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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCapital Project Request •" , -6 :wt cLs e.A ,'� — — ITHACA aca.' - . .�A ..; f, CITY OF I C ce<f ,v i f TT=1f�lf(I 1'I �; 108 East Green Street Ithaca, New York 14850-5690 kti _' u,. cls- �,�f � �' OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY (A4A ;�E'C�e. Uo tLd z� ` V 'Ir., �.N ` , q Martin A. Luster,City Attorney Telephone: 607/274-6504 = Patricia Dunn,Assistant City Attorney Fax: 607/274-6507 Robert A. Sarachan,Assistant City Attorney Khandikile M.Sokoni,Associate Attorney Dawn M.L.Tordel,Legal Assistant September 19, 2005 Will Burb. - air Cable A •-ss Oversight Committee �_.__1 Ithac• ' own Hall F r�1 l L- r �. I 2 • orth Tioga Street , f thaca,NY 14850 i I, i i c 2 0 2005 -.� Re: 2005 Pegasys Capital Budget r Dear Mr. Burbank: I ' :p+t;-IR _ _ ___ __ ___ This is in response to the memo from Wies van Leuken, dated September 12, 2005 stating that the Cable Access Oversight Committee is concerned about the replacement of a worn \.,i carpet in the Pegasys studio at the cost of$1,225, which moneys were taken out of the Capital Equipment Fund by Time Warner Cable. I agree that the Franchise Agreement §§15.1 through 15.3 do not give a definitive answer. However, §15.2 states, "The City shall be responsible for establishing an Access Oversight Committee. The Access Oversight Committee shall approve the timing, use and amount of PEG access equipment and facilities to be acquired each year over the term of the Franchise." This sentence makes it quite clear that it is the Access Oversight Committee that determines whether and to what extent equipment and facilities need to be iv, replaced. It would appear, therefore, that the determination on whether to replace a carpet using Capital Equipment Fund money is, to be made by the Cable Access Oversight Committee. Unfortunately, I am in no better position than the Committee is to determine which items should fall under maintenance and which should be paid for under the CEF. I am also enclosing, at the Committee's request, the final signed copy of the Franchise Agreement. If I can be of further assistance,please contact me. Ve .-. • •. rs, Patricia Dunn Assistant City Attorney PD/dmlt Enclosure pc: Wies vanLeuken K:\DUNN\Correspondence\Burbank ltr re PEGASYS.doc CG Sko4.4- "An Equal Opportunity Employer with a commitment to workforce diversification." 0 TO Patricia Dunn, Assistant City Attorney City of Ithaca 108 East Green Street Ithaca, NY 14850 FROM: Wies van Leuken, Village of Cayuga Heights Re (6./ Cable Access Oversight Committee 1105 Highland Road Ithaca, NY 14850 DATE September 12, 2005 RE: 2005 PEGASYS Capital budget At the September 8, 2005 meeting of the Cable Access Oversight Committee we came across an item that we want to discuss with you. It concerns the addition to the 2005 PEGASYS Capital budget by Time Warner staff of an item called "replace office and studio carpets" for$1,225.00. The Committee is concerned that the replacement of a worn carpet should not come out of Capital Equipment Fund (CEF) but is more properly the responsibility of the Franchisee Time Warner Cable. The Franchise Agreement's Sections 15.1 through 15.3 did not give us a definitive answer. Please give us your comments. In addition we would like to receive your general comments on which items would fall under maintenance and which would be paid for under the CEF. The Committee is still working with the final draft of the Franchise Agreement. Could you provide us with copy of the final agreement that was approved by the NYS Public Service Commission? Please forward your review to the Chair of the Cable Access Oversight Committee, Will Burbank, at Town Hall. He can also be reached at 607-257-1238 (W) or at <willburbank©twcny.rr.com>. Thank you. Cc. Cable Access Oversight Committee members Attachments: 2005 PEGASYS Capital Budget Franchise Agreement's Sections 15.1 through 15.3 •Y STATE OF NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE THREE EMPIRE STATE PLAZA, ALBANY, NY 12223-1350 Internet Address: http://www.dps.state.ny.us Mi PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION 1I r+'WILLIAM M.FLYNN DAWN JABLONSKI RYMAN Chairman ` ;r General Counsel THOMAS J.DUNLEAVY LEONARD A.WEISS ._ JACLYN A.BRILLING NEAL N.GALVIN x`E`5'—° Secretary PATRICIA L.ACAMPORA February 17, 2006 Mr. Wies van Leuken Representative Access Oversight Committee City of Ithaca 1105 Highland Road Ithaca, NY 14850 RE: Request for Opinion Time Warner Cable