TC 08-02-89Cable~Television Advisory committee
Regular Meeting
August 2, 1989
Cupertino City Hall
MINUTES
Th~aeeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Vice Chairperson Leonard
Bato~elor. ~
ROLL CALL
Committee members present: Len Batchelor, Michelle Mann, Jane Chiavacchi,
Dorothy Schmid, William Fletcher (7:17 p.m.).
Staff present: Tracy Colgin
Guests present: Joe Wilcox, United Cable; Dave Barney, DeAnzg...College.;
Ralph Steinke, Linda Grodt.
ABPROVAL. OF MINUTES OF MEETING HELD JUNE 28. 1989.
ChiavaCChi made a motion to approve the minutes ~i~th the correction of one
spelling error. ("diferred" should have been "deferred".) Sdhmid 'seconded'
and the motion passed unanimous~y.
ORDER OF AGENDA
Committee member Mann asked that the equipment maintenance prgP0S~l be
discussed first, because she had to leave early. (7:40" P.M.).
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
After a discussion of the C.A.U.C.U.S material in packet, the committee
recommended that the material be referred to the appropriate City Council
member
Co/gin.distributed th.-~staff report for Krey who was 0n.¥~9tion.- It was
reported that negotiations with Heritage Cable ar~ ~.r~ng'an end.
H~ritage seems anxious to sign and doe~ not foresee ~y 4if'f]cul:~i.~"es~
~ccording to general manager Steve Reifschne~der, Herita~9'will"b~gin
working on getting Channels .30 and ~3 on the s~ste~ a~ soon as ~he
contract is signed. "
~EPORT FROM JOE WILCOX .... ~- '
Wilcox reported that United is putting together a ~w~us(~riber Da~k~e,
.and they are working to get an electronic p~ogr~6n ~he. air. Wilc~~'~
-reported that there was a.sli~ht suscriber~'~ip ~h ~U~e,.,.and that ~%ey'~are
now back up. Pay units have ~ncreased, while the'~r'n rate
along slowly. Wilcox has heard about a new Bay Area sports'~'~n~eI;'~but
at this'time there are no contracts in the works. ~There was~a~.path fade
in June and July, however, United did not receive many cali's. One
explanation for this was the summer heat.
CHANNEL 30 DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Barney felt that the meeting with the producers went very ~ell .and
suggested that they meet on a regular basis. Barney reported ~t many
experience. Barney will be conducting one more interview, and if it does
not work out, they will re-announce the position. Barney reported a new
phone system at DeAnza College. The new number for the main television
center is (408)864-8300 and the number for access is (408)864-8677. Also,
the CG has come in but has not yet been installed in studio A.
REPORT(S) FROM NFLCP CONFERENCE
Fletcher reported that the conference as a whole was more interesting
because of more opportunities for networking with the many participants
and that there seemed to be more advisory people present than at previous
conferences. He noted some ~ey trends, among them:
1. Several cities have cut budgets to non-profits due to program
conflicts.
2. TCI and industry associations are working to promote access.
3. Exclusive local rights to programming create black holes in
national carrier networks.
4. A cable access advocacy handbook was shown to be effective in
guiding commissions and educating the general public about access.
ALTERNATIVES TO PURCHASE OF UNIFIED SET
Fletcher reported that there was only one exhibitor at the conference with
an alternative to the unified set, and after discussion, the committee
decided against it. After Barney reminded the committee of the drawbacks
to the unified set, Chiavacchi made a motion to purchase the unified set
with a budget approval from Krey. Schmid seconded the motion with
approval from finance. After further discussion and a split vote by the
committee, chiavacchi withdrew her motion and Schmid withdrew her second.
Fletcher feels that the purchase should be postponed go that the new
access director and the producers can have input. Barney offered to
organize a producers meeting in September sometime.
DE ANZA/UNITED CABLE EOUIPMENT MAINTENANCE PROPOSAL
Committee members voiced their concerns about an agreement between United
and DeAnza regarding equipment maintenance The agreement would require
United to provide the college with $40,000 annually for the upkeep and
repair of all equipment housed at the college. After a lengthy discussion,
Batchelor made a motion to get the City to drawup a preliminary draft of
changes for the Tripartite Agreement to include: ownership, replacement
schedules, and a proposal for budgets. Mann seconded and the motion
passed unanimously. The committee then formed a subcommittee of Len
Batchelor and Jane Chiavacchi to work with the City Manager to ensure that
the above occurs.
POLICY STATEMENT ACCESS/GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
Chiavacchi reported that she and Mann have made progress developing a
policy statement and grievance procedure however, Chiavacchi asked that
this item be deferred until the September meeting when Mann will be
present.
ADJOURNMENT
Schmid made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:38 p.m..
seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Batchelor
Cabl% Television Advisory Committee
Regular Meeting, August 2, 1989
ATTEST
City Cler~
APPROVED:
Cha'irperson