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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CABLE-1993-05-26 4r • CABLE ACCESS ADVISORY BOARD MAY 26, 1993 MINUTES Present : Harvey Gitlin, Rick Gray, Dave Huff, Robert Manvell, Joe Powers, Lauren Stefanelli; Government Committee: Jim Blizzard; Public: Jean Finley 1 . Meeting was called to order at 7 :20 PM. 2 . Dave Huff was designated as minute-taker. 3 . Minutes of April 28, 1993 were read and approved with one minor correction. 4 .' Rick Gray announced that both Heloise Greene and Robert Manvell had resigned from the board. Heloise' s resignation was effective immediately, and Robert' s was effective Sept . 1, 1993 . 5 . Rick Gray asked to insert "policy change recommendations" into the agenda under "A. " 6 . Public Comment. Jean Finley said that no meeting of the parties involved in the on-going dispute (discussed on 4/28/93) has been scheduled. Jim Blizzard made an appeal to obtain better lighting outside the access facility and to request a general cleanup of the area around the dumpster. Jim Blizzard also made a request that the Access policy concerning the airing of a program with commercial content be changed from a "major" violation to something less. Lauren Stefanelli asked if Jim had definition of "commercial content"? Harvey Gitlin voiced agreement that this type of violation should be less than a "major" violation. The discussion of this topic was delayed until after the committee reports. Jim Blizzard made a request that an itemized list of the estimated costs to connect the Southside Community Center to the I-Net be provided to the center or to the CAAB. 7 . Report of the Access Coordinator Lauren Stefanelli distributed a written report of the Access activities for May which included the notification of the departure of Community Programming Assistant Stella Okigbo. Lauren made a request that the Cable Commission suggest an interview team or a list of questions to be used during the hiring process to replace Ms . Okigbo. Rick Gray responded that the process would probably be the same r s was used during the recent hiring of Paul Smith as an Access employee. Jim Blizzard asked if ACC was going to hire a temporary employee to fill in until a permanent replacement for Ms . Okigbo could be found? Lauren responded that a temporary had never been suggested before. Rick Gray suggested that it be • done if needed. Lauren added that the application deadline is June 11, 1993 and hopefully a replacement would be hired within five weeks. She said she would consider part-time or temporary help. Harvey Gitlin asked if unused salary that resulted from the lower staffing during the replacement process would be used for additional capital purchases? Lauren replied that it hadn't ever come up, but she would pass along his question. 8 . Cable Commission Report- Rick Gray reported that the Cable Commission had referred the "commercial content" issue back to the Cable Access Advisory Board. Harvey Gitlin asked if Jean Finley was being punished for her major violation during the Strand Theater telethon? Ms. Finley replied that was why she was attending the meeting, to prevent the imposition of punishment . 9 .• Educational Access Report- Robert Manvell reported that the Educational Access Committee had elected a new Chairperson- Jim Loomis. The Educational and Government Committees were scheduled to meet jointly on June 9, 1993 to discuss the $15, 000 in access capital which ACC had earmarked for their use. Robert also reported a draft of the Policies & Procedures Manual is almost finished and that the committee would need to work with ACC to implement the manual once it was completed. Harvey Gitlin asked if any problems with commercial content would need to be resolved? Robert responded that it was a definite possibility. Jim Blizzard suggested that the two committees (Government & Educational) should request that ACC use any fallow time on the Government Access and Educational Access channels to show educational programming even if it had some commercial content. Robert Manvell stated that the two committees had several issues to resolve such as : How to determine what individual (s) represent each institution and what programming belongs on which channel . When the Educational Access Committee is ready they may wish to regulate and control a variety of things such as channel use and capital spending. 10 .Government Access Report- Jim Blizzard stated the committee had approved their by-laws and placed them on file. The committee' s meeting with the State Cable Commission members has been postponed until Fall . Jim Blizzard also asked for a clarification of what 2% capital could be used for. He was interested in getting a small amount as an allowance for his committee' s postage expenses . Robert Manvell responded that daily operating expenses were clearly not a capital expense and so didn' t qualify for 296- money. Robert also suggested that in terms of a recommendation from the Board Jim should take a conservative approach to what is and isn' t appropriate use of 2% funds. 11. Discussion of Rules Infractions during the Save the Strand Telethon- Rick Gray referred to Lauren Stefanelli' s memo and said he felt the telethon was destined for problems from inception. Rick also stated that the board shouldn't "come down on" one producer for problems that occurred. Jean Finley said she felt that all slips but one were corrected on the air. Jim Blizzard stated that none of the parties involved had any direct financial interest in the Strand Theater so it shouldn't be a problem. Robert Manvell said he understood Jim's opinion but disagreed. Harvey Gitlin stated this shouldn't be a major violation. Rick Gray suggested telethon' s should be excluded from access programming. Mr. Manvell commented that the Board . spends an inordinate amount of time resolving problems due to unclear wording and rules. A discussion ensued centered around whether it would be better to continue to solve problems on a case-by-case basis or whether it would be more appropriate to devote the Board' s time to developing more clear rules and guidelines . Several motions were offered and discarded. During this process, Jean Finley stated that she felt the rules established by ACC concerning commercial content were very clear and she did not deny that her telethon had violated these rules, but she felt that she had done the best she could to prevent any violations . Eventually Robert Manvell made a motion that "the Board not recommend enforcement in Jean Finley' s case based on the fact the producer had demonstrated a good-faith effort to instruct participants about the prohibition on soliciting money. " There was a second by Dave Huff. The board then approved this motion unanimously. At this point (8 :45pm) Robert Manvell had to leave and there was no longer a quorum. 12 . General Discussion Rick Gray suggested that the Access Coordinator should write up her current enforcement practices . Ms. Stefanelli agreed. Ms. Stefanelli stated that ACC' s management was having a difficult time determining the correct communications lines and contacts amongst the variety of committees. Ms . Stefanelli requested the CAAB chairperson draft a memo suggesting to the Cable Commission that they invite the Government Access and Educational Access committees to nominate members as the city appointees for the openings in the CAAB. . Rick Gray asked if the Board could address the personal conflict/harassment issue (involving four access users) . Rick expressed the opinion that a few individuals should not be allowed to force policy-making for the other 98% of users. Harvey Gitlin said it seemed more appropriate to deal with individuals (in a private meeting) than to change policy. Ms. Stefanelli said she was concerned about subjecting the individuals involved to further harassment by requiring a face-to-face discussion. The meeting was adjourned at 9 :10 PM.