Dear Mr. van Leuken: I am writing in response to your request for an opinion regarding an access producer's ability to show programming on Time Warner Cable's system when he or she is not a resident of the cable operator's service area. I have reviewed all the documents you included as well as the cable franchise itself. As you are aware, the cable franchise agreement between the City of Ithaca and Time Warner Cable was renewed in 2003 and the provisions for public, educational and governmental access were changed from the previous agreement. From 2003 going forward, Time Warner has had the ability to restrict the use of the studio facilities and equipment to residents of municipalities which participate in the funding of the access facility and services ("Participating Municipalities"). Also, Time Warner has made it a policy based on the rules of the Department of Public Service that they will only accepting programming from producers within their service area. They have consistently not accepted programming from other areas such as California, Syracuse and Enfield, New York. The Town of Enfield is served not by Time Warner Cable, but Haefele TV. Therefore, the Town is not considered a Participating Municipality under the terms of the franchise agreement and they are not part of Time Warner's service area. Because u u , of these reasons, Time Warner has the authority to limit the submission of programming and usage of its facilities to their service area. However, an access producer can have someone who lives in the service area submit a tape on his or her behalf. As I understand it now, the producer from Enfield has found someone within the City to sponsor his programs and they are currently being shown. The Town of Enfield also has the option to approach Time Warner about obtaining a cable franchise for the Town. I would be happy to talk to someone from the Town about the franchising procedures if that would be helpful. Please feel free to contact me at (518) 474-2213 should you wish to discuss this matter further. Sincerely, Carol J. McTague Sr. Municipal Consultant Office of Telecommunications u -2- TO Mr. Chad Hume Deputy Director/Cable, NYS Public Service Commission Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223-1350 FROM: Wies van Leuken, \LIV Representative of the Village of Cayuga Heights Access Oversight Committee, City of Ithaca 1105 Highland Road, Ithaca, NY 14850 DATE January 10, 2006 RE: Request for an opinion I am writing on behalf of the Access Oversight Committee (AOC), which oversees the operations of PEGASYS, the local community access studio located in Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York. It makes rules for public access, pursuant to the City's Ord. No. 2003-17, Par 18 (11/03) which is based on the Franchise Agreement between the City of Ithaca and Time Warner Entertainment -Advance/Newhouse Partnership (TWC), dated January 2003. We understand that the NYS Public Service Commission (PSC) had to approve this Agreement and so we trust that you are familiar with it. The AOC is seeking PSC's opinion on a matter that was brought to the attention of our Committee by a resident of the Town of Enfield in Tompkins County (TC). This individual is a PEGASYS producer in good standing who has been submitting tapes for playback for two decades as permitted under PEGASYS rules. TWC recently made a new interpretation of these rules (in May of 2005) and will now accept such tapes only from residents of its service area. Tompkins County is served by two different cable companies, TWC and Haefele TV, with service areas that do not overlap. TWC serves the bulk of Tompkins County's population, including the City of Ithaca (the County seat) and seven of the surrounding towns. Haefele TV serves TC cable subscribers in the Towns of Enfield and Caroline. TWC operates PEGASYS and the only public access channels currently available to TC residents. The AOC reviewed the documents pertaining to this matter and noted the following: (1) The "PEGASYS Access Television Center's Policies and Procedures" handbook (Rev. 1/00) at Section 1.4.1 reads: "to use PEGASYS channel time, you must be a resident of Tompkins County at least 18 years old"; (2) The Franchise Agreement does not define "Service Area"; 0, 4 r+' (3) The Franchise Agreement refers to "Tompkins County" in Section 15.6.4, in a manner that reflects the general use of it as the functional definition of our larger community. Because these documents do not give clear guidance, the AOC is asking the PSC