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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CABLECOMM-1990-11-13 C City of Ithaca Cable Commission Minutes of November 13th, 1990 Attending: Tom Terrizzi, Peter Hess, Jim Ferwerda 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of minutes of October 9, 1990 meeting Approved as submitted. 3. Chairperson's Report a. Commission Records Tom Terrizzi and Bill McCormick reported that they will work together to put the records in order. b. Nominations for New Commission Members Terrizzi proposed to put out a call for nominees for a period of seven to ten days. Nominees will be presented to Common Council for confirmation during the first week of December. 4. Public Comment Bill McCormick made a presentation on the constituencies within the community that are served by access. He then went on to detail past expenditures related to access development and argued that these expenditures do not serve the broad interest of the community but rather are used primarily by ACC for commercial programming. Hess asked if there was any public input into the decision to make these expenditures. Terizzi said there was and McCormick concurred. McCormick then went on to discuss the proposals for this years expenditures and asked that the commission reject both the CAAB's and ACC's proposals because they do not best serve the access community. McCormick asked that a formal complaint be registered against ACC for non- compliance with the franchise on the issues of the nine additional access channels and for the use of access funds for hub equipment costs. McCormick suggested that a separate non-compliance citation be made for each of the nine additional channels, and that the penalty fees for each instance of non-compliance begin after a thirty day grace period to start immediately (See attached letter from City Attorney to ACC regarding franchise non-compliance). 5. ACC Report (see attached) a. Access Equipment Order Barbara Lukens reported that ACC had placed an order for new equipment (see attached, "PEG Access Equipment 1990"). She said that this order had been put together by ACC staff after soliciting input from access users (BOCES, access producers) and based on the prioritzed equipment needs outlined by the CAAB. Hess said that the CAAB's recommendations were not taken into account in ACC's order and that the order was drawn up before the CAAB's final recommendations were submitted. Hess also said that the CAAB was not given the opportunity to review the order before it was placed. Lukens suggested that the CAAB's role is to set priorites for equipment purchases, but that the final decisions on specific equipment should be ACC's decision because they must maintain it. Hess suggested duplicity on the part of ACC because an ACC staff member attending a special CAAB meeting on the equipment purchase did not advise the CAAB that an ACC had already drawn up an order. Hess asked that ACC's order be withdrawn until it can be reviewed by the CAAB and the commission. Lukens said that some of the equipment had already been received and that the order could not be withdrawn because by ACC's corporate guidelines the order must be placed, and the equipment received and paid for by the end of the calendar year. Terrizzi supported Hess's call for a review of the order and questioned Lukens' assertion that the order needed to be closed.out by the end of the calendar year. Terrizzi suggested that typical practice in such situations is to place the order within the year but to carry over payment until the equipment is delivered, and that if this is not compatible with ACC accounting procedures then it might be possible for payment to be made to and held in escrow by the city to allow for a reasonable review period for such orders. Taking into account the CAAB's objections to the content of the order and the process by which it was formulated Terrizzi suggested that Lukens put a hold on the undelivered part of the order until issues with the CAAB could be resolved. Further Terrizzi suggested that ACC not order any head-end equipment using access funds until this issue is resolved with the city attorney. Lukens said that she would investigate stopping the order but registered the complaint that ACC thought it had taken the CAAB's recommendations into account. It was agreed that Lukens would consult with Mary Jo Dudley of the CAAB to see if there were any substantial differences between the CAAB's recommendations and the ACC order, and that Lukens would look into stopping the order if the differences could not be resolved. Finally, Terrizzi and Hess discussed devising a new system for planning access purchases that removes difficulties arising from year-end orders. b. Changes in ACC's representation on the CAAB Lukens said that Jim Blizzard would replace Frances MacKenzie as ACC's representative on the CAAB. c. Channel 53 Lukens reported that channel 53 would be activated by December 15th but would only be able to carry programming from City Hall until a technical problem could be resolved. 6. Public Comment McCormick asserted that the article 14.1.c.(2) of the franchise shows that the city has the final approval over ACC equipment purchases. Lukens said that that reading of the franchise was McCormick's opinion. McCormick said that in the past the commission has reviewed and voted on ACC access equipment orders and CAAB equipment recommendations, and asked that the commission vote on the current order and recommendations. McCormick commented that ACC's senior citizen's discount program took a long time to get started, and asked how the program was publicized and how effective the program had been. Lukens said that the city had overseen the application process and that there were many participants. Hess and McCormick asked for a formal report from ACC on the scope and effectiveness of the program. 