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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CABLECOMM-1990-07-10 r Minutes of the City of Ithaca Cable Commission July 10th, 1990 Present: Richard Herskowitz (acting chairperson), Tom Terrizzi, Peter Hess. Mayor Ben Nichols also was present. Correspondence The commission receive a copy of Barbara Lukens' letter to Mary Jo Dudley, dated June 15th, regarding the start date of the 2% for access provision. Discussion of this was referred to the CAAB. Public comment Bill McCormick asked about interest in and support of P.E.G. access by other municipalities in ACC's coverage area. Barbara Lukens replied that there was some interest on the part of other communities and that while the company is required by the City franchise to put 2% of the City of Ithaca revenues toward capital expansion of access facilities (14.C.3), the total amount will not necessarily be increased if other communities contribute. Mr. McCormick, representing the CAAB, will write up some specific questions regarding this for the city attorney. ACC report (attached) There was some discussion of the part of Ms. Lukens report in which she comments on the City's support of regulation of CATV and permitting phone companies to compete in the CATV market. Ms. Lukens cites the NY telephone rates which (according to her) are higher than cable rates. Members of the commission did not agree that this was a valid argument against either regulation or phone company entry into the cable market as the two services were very different and their rates and rate structures not comparable. CAAB report (attached) The CAAB report included a resolution calling for ACC to immediately install nine downstream access channels, three of these to be activated by 1/2/91. A discussion of that resolution ensued: Mr. Herskowitz requested that the CAAB investigate the logistics involved in programming the additional access channels. He wants to know more about audience demand,access users'demand, staffing,costs,and prospective programming. Mr.McCormick argued for maximum channel capacity so that the work of access producers could get to the widest possible audience. Mr.Herskowitz questioned the value of repeat showings of programs. • Mayor Nichols cited Channel 7 news as an instance of the benefits of repeat showings of a program. Ms.Lukens said that the cost for modulators and decks to put a channel on the cable would be $13,000. She proposed the addition of one access channel. Mr. Herskowitz stated that based on his conversations with Steve Shea of the NYSCC staff, state regulations required two,and possibly three access channels. Mr.Herskowitz would like to work with the CAAB committee which has been studying additional access channels. Senior Citizens Discount Mr. McCormick brought and distributed copies of he minutes of the Commission meeting of 4/11/89 in which Mr. Withiam, then manager of ACC, agreed to retroactive crediting of senior citizens' discounts to 2/1/88. Ms. Lukens agreed to honor that commitment. She wanted it noted, however, that this exceeds the requirements of the franchise. She said that Deborah Parsons in the City Chamberlain's office needs to be informed. Ms. Lukens also noted that the discount applies only to qualified seniors who are residents of the City of Ithaca and not to residents of other communities served by ACC. Mayor Nichols' will issue a press release. Political Endorsements Mr. Herskowitz reported that the position of the NYSCC is, unequivocally, that political endorsements are permitted on access channels. While there is no official policy on fund raising, the staff member contacted stated his opinion that that constitutes commercial speech and is prohibited from access channels. Mr. Herskowitz said that the ban on endorsements by citizens for a candidate, or by the candidate herself, can and should immediately be lifted. New Business The sense of the commission was that there was no objection to the policy change which would conclude coverage of City Council meetings if the council went into executive session for longer than 40 minutes or after 11:00 pm. Ms. Lukens requested additional parking privileges for ACC trucks. No action was taken on this request. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 pm. Minutes submitted by Peter Hess . • . ' ` AMERICAN COMMUNITY CABLEVISION REPORT ` ...miry 12, 1990 �r ' o ACC along with Univision, a Spanish language station, has made additional World Cup soccer available to those subscribers who reside within the cabled area which has been rebuilt . This was possible because Univision did not charge ACC for the service. o Attached is a copy of a letter received recently comparing the service one prospective subscriber received from NYTel , NYSEG and ACC. • o • ACC replaced the FM equipment in its headend, providing improved FM transmission through its cable lines. This is a service for which ACC receives no revenue. • o The following cable channels will designated f g ca e c anne s be d i w e es gna e for access: 13, 53-60. ACC will activate a second channel in 1990 for ' government and educational access. Additional access channels will be activated only as there is additional unique locally produced programming to warrant it . o ACC' s ACE awards ceremony was held June 30. The date was pushed back because of the high number of programs submitted. o Public access volunteers again aided the community by video taping the Ithaca Festival . In addition access programming was added to the video/film screenings at Cinemapolis. o Because of the City of Ithaca' s commitment to support rate regulation of cable television companies and their support of ! entry into the cable television industry by telephone companie , ACC looked at local telephone service rates and compared them to local cable rates. i This information is attached. o ACC released a press release on June 29 announcing some channel changes. C-SPAN will be moved to basic cable service on channel 19, TNT (Turner Network Television) will move to C-SPAN' s former slot on cable channel 24 which will make it available to subscribers in both the rebuilt and nonrebuilt areas. This happened as a result of the loss of WVIA-44, the Scranton, PA PBS affiliate. A copy of the release is attached for adiitional information. o ACC has extended its I-Net to the Tomkins County courthouse. ACC has been given permission to provide live coverage of the Shirley Kinge trial . This is being provided as a public service due to anticipated high community interest . It will be shown during the day on channel 7, with breaks in courtroom action reverting to the Weather Channel . o Just a reminder that equipment needs for PEG access are due by July 31 . 1 -_ -- Report of July CAAB Meeting, submitted by Pete Hess 1. The sub-committee on additional access channels made its report. The following resolution was passed based in large part on the recommendations of report with some modifications regarding timing: In accordance with the May resolution of the CAAB,that ACC immediately install head-end capability for 9 downstream channels called for in the Franchise. We recommend that the planning, equipment purchase and installation proceed so that 3 additional channels begin cablecasting by January 2,1991,3 more by January 2,1992, and 2 more by January 4,1993. 2. There was a discussion of concerns about where additional playback facilities would be and about how staff coverage for playback would be provided. There seemed to be agreement that the ACC access studios would be the most convenient place for playback equipment for new access channels to be located, but would there be space for it? Other space related concerns were also expressed: Where will additional editing carrels which were asked for at the equipment meeting be placed? Will the studio ever be enlarged? 3. Bill McCormick expressed displeasure at the pace and assertiveness of the Cable Commission in acting on certain unspecified problems and proposals. I stated that I felt that the commission was demonstrably on the side of access, that we often had little leverage to bring to bear with ACC, and that what I felt were occasionally excessive and rigid demands of the CAAB and other access advocates (eg. 9 access channels) bogged us down in hours of unnecessary debate, thereby further delaying action. I also acknowledged that in some instances he might have a point.