TC 06-07-89 Cable Television Advisory C~t..~.~ttee
Ju~e 7, 1989
Cupertino City Hall -- Conference
~ne meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m. by Chairman William
Fletcher~ -
ROT.L CALL
O~=,utttee members present: Batchelor, Fletcher, Cb_~avacci, Schmid, Mann
Staff present: Krey, Frausto
Guests present: Joe Wilcox, United C~_ble; Dave Barney, De Anza College;
Jim Cochrane, Bob Dufur, T,ir,~ Grodt, City Manager Don Brown
Batcb~--Ior made a motion to consider Equipment Upgrades frc~ United and De
~' A~za United C~_ble Equipment Maintenance early in the agend___a. Mann
seco~e_ed 'and the motion passed unanimously.
Ai~ OF'MINUTES OF ~i~SI'ING ~n MAY 3, 1989
Chiavacci made a motion to app¥ove the minutes as written. Batchelor
seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
EQUIPMENT UPGRADES FROM UNITED
Wilcox reported that the equipment bas not been upgraded at De Anza.
He ba~ not received AFE's on the character generator, switcher and
portapak, He suggested reallocating the already appzoved funds to
purchase the character generator and portapak. He brought up the
..d~ion. on.shar/ng the cost of the c:g~ Batchelor said the current
year budget did have an allocation for this purcba~. Mann would like to
review tb~ type of equipment before it is purcba~ed, to ensure ease of
~'..~%~e. Barney would like to see this happen as soon as possible. Mann and
. Sc/maid will review the equipment specifications. Batchelor made a motion
.-to app¥ove an ex~ture of up to $4,000 as a contribution to be shared
between De Anza College and with united C_~ble for an upg~-aded character
~.. ~generator. for.tb~ access ctlannel. Schmid a~d Mar~, as a sub-committee,
· wil!'examine tbm appropriate c.g. and De Anza will pz~vide training on the
· ~i' equipment. Chiavacci seconded and the motion passed unanimously. The
new 'c.g. 1will be maintained by united Cable.
., ~. 'Barney s~-'m-,-~rized the proposal submitted by De Anza for the
~und ~..~j. of equipment repair and replacement as well as the operational
j~.-.e~ associated with Ch. 30. Barney would like to re-evaluate how the
access coordinator's salary is paid. Wilcox submitted a counter-proposal
· ..that lists ~ three options. 1) United would assume full responsibility of
the access ~center, which includes the coordination of all functions, at a
site other than De Anza College. 2) united would donate all equipment to
which it holds title to De Anza college. The college would assume
June 7, 1989
DE ANZA-UNITED CABLE EqJIPMENT MAINTENANCE
responsibility for mainte/mance, repair and replacement, for which, united
would pay $25,000 per year for the duration of the franchise in
Cupertino. 3) United would donate all equipment to which it holds title
to De Anza College. The college would assume responsibility for
maintenance, repair and replacement, for which, United would pay a
one-time lua~p sum of $100,000 for the ¥~¥~inder of the franchise. The
access coordinator's position would not be included in the cost. Barney
said this is a place fz~.L which to negotiate. Wilcox, Batchelor and
BarD~y will meet to continue negotiations on equi~L~nt maintenance, and
bring a proposal to the c~m~.~ttee at the next m~cting, if possible.
city ManaGer Donald Brown-PEG Funding
City Manager DoD~ld B~-own requested funding for (~ar~el 53 this year
fz~L~ the CTVAC with discussions on the possibility of long term funding.
Because general fund revenues are down, city budgets were not to exceed a
5% increase f¥c~¥~ last year. He made a request to the c~m~.~ttee on behalf
of Ch. 53 for one-time fur~ng of $15,000 for equipment this year out of
the reserves that are available f-~-~ the franchise fee. He said he would
also like to see long term strategic planning for tb~ channels and future
funding ideas.
Batchelor began discussion by c~aring the equipment now owned by Ch.
30 and Ch. 53, as well as the number of people who use the equipment, and
calling this an imbalance. He b¥ought up the idea of cooperation in some
way between the two stations, and the idea of letting the access users
cc~e to Ch. 53 to use editing equipment, if the cc~m~ittee does agree to
the $15,000 for equipment purcba~es. Batcb~lor said he would also like to
see a report on the CIVAC budget for reserve, depreciation and
contir~ency, which would report excess funds fr~n the franchise fee.
Cc~m~ssioners discussed the possibility of one time funding for ~.
53. Kellyn Yamada read a list of n~ed items, and rank~__ the editing
equipment as a top priority. The c~m~.~ttee asked the Ch. 53 staff
~_estions regarding the equipment needs, and whether the equipment could
be shared by public access users. Yamada and Coglianese said that the
equipment now owned by the station, specifically the editing equipment, is
being used to its capacity. ~-own said that if there is a way to free up
time on the equipment for access users he would be in favor of that. Krey
said that Finance Director Snyder would agree to placing t_he reserves on
the opposite side of tb~ CTVAC budget, in the report, not as a line item.
Mann askS_ for opinions frum Schmid and C~iavaoci. Sc/mnid said she did
not think the cu~.~ttcc should fund Ch. 53 unless access ~ use of the
equipment, if use is not available, then money should go to De Anza to
build up its program. Chiavacci said t_hat based on t/he past performance
of Ch. 53 and the need she would agree to fu~d the $15,000. Mann asked if
there are other areas that could be shared between Ch. 30 and Ch. 53.
