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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-AOC-2021-06-01 1 MINUTES Access Oversight Committee (AOC) (as approved July 8, 2021) Tuesday, June 1, 2021 at 5 PM The AOC met by ZOOM Conferencing (thanks to Paulette Rosa, Clerk, Town of Ithaca). Present: chair Rich DePaolo, secretary Wayles Browne, Common Council liaison Rob Gearhart, vice chair Wies van Leuken; Access Studio Coordinator Lauren Stefanelli; employees of Charter: Mike Montesano (Sr. Manager, Programming, Charter Communications), Lauren Kelly (Director of Government Affairs - Finger Lakes Region, Charter Communications); members of the public Patrick Pinney, Theresa Alt, Jim Blizzard. Excused: Gossa Tsegaye. 01. Call to Order by DePaolo 5:03. The meeting was recorded. 02. Agenda Additions and/or Deletions: none. 03. Public Comments. Jim Blizzard: I picked up and cleaned the playback device (Nexus); it works. I have been live streaming channel 15 (the Government Channel) on the internet from the Court House for some days. I can't stream channel 13 at the same time, having only one device. Can we have a subcommittee to consult about getting equipment? We need analog/digital converters. DePaolo: We do not need a subcommittee; just make a list of equipment and cost for the AOC’s consideration. Blizzard: If producers get accustomed to streaming, we may need industrial quality equipment. Let's revisit it once we know it can work. I need one analog-to-digital converter for 13, in addition to the one for 15. Kelly asks: Jim, do you still need the cable box? I can ask how to get it to you free. Blizzard thinks he needs only the converter. If the cable box will do the job, and she could get one for him he would be happy to have it, but they could talk about it sometime after the meeting. Theresa Alt: I am the producer of the series Ithaca DSA Presents. I know there has been discussion about the disclaimer that Charter Communications posts before and after shows submitted by local producers. Given the reputation of Charter in the community, I believe it enhances my show's credibility when viewers learn that Charter had nothing to do with the content. 04. Comments by AOC members. DePaolo to Alt: is that like putting a "Parental Discretion" sticker on an album so that kids will want it even more? 05. Approval of Minutes of the May 4, 2021 Meeting. Van Leuken moved and Gearhart seconded a resolution to approve the minutes. They were approved as submitted 4-0. 06. Access Studio Coordinator Report. The report was submitted in writing by M. Montesano and is attached to the minutes below. Browne to Montesano: your report is submitted in .pdf format. When it is converted to .doc to be part of the minutes, the logo is lost. If that is a concern, please submit the report in Word format. Montesano: I do not mind. DePaolo notes that the report is no longer submitted by the studio coordinator. He asks if there is any further comment from the coordinator (Stefanelli). Stefanelli: no. 2 Montesano gives a Maintenance and Repair Report: The SDI converter has been installed. The studio’s current Nexus had 3 problems. Leightronix, the manufacturer, can't see why. Stefanelli: The 3 are all video problems: freezing and pixilating for 30 sec. We got the logs checked out and there have been no problems since then. DePaolo: It might just need cleaning. Was it physically checked out? Stefanelli: yes. 06a. PEGASYS' operations during the COVID-19 pandemic — update. DePaolo asks Charter staff for an update. None is provided. DePaolo: is there a target date? Answer: no. Kelly to DePaolo: there is no internal process for reopening. DePaolo notes that the Spectrum store in Ithaca is no longer requiring masks from persons vaccinated. Seemingly there is a distinction between stores (revenue-generating) opening and studios (not revenue-generating) not opening. Montesano: All Charter’s studios are closed. DePaolo: All Charter stores are open? Montesano: I do not know. DePaolo: What is the process? Is there a committee working on this? Kelly will ask around the company; will let AOC know. DePaolo wants to know if there is someone at Charter we can ask directly about the process; we have an obligation to provide services to our public. Gearhart: also wants to know what we're waiting for. Opening a studio to a producer and a guest or two is not comparable to opening City Hall to crowds coming and going daily. Van Leuken moved and Browne seconded a resolution to authorize the chair to formally notify Charter of the AOC’s request to open PEGASYS immediately. WHEREAS, the PEGASYS Community Media Center (“PEGASYS”) has been closed since March 16, 2020, except for a brief limited reopening from October 5, 2020 to October 21, 2020; and WHEREAS Charter Communications (“Charter”) is not providing the Access Oversight Committee (AOC) with a timeline for reopening; and WHEREAS, public and private facilities have been open to visitors who have been vaccinated; and WHEREAS, the continued closure of the PEGASYS facilities constitutes an arbitrary practice; NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the AOC authorizes its Chair to write a letter to Charter requesting the immediate reopening of PEGASYS. The resolution passes 4-0. 