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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CABLECOMM-1991-03-11 To:Ithaca Cable Commission From:Peter Hess Subj: Report on the Cable Access Advisory Board meeting of March 5th Date:3/11/91 1. Committees The following Committees met last month: *Parking committee:Rick reported that he spoke to Eric Datz,(at the time)building commissioner,and was told there was probably nothing that could be done to require ACC to provide parking for access volunteers before 5:00 pm. Lauren pointed out that there were now more spaces on Green St.since ACC had moved to provide parking for employees. No one knew of any complaints. We will consider the matter closed. •AAB duties and responsibilities-no report •Response letter to subscribers complaining about program content Peter submitted text of the letter which had be reviewd by the Cable Commission. No further changes were suggested and letter was passed to Lauren. Committees dealing with the following issues will be meeting in March: *Long term goals for the CAAB and access. *Duties and responsibilities of the CAAB. *Achieving fair allocation of access resources which are insufficient to meet demand, and considering ways to expand those resources. 2. Resolutions.Resolutions passed by the CAAB will henceforth be numbered,for easier reference. They will also be typed on a separate page for easier filing and retrieval. 3.Capital Spending. •ACC reported at the last Cable Commission meeting that$77,267 has been spent on access capital since 2/89,leaving a balance of$5,695. The CAAB is concerned that it is unable to adequately monitor these expenditures because it lacks information. The board respectfully requests that we be given an itemized list of access capital equipment acquired,including cost of each item. •A recommendation for a procedure and timeline for access capital spending was passed and is attached. The board calls for prompt action so that capital spending can resume. *Lauren reported that equipment cases,purchase of which was recommended by the CAAB last fall,are needed to protect our equipment investment.She asked that the CAAB recommend that an exception be made to the present hold on capital spending so that this purchase may take place. A motion to do so was made and carried. • The CAAB wishes to find out whether access capital money can be used to rent or acquire additional studio/editing space,given that there may soon be no place to put new capital equipment in existing ACC facilities. The board also wishes to find out whether Ed./Govt. channels can be used to accommodate public access overflow when they are otherwise not scheduled. Resolution 1.91 of the Cable Access Advisory board Passed 3/5/91 Procedure and Time-line for Developing a Time to Yearly Capital Spending Plan for Access next event The Cable Access Advisory Board recommends the following procedure for arriving at an annual capital spending plan for access equipment: 1. The CAAB and ACC sponsor a public meeting for access users to 2 wks. discuss their priorities for access equipment. 2. At a special meeting, the CAAB considers the input from the public 1 wk meeting and, using that as a guide, establishes priorities among access capital needs. At this meeting, the CAAB also appoints three of its members to a Capital Planning Committee. 3. The Capital Planning Committee meets. This committee consists of three CAAB members, the Access Coordinator, and the Chief Engineer 8 wks., from ACC. Its role is to draw up a list of equipment to meet the max. priorities set by the CAAB, within budget constraints, and specifying makes, model numbers, prices, and suggested vendors. The plan is approved by majority vote of the committee. This committee is the main task group of this process and is allotted 4-8 weeks to complete its work, providing that time spans no more than one CAAB meeting. 4. At its next monthly meeting, the CAAB approves the plan with any 1 wk. changes or caveats it wishes to include, and sends it to the Cable Commission. 5. At its next monthly meeting, the Cable Commission approves the plan 1 wk. with any changes or caveats it wishes to include. The plan now becomes the recommendation of the Cable Commission, and is sent to the General Manager of ACC 6a. ACC reviews the plan. If ACC finds no cause for reconsideration, 1 wk purchase orders for equipment are issued. 6b. If ACC does find cause for recconsideration of the plan, a conference 1 wk. committee consisting of the Chair of the Cable Commission, the Chair of the CAAB, and the Manager of ACC meets to reconsider it. A final plan is approved by majority vote of this committee, and purchase orders are issued. Total time to completion of task: 1 5 wks. We further recommend that all money allocated for access spending be deposited in a dedicated, interest-bearing account as soon as it is allocated. Interest from this account will remain part of the access equipment fund. Resolution 2.91 of the Cable Access Advisory Board Passed 3/5/91 The Cable Access Advisory Board suggests the following text, or some variant on it, for a letter to be sent by the Access Coordinator in response to complaints from subscribers about access program content. 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.