C~_ble Television A~visory O~,,~ittee
JU~e 7, 1989
Krey said an area that could be used as an exchange is specialized
training based on the experience of tb~ Ch. 53 staff. Barney ask_~_ what
~ of support is given to C~. 53 by the city and what kind of support is
given to De Anza by the city. Krey said funds go to tb~ CTVAC budget, and
the ccmm,~ttee allocate~ ikn~ to public access. Each year Margolies would
~!__hmi. 't a fixed asset wish list and usually all items were app¥oved for
purcb~.~e, by the c~m~,~ttcc. Barney said that it ~-~ms that the city is
putting money into Ch. 53 and not very roach city money into Ch. 30. Krey
said that Ch. 30 ban othmr sources of funding.
Brown said that funding and the direction of the stations are issues
for ft~Wcher review. Krey said historically the funding ban gone to Ch.
30, but is not limited to public access. Chiavacci made a motion that the
CTVAC authorize an advance on the reserve fund of $15,000 for Ch. 53.
Batchelor seconded. Batchelor sun3gested that an addition to the motion
would be to sit down with the staff of Ch. 53 to figure out what shared
resources can be worked__ out for access users. The equi~,ent becc~ the
property of city, and the city is responsible for repair and maintenance.
The amended motion passed unanimously.
OTHER ORAL ~CATIONS
Jim Cochrane announced he is stepping down as producer of "The Better
Part," and Bob Dufur, who was also present at the meeting, will be the new
producer.
~ OC~9~UNICATIONS
The c~,...~ttee received a request for a grant from Lina~ Grodt for help
in attending the NFLCP conference in Dallas. She is a finalist for the
Hcmetcwn U.S.A. Video Festival in the category of progrsnmting for youth,
progH:am "Silicon Kids."
REPORT FRC~ JOE WILCOX, UNITED CAR~R
Wilcox reported that subscriber penetration ba.~ reached 6,000 in
Cupertino. He reported on upcoming marketing and p~-umoticns. He said
that because of technical problems with Ch. 5 the station is available on
both Ch. 5 A and B through the converter. Live feed capability is
possible between Foothill College and De Anza. He attended the Bace
awards and congratulated the w/nners. De Anza Day was a success, and the
united van was used for several events. About 40 staff and s~d__ents
participated in the video production.
REPORP FRC~ DAVE BARNEY, DE ANZA
Dave Barney f;~, De Anza College reported that the position for access
coord/nator is being advertised. The c~,~ttee would be interested in
getting a job description for the position. Barney said tb~ stum~_r
program scb~dule is very strong, it will be running seven days a week with
52 different programs.
Cable Television A~visory O~m~,~ttee
Jur~ 7, 1989
STAFF REPOR~
Krey har~___~_ out the BVAC su~er video schedule. A meeting was held
with Heritage Cable, and negotiations are positive, they have reached a
tentative agr~ment. Areas include working with United to place Ch. 53 on
the system, as well as, placing Ch. 30 on the system. Wilcox said that
United is worried about the quality of the signal based on tb~ inclusion
of Heritage feeds on the system. The Heritage attorney and Assistant City
Attorney are working out an ag~-eement. The city's attorney will include
an assurance that if Heritage cable's service levels drop they will agree
to an ir~t audit of their entire system. They have agrcc~-__ to
increase the franchise fee ~£cau 3% to 5%, to provide 30 days notice to
information to the subscribers, as a way of making up for tb~
discontinuation of their program guide. She also said she will get
together with the ~. 53 staff to draw up a proposal on emcee of
service for the money just aDpi-oved. She mentioned that Ch. 53 won a BACE
award. Sb~ also anr~uD~ that C~,..,~nity Relations Aide, Carol Frausto
will be leaving the city for a job in Czechoslovakia.
Tb~ c~m,,~ttee discussed the costs for the airfare, registration, $275;
and acc~.,~dations for the NFLCP in Dallas. Mann ~ade a motion that the
cc~ttee giant an amount not to excccd $500, for the NFLCP, for Ch. 30
producer, T,'~nda Grodt. Chiavacci seconded and the motion passed
unanimously. Chiavacci and Fletcher will also attend the conference.
This item was moved to the July ager~___a.
P(7I'ENI'.LAL I~OR GROWTH/A~S
The c~,,.,,~ttee agreed to host a meeting with the Ch. 30 producers to
get feedback and information on the future of access; this ~ting would
take the place of the producers' meeting u~,a31y held by former Access
Coordinator Margolies. The r~_cting will be held at De Anza College
Television Center on June 28 at 7:30 p.m. The c~m~,~ttee agr~ to hold a
business meeting at 7:00 p.m. before tb~ producers' ~cting. They also
agrc~ upon cancelling the meeting scheduled for July 5, 1989.
AD3OURNMENT
Mann made a motion, at 9:30 p.m., to adjourn the meeting to De Anza
College Television Center on June 28 at 7:00 p.m. Batchelor seconded and
otion u nim sly.
ATTEST
Cit~Cler~
APPROVED:
Cha±rperson