06b. Balance of Collected Subscriber Fees through 2020. Van Leuken: I have a figure for the balance through the end of 2020; can Charter confirm it? Kelly: I thought this had been done. I'll look and get back to you. 06c. Release of Producers' Contact Information - report. Kelly: legal review is not yet done; we will have an answer soon, hopefully. 06d. Jim Blizzard's proposal for remote live programs — report. 3 Stefanelli: Blizzard has his equipment for live remotes, but the studio would need a switcher to cablecast them. Blizzard: in fact you need a Portable AV switcher and titler for remote shoots - Atem Television Studio HD by Black Magic Design and the Video over IP encoder/decoder pair (two Marshall VS-102-HDIs, one to modulate and one to demodulate). If I do a remote shoot using multiple cameras, I need a switcher out in the field too (the Black Magic Design). DePaolo asks the costs of these; Blizzard will send info before the next meeting. 07. Member Reports. 07a. Charter's PEG Rules and Guidelines document — review and resolution. [Two versions of Charter's proposed document are attached; note that they are not in force, not having been adopted by AOC.] DePaolo screen shares van Leuken’s memo (attached) comparing Charter's proposed rules for PEGASYS and AOC's rules presently in force and goes through it point by point. DePaolo: AOC is still the governing body, despite the formulation "PEGASYS/Charter Communications" contained in Charter's proposal. Van Leuken’s memo at point 3 discusses the present paperless system using "Facile" software; Charter's proposal involves filling out more forms, makes life more onerous for producers. Montesano: Facile is Stefanelli's own software, nobody else knows how to use it. The forms should take 30 sec. to fill out; we can send them out ahead of time. They are a better way to keep track of studio use. DePaolo asks: are they just on paper? Montesano: Stefanelli saves them to computer and has the hard copy. Stefanelli: All paperwork is now uploaded as a .pdf to a central Charter location, so these new forms would be scanned and uploaded to it too. DePaolo: point 4. Charter's text limits number of reservations and program runs. Van Leuken: this is different from our current rules. Montesano: Charter's document is recommendations to make things fair and equitable, to keep someone from reserving a whole week at a time. DePaolo: Is there evidence of people squatting on unused time, of others getting squeezed out? Stefanelli: There's available time on Channel 13. DePaolo: Pre-COVID, were there any such imbalances? Stefanelli: No. DePaolo: point 5. How do disciplinary actions differ from AOC's rules, and why? Montesano: "Access Privilege Suspension Guidelines" are not set in stone, but warnings to users. He reads P. 14 of the Charter document: "Please understand that these are guidelines only...". The page lists actions for first violations, second violations, third violations. Van Leuken cites P. 9 of AOC's rules regarding the penalty for commercial-content violations: "... will be suspended from use of the public access channel for a period of up to six months. Staff will report suspensions to the AOC. Contested violations can be brought to the AOC for a final determination" as an example of how we formulate penalties now. She continues: Apart from the list of definitions at the beginning, which is a good idea, I saw nothing in the Charter document that would improve operations. DePaolo: Considering the lack of submitted evidence of deficiencies, I don't see the need for disrupting AOC's system. If Charter gives us evidence, we'll reopen it. Browne: As a long-time AOC member, I've seen AOC's rules evolve and always work well—very few contraventions. Gearhart concurs. DePaolo: Members, give input if you have it, otherwise we won't rework. Montesano: Charter’s forms are better than Facile. Most of them would need to be filled out only once per year. We need to show clearly which equipment is being used. 4 DePaolo asks how the data helps Charter or AOC. Montesano: it keeps track of who uses the facility. DePaolo: the AOC already gets an annual report on studio usage. Montesano: This would be real-time synopses of what's being used. DePaolo asks Stefanelli: Could you give AOC more frequent reports on studio usage? Stefanelli: