Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CABLECOMM-1993-02-09 City of Ithaca Cable Commission Minutes of February 9, 1993 Meeting Present: Commission members: Rick Grey; Peter Hess, Acting Chairperson; Mary Euell; Tom Terrizzi. Common Council Liaison: John Efroymson ACC Representative: Ray McCabe, General Manager. The Meeting was called to order at 7:35 pm. 1. Minutes of the January 12, 1993 meeting were approved as submitted. 2. Chair's Report: a) Announcement of a NATOA conference in March. b) Reports from the NYSCC on the new Cable Act, and franchise renewals will be circulated. c) Ray McCabe agreed to send the Ithaca Cable Commission a copy of all reports submitted to the NYSCC when they are submitted. 3. ACC Report Ray McCabe stated: a) ACC is willing to provide a message on service bills notifying customers of the offsets on the access channels. Rick Grey is to work on the language of the message with Lauren Stephanelli, Access Coordinator. ACC will consider placing notices on other channels regarding the offset. b) ACC would like copies of the ICC meeting agenda and the past months meeting minutes in advance of the monthly meeting. Mr. Hess agreed that they would be provided. c) Only ACC employees will interview applicants for the new access position. They are considering other options for community input in the hiring process; having the prospective employee teach a class at the access center, letting CAAB pre-screen the applicants. Mr.McCabe is waiting to hear from his Human Resources Department to see what accommodations can be made. He will at least allow the CAAB to submit a list of written questions to the applicant. John Efroymson stated that he felt that there should, at minimum, be an access person in on the interview. Mr. McCabe said that ACC would continue to work with Rick Grey on the issue and will meet the March 1, 1993 deadline for hiring the new employee. 4. Public Comment. Bill McCormack stated that there is a need for another public access channel; it should be designated as channel 14; there should be a non-city government access channel; there needs to be a review of the rerun policy; the ICC should use the current negotiations with ACC to clarify problems with the wording of the franchise. Jim Blizzard stated that the city should spend some of the franchise fee it collects on access; now is the time to explore establishing a not-for-profit corporation to run access. Mr. Hess stated that if there is interest, a group of volunteers willing to work on the issue should come forward. Mr. McCabe said he would check to see what information ACC has on other Not-For-Profits operating access centers in its system and supply Mr. Hess with the names of any cities where they exist. 5. Access Report. a) A motion to ask the mayor to appoint Rick Grey to be the city representative to the Government Access Channel Committee was passed. 4-0. b) Mr. Grey was re-elected as chairperson of the CAAB. c) Mr. Grey presented the 1993 proposed capital equipment budget. Several people requested that in selecting equipment in future budgets, simplicity and ease of use should be a priority. Jim Blizzard pointed out that the proposal does not contain a time base corrector to permit replays of government access shows. d) A motion to recommend to ACC that they adopt Phase I of the PEG access capital equipment budget was passed.4-0. e) Stimulating reports were presented regarding the meetings of the governmental and educational access committees. 6. Old Business. a) Minutes of the November 1992 meeting were approved. b) NYSCC will keep us informed regarding the time table for filing petitions with the FCC. c) The CAAB presented a resolution to The ICC on expanding hours of operation of the access center. Mr. McCabe stated that it was ACC's responsibility to see that the access center was shared by all access users P. E and G. Right now P. dominates. After further discussion the following motion was passed. 4-0 The City of Ithaca Cable Commission,acting on the advice from the CAAB and access producers,requests the management of Acc to expand the hours of operation of the access facility for both production and playback.We believe that prompt action on this matter is mandated by Article XIV,Section D of the Franchise Agreement which states that"ACC shall offer additional weekday or weekend hours as community needs dictate." We suggest that the details of the expanded access center schedule be worked out in consultation with the CAAB and that the new schedule go into effect as soon as the fourth access center staff person has completed her/his training. d) Mr. McCabe agreed not to sign a new lease for the space in the front of the access center building currently being rented by Four Season Greenhouses until the CAAB discusses expanding the access center with him. e) The ICC needs to improve its communication with the City Attorney on the status of the default proceedings with ACC. Mr. Terrizzi will get an update on the proceedings for future meetings. 7. New Business a) Mr. McCabe reported that ACC settled the service complaint of Sandra Vicedomini to her daughters satisfaction by transferring the debt to an old account. Mr. Hess will follow up to see if she is satisfied. b) ACC announced a rate increase effective March 1, 1993. Mr. Grey inquired whether ACC will publish leased access rates as required by the franchise. Mr. Grey and Mr. Hess will review the notice of the rate increase and report back to the ICC next month. c) There was a discussion regarding making a presentation to the Budget and Administration Committee of Common Council regarding the need for a budget and staff for the ICC. The meeting was adjourned at 10:05 pm Minutes prepapred by Tom Terrizzi