7. CAAB Report (see attached) a. Governmental/Educational Channels) Hess reported that an informal survey conducted by the CAAB showed that several local government and educational groups intend to make use of the new access channel(s). Hess said that the CAAB recommends that a second channel be activated immediately to avoid forseen scheduling conflicts between government and educational programmers. Lukens asked where the funding for a second channel would come from. Terrizzi said that it was his understanding that it was not to come from the 2 percent fund. Terrizzi asked how ACC was planning to publicize channel 53's existence. Lukens said that ACC had no specific plan but that a variety of methods (newspaper ads, bill notices, press releases, flyers, TV cross promotion) would be used. Hess requested that the channel 13 bulletin board system be used to publicize channel 53. b. ACC/CAAB Relations Hess said that the CAAB was concerned that the channels of communication between the CAAB and ACC were not working. Hess requested that a liason to ACC's general manager be instated. Lukens responded that she was available by phone and would decide on an case by case basis who from ACC would be most appropriate to address issues brought up by the CAAB. Hess and Terrizzi discussed whether it was the commission's role to approve recommendations made by the CAAB. Hess asked for clarification on the relationships between the commission, the CAAB, and ACC, and wanted to know the responsibilities and authorities of each body. c. Nominations of New CAAB Members Hess reported that Rick Gray, Cathy Johnson and Susan Eriksson were being considered, and that the decision would be postponed until December to solicit more nominations. 8. Old Business a. WVIA Lukens reported that the WVIA signal was measured and found to be unuseable. Terrizzi asked that subscribers be notified that WVIA was being dropped, and asked that he be notified of any objections. b. Political Endorsements on Access Terrizzi asked that Lukens acknowledge in writing to the city, the new provisions for political speech on access. 9. New Business a. Complaints (reconnect charges for seasonal subscribers) Terrizzi asked Lukens how seasonal subscribership is determined. Lukens said that it was an informal procedure. Terrizzi asked if students could be considered seasonal sbuscribers. Lukens said that they are not currently. Terrizzi asked if subscribers are asked why they are disconnecting and if they are advised that reconnecting at the same residence is less expensive than making a new connection. Lukens said that there is no formal procedure at ACC. Terrizzi asked that Lukens establish a definition of a seasonal subscriber. The meeting adjourned at 10 pm. Minutes submitted by Jim Ferwerda III •• ACC AMERICAN COMMUNITY CABLEVISION November 14, 1990 Mr. Thomas Terizzi Ithaca Cable Commission 108 E. •Green Street Ithaca, NY 14850 Dear Tom, I just now read the minutes of the October Commission meeting and would like to have them amended. Since I didn't have a chance to read them thoroughly before last night's meeting, I couldn't comment at that time. The minutes indicate that I stated that ACC's obligation with regard to access channels, specifically the second government and educational channel, was to provide bandwidth only, but not equipment. What I really said at that meeting was that the money for any access equipment would come out of ACC's commitment to spend an amount equal to 2% of the revenues generated within the City of Ithaca, i.e. that ACC does not have a commitment further than that 2% for equipment purchases for PEG access. If I did not convey this adequately I apologize, but please let the record show this clarification. Sincerely, r Barbara L. Lukens General Manager BLL/mkk 519 West State Street Ithaca, New York 14850 607-272-3456 11/13/90 Report to Ithaca Cable Commission on Access Advisory Board Meetings of 11/5 & 11/ 12 1. Discussion of CAAB communications with ACC management. The issue of whether the communications channels that exist between the board and ACC were sufficient for us to carry out our advisory role was raised. It was noted that at last months' meeting, with Barbara Lukens present, issues were clarified which the board had struggled with for months, without adequate information. It was also noted that written requests to ACC management were not always answered to our satisfaction. The discussion culminated in the following resolution: Whereas there have been difficulties in receiving precise information in a timely manner and whereas the CAAB requires such information to adequately advise both ACC and the Cable Commission, be it resolved that the CAAB requests that the Cable commission support the establishment of a CAAB liaison committee who will meet with the General Manager of ACC as needed. This will be in addition to the agreed upon biannual meetings between the full board and the general manager. 2.The AAB requests that the Cable Commission provide expiration dates for the terms of all AAB members. 3. Jim Blizzard was present at the meeting. Jim is a candidate for the ACC representative to the board. The City is reminded that it is responsible for filling a vacant position on the board. 4.At its meeting on 11112 approved equipment recommendations for expenditures of the 1990 Access Capital Budget. Priorities were as follows: 1 .