Yes. DePaolo: Then I don't see any benefit to our users from changing the submission of data. Would Charter keep a database accessible in real time? Montesano: No, just a folder with scanned .pdfs that we could look at more frequently. DePaolo: We'll continue with present rules; no need for a resolution to state this. 07b. 2022 Budget — Resolutions from City, Town and Village. DePaolo: The Contingency Budget will be considered by the Town June 14. Van Leuken: The Village of Cayuga Heights approved it by resolution on May 19. Gearhart: it should go to the City Administration Committee before being voted on by the Common Council in July. Van Leuken: But that will be too late, because the Charter recommendations will go into effect by default on June 30. She refers to the last sentence of Franchise Section 15.12: "In the event the Participating Municipalities fail to direct or act upon the recommendations of access staff by June 30, access staff shall follow the recommendations outlined in the budget." Gearhart: Will ask colleagues on Common Council to let me file the resolution as a member item for tomorrow's Common Council meeting. Van Leuken: It has been done this way in the past. Because Kelly had to leave the meeting early, items 07f and 08a were moved to this point of the agenda. Their discussion is below. Kelly left the meeting after discussion of 7f and 8a. 07c. Request for 2021 Budget — resolution. DePaolo: Can we make the expenditure of funds for the switcher before resolving the issue with Charter on use of the equipment for i-Net? Once we start buying items, there's no going back in time. Van Leuken: I'd still be willing to buy the most economical piece of equipment that will enable live cablecasts from the PEGASYS studio. Gearhart: it is a risk but I agree. DePaolo: I still need to coordinate with the City Attorney's office to expedite non-compliance issues. I don't want to set a precedent and thus make the question moot. We don't yet have to deal with live programming in the studio as long as the studio is closed. We haven't yet been able to issue our official Notice of Non-Compliance. When that happens, Charter has to respond within 30 days. For now, we'll wait till next month. DePaolo asks Gearhart to help with getting access to the City Attorney. Gerhardt asks to be copied to DePaolo’s correspondence with the City Attorney. 07d. Charter's Used Equipment Donation Agreement — report. Blizzard signed the form and picked up the equipment. He was able to repair it and it is working fine. 07e. Release of Producers' Contact Information — review of Charter's report. Charter did not provide a report to review. See 06c above. 07f. Charter's disclaimer bookending public access programs — follow-up. Before leaving the meeting Kelly reported on this item (see 7b). Kelly: hasn't heard from Charter's legal staff, but does not expect Charter to change its position on disclaimer. 5 DePaolo: as I wrote in my memo (attached), these PEG channels do not belong to Charter, they belong to us, the franchising authority. Charter is prohibited from control over “any channel capacity". So Charter can't insert any content unilaterally and needs to respond to AOC's position. We'll have to go through "channels" to litigate this matter. 07g. Bulletin Board, TBA and Archive Programs. Van Leuken: at the last meeting we passed a resolution to use WRFI as default audio for the Bulletin Board. But I do not see it being implemented. Montesano: Kelly would be the person to speak to this, but she's left. She is the one to make the decision. I cannot speak for her. She was not part of last meeting’s discussion. I will Email her. It is a policy question. DePaolo: I do not understand this. Last we talked, all we needed was a formal request from WRFI to be used as the default audio, now it is a policy issue – that was never identified as such until now. Montesano: We gave the information to Kelly; I'll try to get an answer. DePaolo: So it won't wait till next month, right? Charter has no authority over this. This is clearly another content/use issue. What policy issue if any is there? We sent the resolution last month. 07h. Publicity and Outreach. No report. 08. Old Business. 08a. Charter's Compliance with Franchise Agreement Section 15.9. Before leaving the meeting Kelly reported on this item (see 7b). Kelly: Happy to say that the required info about PEG will be on every month's subscriber bill from now on. She was thanked by the AOC. 08b. Franchise Agreement negotiations. No reports. 08c. Franchise agreement non-compliance letter. No reports. 08d. Inclusion of PEG channels on Spectrum App. No reports. 08e. I-Net "end equipment" maintenance cost shift. No reports. 09. New Business. No reports. 