for an opinion on the applicability of the various provisions on whether residents of Tompkins County may provide programming for the local public access channel, and in particular: (1) if TWC is correct in its assertion that it is legally required to restrict use of time on the public access channel so that it is only for individuals who live in the TWC service area, and (2) if, on the other hand, TWC is not legally required to restrict use of time on the public access channel so that it is only for individuals who live in the TWC service area, but is choosing to do so, does the AOC and/or any other governmental body have the power to direct TWC to allow such access for all TC residents. Copies of quoted document sections have been attached for your reference. The AOC may be reached at the above listed address or by contacting its Chair, Will Burbank at <willburbank©twcny.rr.com>, at 132 Glenside Road, Ithaca NY, 14850, or at 607-272-7555. Thank you for your assistance. Enclosures Cc. Bill Burbank, Chair, AOC Members of the AOC (E-mail) Carolyn Peterson, Mayor, City of Ithaca Thomas Doheny, General Manager, TWC Lauren Stefanelli, Manager, PEGASYS Cris McConkey . . TIME WARNER CABLE December 20, 2005 Dear PEGASYS producers, This is an update to my notice of last August advising you about changing rules at PEGASYS. Effective in January, two important changes to the eligibility rules for PEGASYS will take effect. These changes reflect provisions in our current franchises and NYS Public Service Commission regulations. 1/ To be eligible to use PEGASYS production facilities at no charge, you will need to be a resident of the City of Ithaca, Town of Ithaca or Cayuga Heights. Other residents of Time Warner Cable's service area in Tompkins County may continue to use PEGASYS by paying a bi-annual fee: Initial Fee when first receiving training Individuals: $30 (includes 6-month membership) Organizations: $100 includes training and 6-month membership for up to 4 users The initial fee will only be charged to new users; current users will pay the ongoing fee: Ongoing membership fee individuals: $20 every 6 months Organizations: $50 every 6 months for up to 4 users This affects everyone using production services, including producers, crew, show hosts/co-hosts and students of our video classes. Proof of residence will be required. \I 2/ To be eligible to submit finished programs to PEGASYS, you will need to be a resident of Time Warner Cable's service area in Tompkins County. This includes almost all of Tompkins County except Enfield,which is served by another cable system. The reason for these changes is to balance PEGASYS services with the funding available to provide them. Subscribers of the City of Ithaca, Town of Ithaca and Cayuga Heights help pay for PEGASYS through a portion of their cable bill. If you have questions,please feel free to contact me. There is an Access Oversight Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 17, at 4pm at PEGASYS, open to the public. Cordially, 4 Lauren Stefalli / ‘-''PEGASYIvlanagtr . / Cc: Tom Doheny, time Warner Cable Access Oversight Committee S1Q W State Street • Ithaca NY 14850 • 272-3456 • City of Ithaca PC/Codebook for Windows Chapter 18, CABLE ACCESS OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE [HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Ithaca 11-5-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-17. Amendments noted where applicable.] GENERAL REFERENCES Cable Commission--See Ch. 17. Communications technology--See Ch. 152. § 18-1. Title. There shall be a new chapter added to the Code of the City of Ithaca which shall be entitled "Pegasys Access Oversight Committee" and may be cited as "Access Oversight Committee." oc § 18-2. Membership. A. The Access Oversight Committee shall have five voting members, three from the City of Ithaca of which one shall be a member of Common Council; one from the Town of Ithaca and one from Cayuga Heights. The Mayor shall appoint the members of the Access Oversight Committee subject to the approval of Common Council. The Town of Ithaca and Cayuga Heights shall recommend to the Mayor individuals from their respective municipalities for appointment to the Committee. A representative of Time Warner shall serve as a nonvoting, ex-officio member of the Committee. B. Should another municipality or municipalities become participating municipalities in the future, then such municipality or municipalities shall be entitled to recommend one individual from their municipality for appointment to the