or left-handed operation, and varia- ble zoom. . S-VHS bench equipment (as discussed below) • Macintosh-based Hypercard logging and scheduling systems . Satellite receiver dish for additional PEG access programming . Computer-programmable edit controller such as the FutureVision EC1000 Pro/Plus ($1300-$1600) . Call-waiting phone line for control room ,.; a L 4- t-.., t ,rt I { •+1 L', . .'!!3 'I f: ! t. ,,:•• £:: i ,. 3 t :. t .. ! . + 1!1 : =' !1; - n. .1 COMMENTS:- Due to delays in the resolution of questions about the terms of the franchise agreement , which are under discussion between ACC and the Ithaca Cable Commission, there is insufficient information available to us regarding the amount of funds available and regarding which items may qualify for budgeting from other allocation categories , such as transmission and non-capital or operational expenses . Because our final recommendations are contingent on these issues , this report will discuss the priorities of the cable access 1991 budget in general terms , noting relevant topics under consideration. Refer to Lauren Stefanelli ' s non-prioritized listing of August 30 for additional information. SECTION 1 -- STUDIO AND STAFF EFFICIENCY In the category of studio and staff efficiency, certain physical changes to the arrangement of the studio, office and editing area under Lauren' s direction are recommended, as well as a programmable, remotely controllable, multiple i/o switcher for cablecasting. Computer automation of certain cable-related scheduling , logging , and switching functions is under discussion. Call-waiting phone lines for the control room were requested and approved. SECTION 2 -- EXPANDED ACCESS USE We specifically recommend against excessive financial committment to the U-matic (3/4") format due to its high equipment and maintainence costs as well as the evolution and successful use of competing formats The "expanded use" category also includes issues related to the educational and governmental channels . The source of funding for their transmission is presently under discussion. It is our contention that switching apparatus , and attendant monitors , racks , playback equipment , distribution amplifiers , and TBC' s , qualify as transmission equipment under the terms of the franchise, and are excluded from the 2% capital budget . We recommend, however, that these purchases be given priority regardless of their funding category. • I .7 I • t # • ,+, { I t ' r ' p +; i 't ..# '1'1'4'' .1 P 1' ^ f jl 6 r f !"10' I ! t' r , ;rr ." _. t•_ t1., _- - it . i + I .■ rt .•_ • i ` ■ 71 • ..# '(TJ • I l:i4tt, r Try , .12 .. c t 'it,1; 1 .. r' r •t =t.71i, 1 ! El 4 - r , • • •