HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CABLECOMM-1993-01-12 City of Ithaca Cable Commission
Minutes of January 12 , 1993 meeting, 7 : 30pm City Hall
Attending: ICC: Peter Hess, Mary Euell , Jim Ferwerda, Rick Gray, Tom Terrizzi
ACC: Ray McCabe
1 . Call to order
2 . Approval of minutes of December 14 , 1992 meeting
Approved as submitted.
3 . Chairperson' s Report
A. Numerical offset on upper channels
Hess reported that he called the NYSCC to get advice on whether there is
any policy on this service problem. The NYSCC indicated that there is no
specific policy. ACC maintains that a technical fix is too costly. Thus it
is unlikely that this problem will be resolved in the near future . Gray
opined that the franchise orders ACC to "promote" access, and asked what
ACC would do in that regard. McCabe indicated that a bill message , b-board
listings on channel 13, psa' s on channel 7, and other cross channel promotion
were all possible .
B .Rate regulation certificate
The Cable Act of 1992 states that the City must apply to the FCC for the
right to regulate rates . The NYSCC will send a packet of application
materials . The deadline for applications is April 4 , 1993 .
C. Gov' t access committee rep.
Hess spoke to the Mayor about the proper procedure for making appointments
to the gov' t access committee . The Mayor felt that permanent appointments
to the committee should be made after the committee becomes an official
body. This will be discussed at the committee' s next meeting on 2/4/93 .
The ICC recommends that letters requesting candidates for appointment
be re-sent to the relevant municipalities .
D. Default hearings and progress
A public hearing before the C & 0 committee of Common Council was held
during the month of December . Barbara Lukens, then general manager of ACC
and Charles Guttman, city attorney each presented their arguments to the
committee . A second hearing date was set. An independent factfinder now
needs to be appointed.
E. Time-Warner suit re : cable act of ' 92
Hess reported that Time-Warner , the parent company of ACC has begun a
legal suit challenging many provisions of cable act including those
affecting PEG access . The City of Ithaca was specifically, rn ntioned in
documents submited in support of the suit. Hess circulated a copy of
excerpts from the documents.
4 . Announcements
No announcements .
4
I•
g . "
fr a �
•tea
4
r t
5 . ACC Report
McCabe expressed dismay over the Common Council ' s decision to revoke its
approval of Time-Warner' s request to continue normal relations with ACC
while the parent company undergoes a financial and structural reorganization.
The ICC expressed suprise over the Council ' s 11th hour decision. Both parties
expressed a continued willingness to resolve differences .
6 . Public Comment
No public comment.
7 . Access reports
Gray reported that the CAAB had drafted guidelines to deal with the concern
that the PEG channels were becoming too closely identified with particular
users ( e .g. Ithaca college, Tompkins county) . The ICC offered comments on
the draft asking that the requests be strengthened into directives . The
guidelines now need to be adopted by each of the PEG access committees .
Gray was asked by the ICC to draft two documents. The first is to address the
access community' s interest in expanding the access studios into the
space now occupied by the Four Seasons Greenhouse when it becomes available .
McCabe was asked to notify the ICC before re-letting that space . The second
is a draft job description for the new access staffer to he hired in March
' 93 as provided for in the Franchise .
8 . Old Business
A. Responsibilities for commission members
B. Filing for certificate to regulate rates
C . City participation on gov' t access committee
D. Promotion of educational and government access channels
E. Expansion of access hours
F. Use of IC logo on educational access channel
G. Expansion of access facility
H. Policy responsibility for gov' t access channel
I . I-net problem
A.
The commission decided to divide certain administrative responsibilities
among the commissioners to better balance individual workloads.
B,C,D, F,G,H
Addressed in Chair report and Access report sections above .
E.
Based on requests from the CAAB, options were discussed for expanding the
operating hours of the access studios . Hess agreed to draft a resolution
on this topic to be voted on at the February ICC meeting.
I .
Ferwerda reported that he had been investigating the current status of the
I-net . He repeated his request to McCabe for a list of I-net sites and a
diagram of the I-net topolgy.
9 . New Business
A. Senior citizen discount
Lukens mailed Hess a copy of the annual qualification form ACC requires before
granting a customer a senior-citizen' s discount. The ICC felt that the
qualification process was difficult and would discourage seniors from applying
Ferwerda and others felt that ACC should do more to make the process easier
for qualified seniors. The decision was made to raise this issue again at
the February meeting.
B. Election of new chair person
Ferwerda was unanimously elected as the new chair . Hess was lauded for
dedication and selfless public service .
C. Policy for access committee appointee terms
Discussion led to the conclusion that there are no specific term limits .
Terms limits for appointees are thus left up to the appointers .
10 . Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 9 : 30 pm.
11 . Executive session
Minutes submitted by Jim Ferwerda