Access Oversight Committee. However, at such time, the City of Ithaca shall be entitled to appoint an additional member or members of the Access Oversight Committee such that in no event shall the proportion of membership of the City of Ithaca fall below 51%. § 18-3. Terms; officers and meetings; minutes. A. Members of the Access Oversight Committee shall be appointed for a term of three years, except that of the initial appointments, two shall expire on December 31, 2004, one of whom shall be a City representative; two shall expire on December 31, 2005, one of whom shall be a City representative; and one shall expire on December 31, 2006, one of whom shall be a City representative. B. The Committee shall meet on an as-needed basis but no less than quarterly. At the first 1 • • City of Ithaca PC/Codebook for Windows meeting of each year, the Access Oversight Committee shall elect a Chairperson, a Vice Chairperson and a Secretary and shall adopt a meeting time. C. Copies of the minutes of each meeting shall be transmitted to the Mayor and the Common Council. § 18-4. Duties and responsibilities. A. The Access Oversight Committee shall approve the timing, use and amount of PEG access equipment and facilities to be acquired each year over the term of the franchise between the City and Time Warner. B. The Access Oversight Committee may make rules for public access (but not for educational or government access) to assure the availability of the studio and portable equipment on a nondiscriminatory basis. The rules will deal with issues such as who can use the access equipment,what are the procedures for signing up for studio space and equipment, and how are schedules for cablecasting established. C. Consistent with staff and available funding, the Access Oversight Committee may adopt business hours for the Access studio, provided that, in addition to other live programming, livc programming will be accommodated between the hours of 11:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight ! •at a minimum of two evenings per week, as needed, to accommodate safe harbor programming: D. The Access Oversight Committee shall establish a usage fee for each separate use of access equipment and/or facilities to access users who do not reside in participating municipalities. Such fees shall be disbursed for PEG purposes at the discretion of the Committee. E. The Access Oversight Committee shall review annual reports on the provision of equipment, facilities and funds provided by Time Warner access staff and present an annual report to Common Council on said reports. The Access Oversight Committee may review Time Warner records and records of access providers regarding the use of funds described in said reports. F. The Access Oversight Committee shall review and monitor all access policies, rules, procedures, facilities and equipment, studio hours and staffing levels. Access Oversight Con)rnittee approval shall be required annually for the purchase of equipment, the studio hours available to access users, staffing level, budget and access rules. G. By May 31 of each calendar year, the Access Oversight Committee shall provide the Common Council of the City of Ithaca, the Supervisor of the Town of Ithaca and the Mayor of Cayuga Heights with a recommended annual budget for equipment and facilities for the following year such that the participating municipalities may meet their obligation to provide Time Warner with an annual budget for public, educational and governmental access 2 City of Ithaca PC/Codebook for Windows operations, which budget is due by June 30 of each calendar year. 3 I . • PEGASYS ACCESS TELEVISION CENTER a service of Time Warner Cable Ithaca, NY Policies and Procedures Revised January 2000 PEGASYS Policies and Procedures Pg. 1 L PEGASYS BASICS L 1 What Is PEG Access Television? Time Warner Cable provides many exciting opportunities to produce pro ramming of interest to - this community and to present that programming on channels specially designated for PEG access use. PEG access is short for Public, Educational and Governmental access television. Individuals, groups of any size, schools and local governments can use the medium of cable television to communicate non-commercial messages throughout the cable system. Access channels reach about 26,000 subscriber households [about 67,000 residents] on Time Warner Cable's basic cable service in Tompkins County. Community access television is an opportunity to reach most homes in the city of Ithaca and many throughout Tompkins County