HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-AOC-2019-09-30City of Ithaca Cable Access Oversight Committee Meeting Minutes
MONDAY, September 30, 2019 at 5 PM
Meeting Room, PEGASYS Community Media Center
612 West Green Street, Ithaca, NY
Present: chair Rich DePaolo, secretary Wayles Browne, Common Council liaison Rob
Gearhart, vice chair Wies van Leuken, Gossa Tsegaye; Access Studio Coordinator
Lauren Stefanelli.
01. Call to Order: DePaolo opened the meeting at 5:05 PM.
02. Agenda Additions and/or Deletions: none.
03. Public Comments: none.
04. Approval of Minutes of the September 3, 2019 Meeting: approved 5:0 with one
minor correction.
05. Access Studio Coordinator Report (attached). The JVC camcorder mentioned in
the report crashes when you change its battery. Three other JVCs have initial stages of
the same problem. The remaining two JVCs are OK. The AOC wants the crashed JVC
camcorder to be repaired without further delays. Once it is understood what the
problem is, a decision will be made about what to do with the other 3 problem
camcorders. DePaolo will e-mail Lauren Kelly (Spectrum/Charter’s government
relations representative) about the urgent need to repair the crashed JVC.
a. Semi-Annual Usage Fees Report: attached with contributors’ names removed
for privacy. The Usage Fee Fund’s current balance is $360.00. The AOC discussed
possible additional sources of monies for this Fund.
b. Playback system replacement. Update: Stefanelli is considering a combination
of equipment to replace the current playback system. She will bring more de tails to the
next meeting (see minutes of Sept. 3, 2019). Meanwhile, she welcomes any additional
technical information to help us decide on the best course of action.
c. 2019 Budget purchases. Stefanelli reports that the purchasing of this equipment
by Charter staff is in progress.
06. Member Reports
a. Quarterly Franchise Fee Report from City, Town and Village: The municipalities
reporting is up to date, except for the City’s 2019 Q2 report. Gearhart will check with the
City.
b. 2020 Budget Approvals: all municipalities have approved the AOC’s 2000
budget recommendations.
c. Equipment/Battery purchase: the AOC approved the purchase of a second
battery for an older camera that is still used by one of the PEG producers.
d. 2019 Budget purchases: see 5c.
e. Access Rules: Van Leuken presented a revised draft of the PEGASYS Policies
and Procedures Manual of June 2, 2014. The AOC did a page by page review, leaving
the (final) Section VIII for the next meeting. Van Leuken will incorporate the
Committee’s comments and Email the new draft prior to the next meeting.
The Audio Level requirements of Section V.2.e were discussed. They have to be
between -20 and -12 dB. DePaolo: 0 dB is the industry standard. Stefanelli: the audio
is distorted by the Nexus if it goes up that far.
Tsegaye: do we have closed captioning available for the hearing-impaired? Stefanelli:
PEG programs have been ruled exempt from this requirement.
f. Outreach: Sciencenter visit: See Studio Coordinator's report. Stefanelli and
Browne will go to the Sciencenter on Saturday, October 5. Stefanelli will film at the
Sciencenter and prepare an interview.
07. Old Business
a. Franchise Agreement: no new developments.
08. New Business: none.
09. Next meeting: Tuesday, December 3, 2019 at 5 pm [no November meeting].
10. Adjournment: 6:57.
================
Authority: City of Ithaca code Chapter 18, "Cable Access Oversight Committee". Adopted by the Common
Council of the City of Ithaca 11-5-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-17. Available at https://ecode360.com/8386207.
Contact information for AOC members:
City of Ithaca: Wayles Browne, secretary <ewb2@cornell.edu>.
City of Ithaca: Rob Gearhart, Common Council liaison 2019- <rgearhart@cityofithaca.org>.
City of Ithaca: member Gossa Tsegaye <gossavision@twcny.rr.com>
Town of Ithaca: Rich DePaolo, chair <rd@richdepaolo.com>, <RDePaolo@town.ithaca.ny.us>.
Village of Cayuga Heights: Wies van Leuken, vice chair <pmv4@cornell.edu>.
Web site for the PEGASYS Community Media Center studio, with program schedules:
http://pegasys.webstarts.com/index.html
studio location: 612 West Green Street, Ithaca, New York
mailing address: 519 West State Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
phone (607) 272-7272
fax (607) 277-5404
PEGASYS staff: studio manager Lauren Stefanelli <Lauren.Stefanelli@charter.com>
October 2019
Access Studio Coordinator Report
Producers
AOC member Wayles Browne and I contacted the pr rep for the Sciencenter and I have
an appointment to shoot a video of their new exhibit this month.
Tom Stern and I contacted the Community Arts Partnership to see if any funding
possibilities that might fit PEGASYS producers were available. The 2 grants that are
most applicable are the Specific Opportunity Stipend Tompkins, which require s the
grant project help the artist in career development; and the Artist in Community Grant,
which requires public performance of the art.
Equipment Issues
The JVC camcorder that was sent out for repair is being tested by our engineer.
The broken Magnus tripod spreader has been repaired with volunteer ingenuity.
We will have an update for you soon on the equipment package that was approved in
the spring.
Staff and Hours
I will be on vacation starting October 21, returning November 26. Jonathan Stamp, the
access coordinator in Cortland, will cover all normal Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
PEGASYS hours, as well as all Wednesday City Council and Budget meetings during
this period. PEGASYS Wednesday afternoon hours will be unavailable on 10/23, 10/30,
11/6, 11/13, 11/20. I have been working with Wednesday producers to come up with
alternative production plans for these weeks.
PEGASYS Fees Report: Fees Collected and Spent through September 2019
Total Balance 2018 $330.00
Municipality Period Amount Status
Producer 1 (name withheld) Dryden 2019_1 $20.00 PAID
Producer 2 (name withheld) Dryden 2019_1 $20.00 PAID
Producer 3 (name withheld) Newfield 2019_1 $20.00 PAID
Producer 4 (name withheld) Lansing 2019_2 $20.00 PAID
Total Fees 2019 $80.00
Authorized Payments To For Payments Date
PEGASYS
Awards Lauren Certif/food -$50.00 3/22/2019
Total Payments 2019 -$50.00
Total Balance 2019 $360.00