(2) Off site production systems $29,700 2. Post production(editing) facility $10,800 3.Misc. items $ 1,340 5. John Efroymson announce his intention to resign from the AAB as of 12131 . He suggested his successor at Media Ithaca, Susan Ander an,as a possible replacement. -Submitted bu Peter. Hess ,,�.. , AMERICAN COMMUNITY CABLEVISION REPORT NOV' 13, 1990 • * The equipment to be purchased for 1990' s capital allocation for PEG access has been ordered. The requests of access volunteers and a priority list from the a.:cess advisory board were instrumental in determining what equipment should be purchased. A copy of the final list was given to the access advisory board. A copy of the list is attached. * Jim Blizzard, an active community access volunteer has been appointed to the access advisory board replacing Frances McKenzie who resigned. * Channel 53 will be activated and ready for use by the City of Ithaca by December 15, 1990. ACC will prepare a press release to inform the public . We hope to have a character generated message on when there is no other programming to announce the next program (content and time) . * Engineers from WVIA and ACC reviewed and measured signals from WVIA. Conclusion of both parties is that the length of the signal path from Scranton to Ithaca is too great , causing • substandard levels at ACC' s headend. Letter from WVIA is attached. ; • • • 12/11/90 Report to Ithaca Cable Commission on Access Advisory Board Meeting 12/3 Public Comment Jorge Cuervas asked the CAAB to recommend immediate suspension of access programming by Ithaca College as a result of their violation of the guidelines regarding program sponsorship. While noting that the access staff can act against producers who violate access rules without asking the CAAB, the board passed the following recommendations: 1 .All producers including government and educational users should be required to complete and sign the same forms that independent producer sign. 2.ACC should keep a record of all warnings,written and verbal; producers receiving a verbal warning should initial the record of that warning. 3.Access staff should immediately issue a written warning to IC that if they do not comply with regulations i mmediatel y,their programming will not be cablecast on the access channel. Bill McCormick noted that in response to one of his recent shows,agents from police organizations (Ithaca Police and Secret Service) asked for assistance from Access staff. Bill pointed out the danger of access staff,acting under intimidation,turning over video tapes of access programs to police agencies or other unauthorized parties.The board passed the following motions in response to Bill's concerns: 1) The CAAB wants to reiterate to the Cable Commission that as per access Rules and Regs,access staff is not authorized to make copies of programs without the producers permission. This includes recordings for use by ACC. Nor should access staff permit the viewing of tapes without authorization. (Lauren said that in the past, access staff had made recordings for ACC without permission of the producers.) 2) Since some producers wish to have the widest possible distribution of their programs, two lines should be added to the Cablecasting release forms on which the producer can authorize viewing and/or copying of his/her program. Bill also cited increasing pressures on access facilities and suggested that studio availability be increased by using instructional video tapes and on-the-job trai ni ng. Equipment purchases Peter Hess reviewed the discussion of capital purchases that occurred at the last cable commission meeting: He reported that Barbara Lukens announced that the new access equipment for budget year 1990 had been ordered. Peter told Barbara that the CRAB had met in November, with the ACC Access coordi nator present as ex officio member of the board. The board had made its recommendations in the understanding that there was still time for board input, which was not contested at the time. Further, Peter stated his belief that the r advisory board recommendations in this matter ought to be a major factor in deciding on equipment purchases. After much discussion, Barbara agreed to review the purchases with Lauren with a goal of bringing ACC purchases in line with CRAB recommendations. Where ACC believes that CAAB recommendations cannot be implemented,ACC would negotiate with Mary Jo Dudley as chair of the CRAB. In the event any of these negotiations reached an impasse,the issue would be brought to the cable commission. Peter also reported that the cable commission has requested the CRAB to devise a set of procedures and a time line for future capital purchases. Mary Jo said that although she had spoken to Barbara the day after the cable commission meeting, no negotiations had taken place and that Barbara said that she was unwilling to discuss the content of purchases,though she would discuss future purchasing procedures. Mary Jo expressed her feeling that the CRAB had been dealt with dishonestly by ACC both before and after this became a matter of contention between ACC and the CRAB. Lauren responded that as of the November Cable Commission meting, most equipment had not yet been purchased,though the plan for its purchase had been approved by Barbara. This misunderstanding may have led to other misunderstandings. Lauren reported that from ACC's point of view she had acted improperly by not asserting that - the recommendations for equipment purchase closed as of July 31. Lauren presented the CAAB with copies of ACC's position with regard to the Access Capital Spending Procedure and the Access Capital Spending Timeline for 1991 (attached). Both of these describe a minimal role for the CRAB role in the process, putting the CRAB on equal footing with other volunteers,access users, and members of the public. John Efroymsoa expressed his extreme dismay that the CAAB has been denied a meaningful dialogue with ACC regarding the substance of its recommendations regardi ng access equi pment. Mary Jo said that she resents the time she spent in meeting on equipment purchases with the expectation that the CAAB recommendations would be heeded. She said that she is very frustrated by ACC's failure to recognize the CRAB. She called for clarification of the role of the CRAB, particularly with respect to ACC. Mary Jo noted that there is a need to replace several members of the CRAB and wondered how effectively we will be able to recruit for a powerless body. Since several items on the agenda have not been resolved,including CAAB recommendations for procedures for purchase of access equipment, it was suggested that the CRAB meet again in December. Peter said that he would be unable to attend another meeting until December 18. Peter was asked to ask Tom Terrizzi,of the Cable Commission if he could attend a meeting on December 17th.