with any size message, from announcements on our Community Bulletin Board to full-scale documentaries. Community access television requires one vital ingredient to make it come alive: you! U What is PEGASYS? PEG access services are provided to residents by Time Warner Cable, which owns and operates the access system. Access channels are provided in accordance with the cable franchises between TWC, the City of Ithaca, and the other Towns and Villages of Tompkins County. Under the agreement between the City of Ithaca and TWC, TWC also provides a fully equipped and staffed Access Television Center for the creation of community access progmming. The entire PEG Access System [or PEGASYS, for short] includes: -5 Public,Educational.and Government access channels - the PEGASYS Television Center - certain off-site facilities,including a PEGASYS satellite dish and equipment at schools - connecting equipment to allow certain[I-NET]institutions to cablecast on PEGASYS channels L 3 PEGASYS Channel Line-up Channel 13- Public Access I [for individuals and groups] Channel 15 Governmental Access [for government bodies] Channel 16-Educational Access [for schools and colleges] Channel 76 -Educational Access [SCOLA, a satellite-delivered foreign news service subscribed to by Ithaca College and Cornell University] Channel 78-Public Access II I.4 Who is Eligible to Use PEGASYS? 1. To use PEGASYS channel time, you must be a resident of Tompkins County at least 18 years old Proof of residence may be required. 2. To use PEGASYS production facilities, you must fulfill the requirements in #1, above. In addition, you must complete PEGASYS training and be certified by staff for all PEGASYS equipment to be used. 3. Minors: Minors are permitted to assist on video productions at PEGASYS when an adult who has completed certification as an access producer takes legal responsibility for and is present during all phases of the minor's facility use. Minors using the facilities under these guidelines must be at least 14 years old. One further exception is for school groups using designated PEGASYS educational access equipment at their schooL The minimum age for students in such groups is 10. �11RMGM\S� .1-4AcizMAA2^-i . • ( • • assure the availability of the studio and portable equipment on a nondiscriminatory basis. Franchisee shall retain the right to recruit, hire, discipline and discharge access staff. 15.6 The following requirements shall also apply to access use: 1. Records. Franchisee shall direct access staff to, and access staff shall, maintain records of the use of the designated access channels, including the names and addresses of persons and organizations providing programming for such channels; such records shall be available locally for public inspection and retained for a minimum of two years; 2. Commercial Programming.Designated access channels shall not be used for the promotion or sale of commercial products or services. 3. Tompkins Cortland Community College(TC3)Training. Franchisee's access staff shall accept a TC3 production training certification as evidence of competency for the public to utilize access equipment. sse4. A usage fee for each separate use`of access equipment and/or facilities shall be aed to access users who do not reside in'Participating Municipalities in Tompkins L' County. Such fees shall be established by the Participating Municipalities. The Franchisee shall collect said fees on behalf of the Participating Municipalities and said fees shall be disbursed for PEG purposes-at'the discretion ofthe joint Access Oversight Committee of the Participating Municipalities.. 15.7 Access Services Funding. The City shall contribute an amount equal to one half percent of the Gross Annual Revenues subject to the franchise fees to fund all PEG personnel costs. Said one-half percent shall be deducted by Franchisee from the quarterly payments due the City. 15.8 Annual Report. The Franchisee shall direct access staff to, and access staff shall, provide a report annually to the Access Oversight Committee on the provision of equipment, facilities and funds provided by the Franchisee and the Participating Municipalities. The budget recommendation prepared by Access Staff in accordance with Section 15.12 may satisfy this requirement. The Access Oversight Committee may review records of the Franchisee and access providers regarding the use of funds described in such reports. 