10. Next meeting. Van Leuken: Can we meet in person? Browne suggests meeting at Town Hall. Gearhart: I may have a conflict. DePaolo: Another day that week? Let's try Thursday July 8, 5 pm at Town Hall. I will try to schedule a meeting there. We have a camera there if folks want to meet by Zoom. 11. Adjournment 6:52. ================ 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. 6 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>, <tsegaye@ithaca.edu>. 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: https://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 7 Charter COMMUNICATIONS Lauren Stefanelli PEG Coordinator Access Oversight Committee Meeting Ithaca, NY Coordinator Report 6/01/2021 Equipment Maintenance/Repair Issues:  _The second SDI converter donated by the AOC has been installed.  _Jim Blizzard picked up the non-working Nexus from the PEG facility on May 20, 2021. Equipment Recommendations:  _There are no new recommendations this month. PEG Rules and Guidelines:  _A document making suggestions to update the current Policies and Procedures manual was submitted to the Access Oversight Committee. Cablecast Common Council/Other Meetings Monthly Summary (Gov. Access Channel):  _05/05- Ithaca Common Council Meeting- Prepared for playback by Charter staff.  _05/19- Planning and Economic Development Committee Meeting- Prepared for playback by Charter staff.  _05/26- City Administrator Committee Meeting- Prepared for playback by Charter staff. Non-Resident Summary: • _Current balance for PEG Usage Fees as of June 1, 2021 is $519.00. PEGASYS Fees Report Name Municipality Date of Membership Amount Total 2020 Total $479.00 Andy Finkle Dryden January, 2021- June, 2021 $20.00 $20.00 Ndjombe Titi Newfield January, 2021- June, 2021 $20.00 $20.00 Current Total $519.00 519 W. State St. | Ithaca, NY 14850 P (607) 272-7272 Lauren.Stefanelli@charter.com 8 On May 21, 2021, at 6:28 PM, Rich DePaolo <RDePaolo@town.ithaca.ny.us> wrote: Lauren- As an addendum to the email I provided below, please consider the following narrative from the FCC page describing PEG. "PEG channel capacity that is not in use for its designated purpose may, with the franchising authority's permission, be used by the cable operator to provide other cable services. Franchising authorities are directed by federal law to prescribe rules governing when this use is permitted.” https://www.fcc.gov/media/public-educational-and-governmental-access-channels- pegchannels#:~: text=PEG%20channel%20capacity%20that%20is,when%20this%20use%20is%20permitted Since the disclaimers Charter is running are not produced by our content providers, and are being provided by the “cable operator,” they constitute “other cable services.” By extension, since they are not sanctioned by AOC (representing the “franchising authority”), they are prohibited. Based on Charter’s interpretation, there seems to be a misunderstanding regarding ownership and control of PEG channels. These are not Charter channels being made available to municipalities, subject to Charter oversight. These are public channels being distributed on the Charter system, subject to oversight by the franchising authority, with limited discretion provided to Charter to refuse transmission of programming in extreme situations. Rich On May 21, 2021, at 3:23 PM, Rich DePaolo <rdepaolo@town.ithaca.ny.us> wrote: Lauren- Thank you for providing Charter’s interpretation of the relevant sections of the Cable Act related to editorial control. With all due respect, the citation you offered does not mention “content.” It specifically prohibits editorial control over “any public, educational, or governmental use,” and, more importantly, prohibits control over “any channel capacity." Any rational legal mind must conclude that content, which by its very nature uses capacity, simply cannot be unilaterally transmitted by Charter Communications. Continuation of the practice constitutes a taking of PEG “capacity." The authority of Charter is strictly limited to refusal to transmit certain material which falls under strict definitions of “obscenity, indecency, or nudity.” Furthermore, our producers are already on the hook for the content of their programming, pursuant to terms agreed to by both parties, which renders the need for disclaimers moot. Charter is, by default, not responsible for content. Finally, assuming for the sake of argument that your rationale is appropriate (which it isn’t), Charter also "can’t edit the content" of programming offered by its commercial providers, none of which are being made subject to mandatory disclaimers related to programming content. This is an egregious and discriminatory violation of the Cable Act, and of the spirt of the franchise agreement, and I will strongly advocate to the Committee that our forthcoming letter of non-compliance be