15.9 Subscriber Information on Access. The Franchisee, at a minimum, shall provide each subscriber information on the availability of the access channels,production equipment, training and the Franchisee's address and telephone number on an annual basis. 15.10 Meetings. The Franchisee shall direct access staff to,and access staff shall,cablecast the monthly Common Council meeting and three other standing committee meetings of the City in the same manner as covered by the Franchisee prior to the Effective Date of this Franchise Agreement. Franchisee will provide an additional twenty-four hours of meeting coverage each year,to be designated by the City at its discretion. The City shall, in addition 1-28-03 21 MEMO To: Daniel Hoffman, City Attorney, City of Ithaca From: Shane Seger, Vice-Chair, Cable Access Oversight Committee Date: May 4, 2006 RE: 2006 PEGASYS Capital Budget At our last meeting, the Cable Access Oversight Committee (AOC) was presented with a 2006 capital budget for PEGASYS, as per the 2003 Franchise Agreement. As outlined in that agreement, Time Warner Cable (TWC) is required to present a PEGASYS capital expenditure budget for AOC approval. One item listed on the capital budget under the heading "Building," is for replacement of carpet in the studio at a cost of$1,500. This is the second year that TWC has tried to include the replacement of the carpet in the capital budget. Last year, Wies van Leuken (AOC member) asked the City Attorney's Office for an opinion as to whether or not replacement of carpets was an appropriate item to include in the PEGASYS capital expenditure budget. The consensus of the committee is that replacement of carpet is not a valid capital budget expenditure, as the AOC has interpreted the capital budget as reserved for software, computers, and equipment that is directly used in the creation of programming. The AOC rejected the expense last year. The Franchise Agreement states that TWC "[provides] studio space at the present location, including taxes, light, heat and power related thereto and routine maintenance of equipment and facilities." The commission agrees that the carpet needs to be replaced, but maintains that the replacement is the responsibility of TWC as the provider of "facilities" and that this expense should not come out of the capital equipment budget. Please provide your opinion on the definition of the term"facilities" as used in Section 15 of the Franchise Agreement signed by both the City of Ithaca and Time Warner Cable, specifically as it pertains to the issue of who is responsible for paying for replacement carpet at the PEGASYS studio. Cc: Cable Access Oversight Committee Members Mayor Carolyn Peterson Attachments: September 12, 2005 Memo from Wies van Leuken, AOC member September 19, 2005 Response from City Attorney's to Memo Proposed 2006 Capital Budget including item in question A copy of Section 15 of Franchise Agreement 2006 Access Capital I propose the following expenditures for this year, and $20,000 for 2007: Editing Upgrade Premiere Computer Create second Premiere workstation Create fleet of 10 hard drives for users $2500 Playback Purchase 16-input video switcher compatible with NEXUS $3000 Purchase DVD player/changer Such as Sony DVP-CX777ES $518 Installation labor [40 hrs x $63.16/hr] $2526 Portable Purchase 2 DV field VCRs $2000 Purchase 1 Steadycam Jr. $700 Purchase 4 LiIon batteries $600 Studio Purchase 1 replacement camera cable $550 Purchase 1 replacement Kliegle Floodlight [scoop, Cat#3452] $300 Building Replace carpet $1500 Off-Site: ICSD Purchase 2 Sony EVI-D30 Cameras $3000 With wall mounts and cables- Off-Site: ACS Purchase 2 DV camcorders and Accessories [see request] $2100 Dubbing Purchase 1 Hard-drive DVD-burner $350 Subtotal $19,644 Add 10%tx/frt $21,608 CITY OF ITHACA fflf_1-11 108 East Green Street Ithaca, New York 14850-5690 • 7711El -' OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY sPORAi�`'`•••• Daniel L.Hoffman,City Attorney Telephone: 607/274-6504 Patricia Dunn,Assistant City Attorney Fax: 607/274-6507 Robert A. Sarachan,Assistant City Attorney Khandikile M.Sokoni,Assistant City Attorney Dawn M.L.Tordel,Legal Assistant May 22, 2006 Will Burbank" Chairpersq , Cable Access Oversight Committee 132 Glefiside Road Ithaea, NY 14850 Re: PEGASYS Capital Expenditure Budget Dear Will: Shane Seger,the Common Council liaison to the Cable Access Oversight Committee, and its Vice Chair, has asked me to provide you with an opinion on the following question: Is the replacement of carpeting an appropriate item to include in the PEGASYS capital expenditure budget? I am told that for the second year, Time Warner Cable (TWC) has included in its proposed capital budget for the access studio an item for the replacement of carpeting at the studio. The amount suggested in the 2006 proposed budget is $1,500.00 for this item. According to the current franchise agreement between the City and TWC, "The City shall be responsible for establishing an Access Oversight Committee. The Access Oversight Committee shall approve the timing, use and amount of PEG access equipment and facilities to be acquired each year over the term of the franchise." This provision makes it clear that it is the Access Oversight Committee which determines whether and to what extent equipment and facilities need to be replaced. In Section 15.3(1) of the Franchise Agreement, TWC "agrees to provide studio space at the present location, including taxes, light, heat and power related thereto and routine maintenance of equipment and facilities." It would appear, then, that the franchise intends to distinguish between the purchase (ie., "acquisition")of facilities and equipment, on the one hand, and the "maintenance"thereof on the other, with TWC being responsible for the latter, outside of Access Facilities and Equipment Fund described in Sections 15.3(2) and 15.3(3) of the franchise. It is my opinion that the Access Facilities and Equipment Fund, and the annual capital budget therefor, were intended to support the purchase or replacement of access equipment "An Equal Opportunity Employer with a commitment to workforce diversification." Will Burbank May 22, 2006 Page 2 (involved in the creation of programming) and not for maintenance of the studio itself, which would include the replacement of worn carpeting. In addition to the above, I am told that TWC would like to move the access studio to the front of the building owned by TWC, in the near future. In that case, the replacement carpeting would benefit primarily or exclusively TWC,rather than the access studio. For both of these reasons, it is my opinion that replacement of the worn carpeting in question should not be included in the 2006 capital budget for access expenditures. Sincerely yours, Daniel L. Hoffman City Attorney DLH/dmlt pc: Shane Seger, Common Council/ Mayor Carolyn K. Peterson K:\DAN\DLH letters\Burbank ltr re PEGASYS.doc ot<1T CITY OF ITHACA s¢,,, 108 East Green Street Ithaca, New York 14850 'f TT_1(�f_1_1=i 11197171 1 _�_T- ! OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK Telephone: 607/274-6570 Fax: 607/274-6432 January 12, 2007 Mr. Thomas Doheny General Manager Time Warner Cable 519 West State Street Ithaca, New York 14850 Dear Tom; The City of Ithaca is interested in purchasing a wireless microphone system and a digital recorder/DVD burner for Common Council Chambers. Our current microphone system prohibits,the flexible use of the room for different public purposes such as news conferences, set-up as a Joint Information Center during emergency situations, and future uses which may include taped or broadcast"Chats with the Mayor and Guests", public forums, and video conferencing. The digital recorder/DVD burner will allow us to burn our own copy of City meetings and store them instead of burdening the Tompkins County Public Information Office and the Pegasys crew with making copies of certain meetings for us. It is my understanding that there is an old franchise account with approximately $133,000 that may be used by the City for public access related projects it deems appropriate. If there is written documentation /criteria on how these funds can be accessed, I would appreciate your forwarding it to me. If not, I would ask that you consider this an official request to utilize these funds to finance a wireless microphone system and digital recording system. Please respond to this request in writing, within 30 days to inform me on how I should proceed and whether any further documentation is required. Please let me know if you have any questions. I appreciate your assistance in this matter. Sinc ely, uitc114* /,k_co-yib lie Conley Holcorrib, City Clerk Cc: Mayor Carolyn K. Peterson City Controller Steven P. Thayer Alderperson Shane Seger "An Equal Opportunity Employer with a commitment to workforce diversification." Ca 6005 Fair Lakes Road East Syracuse, NY 13057 P.O. Box 4791, Syracuse, NY 13221 Tel (315)634-6100 Fax (315)463-8020 JAN-.820j1 TIME WARNER CABLE THE POWER OF YOU'" June 6, 2011 PEGASYS Access Oversight Committee c/o City of Ithaca 108 Green Street Ithaca,NY 14850 Dear Sirs/Mesdames: I am in receipt of your letter of May 18, 2011. Given that the Committee and representatives of Time Warner Cable are in regular contact, I was somewhat surprised that you brought this matter to the New York State Public Service Commission before advising us in any way of your concerns about long-standing practice. As you note in your letter, under the terms of Time Warner Cable's franchises with the City of Ithaca, Town of Ithaca and Village of Cayuga Heights, a portion of the franchise fees is used for support of non-capital PEG expenses. In your letter however, you incorrectly limit the use of this support to "pay for Production Services". What the franchises actually provide is that this money is to be used "to fund all PEG personnel costs" (emphasis added) (City of Ithaca franchise, Section 15.7); or"fund PEG operations" (both Town of Ithaca and Village of Cayuga Heights franchises, Section 16). The franchises make no distinction—as your letter does - between personnel costs incurred in compliance with the NYPSC regulations regarding PEG access and obligations arising solely under the terms of the franchises. The franchise language is clear that this funding from the deduction from franchise fees can be used to support personnel costs involved in playback(what you describe as transmission services) as well as any other PEG operations. The franchise provisions discussed above are consistent with Section 622 of the Cable Act which distinguishes between capital and non-capital support for PEG and provides that in post—Cable Act franchises non-capital support for PEG is deemed a franchise fee and counted toward the cap on franchise fees established in federal law. We would note that the provisions of federal law which include non-capital PEG support as a franchise fee apply whether such support is mandated by NYPSC regulations or by the terms of a local franchise. Time Warner Cable has the right to treat any non-capital PEG costs incurred in compliance with NYPSC regulations as franchise fees subject to the federal cap and deduct them from franchise fee payments if payment of these costs would result in franchise fees in excess of the cap. Whether or not Time Warner Cable has chosen to make such deductions in the past, it clearly has the right to do so at any time. We also disagree with your interpretation of Time Warner Cable's obligations under Section 895.4(c)(7) of the NYPSC regulations. As with the franchises, you mischaracterize the relevant language. In your letter you state that under this regulation Time Warner Cable must provide "the technical ability to receive and broadcast pre-recorded material, including staffing necessary to do so". In fact what the regulation requires cable operators to provide is"the technical ability to playback pre-recorded programming and to transmit programming information consistent with the designated uses of PEG access channels". The regulation is limited to technical ability and makes no mention of staffing. Despite the fact that Time Warner Cable is clearly entitled under the franchise and applicable law to use the funds under the franchise fee deduction to pay for the personnel costs associated with playback, the fact is that the amount currently deducted covers approximately 24 hours per week of personnel time which does not include playback. While time spent can vary from week to week, generally of those 24 hours, approximately 16 are utilized for production services, approximately 4 hours for opening and closing the facility and approximately 4 hours for administrative work that is directly related to the PEG obligations under the three franchises. The transmission services or playback occupy another approximately 8 hours of personnel time per week but that is in excess of the time paid for by the deduction. Time Warner Cable has chosen not to deduct its costs in providing these transmission services from franchise fees but it clearly has the right to do so under applicable law if these costs coupled with other"franchise fees" as defined in federal law exceed the statutory cap. We hope this explanation resolves the matter, but if you wish to request the offices of the NYPSC to conduct a mediation, Time Warner Cable would, of course, participate. Sincerely, Fltgtt-,PA-2r/ Tom Doheny cc: Carolyn Peterson, Mayor, City of Ithaca Kate Supron, Mayor, Village of Cayuga Heights Herb Engman, Supervisor, Town of Ithaca Daniel Hoffman, Attorney, City of Ithaca Carol McTague, Department of Public Service, Telecommunications Division Jaclyn A. Brilling, Secretary, Public Service Commission F C OVA&�cC�Ssct