modified to include this issue. Regards, Rich On May 21, 2021, at 2:41 PM, Kelly, Lauren E <Lauren.Kelly@charter.com> wrote: Rich, I wanted to follow-up on your request to produce the applicable citation which allows Charter to utilize the attached disclaimer. Please see the following language from the Cable Act: “Subject to Section 624(d), a cable operator shall not exercise any editorial control over any public, educational, or governmental use of any channel capacity provided pursuant to this section, except a cable operator may refuse to transmit any publicaccess program or portion of a public access program which contains obscenity, access program or portion of a 9 public access program which contains obscenity, indecency or nudity.” Cable Act Sec. 511(e), 47 USC 531(e). Section 624(d) simple lets the cable operator and franchising authority establish requirements related to obscene programming. The slide in question is a simple extension of the rule that we are not allowed to exercise any editorial discretion over the content. Because we can’t edit the content, and we are required to make the channel available, we are not responsible for the content of the programming and the programming does not reflect the opinions of the staff and management of Charter. Best, Lauren Lauren Kelly | Director, Government Affairs – Finger Lakes 585.340.8188 (O) | 585.797.5395 (M) 100 Town Centre Drive | Rochester, NY 14623 10 A summary of PEGASYS’ and Charter’s manuals (June 1, 2021) At the April 6, 2021 meeting I was asked to summarize the differences between the existing PEGASYS Manual and the Charter suggested manuals. Charter did not use the PEGASYS manual as a base for their suggested changes, but rather presented a new document that also includes a few sections of the PEGASYS manual. Subsequently a revised “redlined” text was submitted. I merged PEG & Charter manuals and ended up with a document almost completely red-lettered showing how different the 2 manuals are. I will list just the most notable differences. 1. The Charter text replaces “AOC” with “PEGASYS/Charter Communications”. In addition, the Charter text includes this sentence: “PEGASYS / Charter Communications reserves the right to review all definitions and policies contained in this manual and make changes as deemed necessary”. “PEGASYS/Charter Communications” might look like a joint enterprise with public access as one of its partners, but “PEGASYS” is merely a facility, leaving “Charter” in charge of rulemaking. If the AOC were to adopt the Charter text it would be signing away its authority to make the rules for PEGASYS. That would violate clauses in the Franchise Agreement & City Code that mandate the AOC with making the rules for public access. 2. The Charter text adds a slew of new rules, restrictions, disciplinary actions, a long list of verboten items and extra paperwork. In contrast, the PEGASYS manual was written to make the studio as user-friendly as possible with just enough rules and restrictions to make it work for producers and staff. 3. Just one example to illustrate the above: the studio uses Facile to keep track of all things PEGASYS. Use of the studio requires up to 3 forms, just 1 for providers, 2 for producers of single programs and 3 for series producers. The latter make reservations once a year for all their production needs. All other reservations are made by phone or Email, entered directly into Facile, with a screen shot of the reservation Emailed back as confirmation. A paperless system. 4. The Charter text limits the # of reservations allowed, caps channel time at 1 hour, reduces program runs from 6 to 4, limits editing suites’ occupancy to just producer & editor, requires paperwork and documentation for everyone involved in a studio production including crew & guests, requires a different form for every reservation, be it for studio, editing suites, equipment etc., forbids children, dogs and production planning meetings on the premises, requires reservations and media delivery to be made 7 days in advance, etc. 5. The Charter text presents other items of concern, such as the legal language on the forms that producers must sign, the schedule of disciplinary actions, removal of sections such as Bulletin Board, Commercial Rentals, New Producer Guide and the Coordinator’s role, changing the calendar year and equipment ownership, extending the manual with rules for educational & government access, etc. 6. Conclusion: the Charter text would infringe on the AOC’s authority to make rules for PEGASYS and it would profoundly change the way PEGASYS operates. It would not make PEGASYS more user-friendly, nor would it remove hurdles for its users, improve channel content, diversify programming, promote free speech or make less work for producers and staff.