Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Cable Communications Commission - 09/12/2005 �,�•713a.-757 G1 MINUTES �,�'� ‘41:' ,,p CABLE COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION f ] 2i o September 12, 2005 L=; C° 'Ni 1,2 CI `c4 CITY a SECi;ETA Y S k,' PRESENT ABSENT`\ OFFICE A, Chairperson Juan Garcia,Jr., Sylvia Dancer, Robert"Bob"White Adria Palacios eCV and Dr. Bruce Stratton ���'e 8;sL19-L City Staff Susan Cable,Director for E-Government Services and Lisa Aguilar,Assistant City Attorney Cable Operators Paula Kolda,Time Warner and Dottie Lane, Grande Communications Chairperson Juan Garcia, Jr. called the meeting to order in the City Hall Council Chambers and verified the necessary quorum. Because Dottie Lane with Grande Communications had to leave early, cable operator updates were moved to the beginning of the agenda. Following the discussions about cable operators, the minutes from the July 11, 2005 meeting were considered. Juan Garcia moved to approve the minutes and Bob White seconded the motion. The motion passed. Agenda Item 12 for Update from Cable Operators was moved to be considered as the first item of business. 1. UPDATE FROM CABLE OPERATORS—Dottie Lane indicated that Grande was continuing their build- out to expand coverage of the City. She stated that they were about 30 percent complete. Mr. White expressed that it would be physically impossible to complete by the deadline established in the franchise agreement. Ms. Lane responded that she has been discussing with City staff, including Oscar Martinez. Mr. White asked Lisa Aguilar, Assistant City Attorney if the franchise set any periodic benchmarks for completion, and Ms. Aguilar said no. Ms. Lane indicated she would be happy to have a follow-up meeting to discuss. Mr. White reviewed Senate Bill 5 and Ms. Lane said she was familiar with the new state legislation. Mr. White expressed that he was concerned that Grande had been making a good faith effort to complete their required build-out. In response to a question about crossing S.P.I.D., Ms. Lane said yes, and that she could review a map of their progress at a follow-up meeting. Mr. White expressed another concern involving public safety in emergency situations such as hurricanes. He stated that Grande had no fiber to the local network affiliates, picks up their transmission through air, and would not be able to broadcast if power failed. Mr. White moved to schedule a meeting with Grande, Cable Communications Commission representatives, and City staff for further discussion. Dr. Stratton seconded the motion, and it passed. Paula Kolda provided a written report about Time Warner services and community activities, which she reviewed. 2. INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS — Juan Garcia welcomed new members, Robert "Bob" White and Dr. Bruce Stratton. Mr. White commended Cheryl Soward and Ted Nelson on the award they received from TAMIO for Channel 20 production. Dr. Stratton expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to serve and learn. 3. UPDATE AND REVIEW OF ORDINANCES, FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS, PROCEDURES AND MEETINGS — Susan Cable reviewed booklets provided to Commissioners which contained the Master Cable Services Regulatory Ordinance, the Grande and Time Warner franchise agreements, City ordinance regarding the Cable Communications Commission, and the Rules and Procedures. Mr. White indicated he had read all of the material and was concerned about the definition of producer and the need for clarity in the Rules and Procedures regarding locally produced programming and the intent of public access. He stated that he would like for the Commissioners to more clearly define producer. Sylvia Dancer and Dr. Stratton agreed. Mr. White moved that the Commissioners work with City staff to clarify the definition of producer and present it at the next regular meeting. Juan Garcia suggested referring it to a Commission committee. The Commission then heard public comment on the discussion item. Richard Pulido stated that the current requirement was that programs address locally specific issues and have local relevance. Willy Lanehart indicated that some churches pay a fee to produce a program. Mr. Whitt d ht 's 8 produces a program that met the criteria, and his concern was production that was done out of the area. Jack Gordy agreed that programs need to have a tag with the name of a local person. He stated "Tomorrow's World" is of interest to local people, that public access is supposed to be 24/7, and that is you removed non- local programming, there would only be about 10 or 12 shows, and just Time Warner advertising. Jerome Bradford said that producing a program becomes a business. He stated that the producer, who could be an individual or organization, pays for the tape and should be able to say anyone can deliver the tape. Dr. Stratton made the point that if someone mails a tape and a local person delivers,that does not make the local person a producer. Mr. White stated that if you create a program, you are the producer. Leo Carpet explained that a worldwide organization, such as the Seventh Day Adventist, has world events that provide a variety of interests for local people. Mr. Garcia stated that he would not have a problem if a local person went to another country and taped a program. Mr. Garza indicated that Tomorrow's World is not produced locally. Tapes are delivered to him, but they are of interest worldwide. Mr. White said the question should be does a program meet the standard for what public access is and what a producer is. Mr. Lumbry stated that a producer is financially responsible for the production. Ed Montez, whose program is "Urgent Message of Bayside," said everything was cool until a few years ago. He said he pleaded to the Commission to allow tapes to air. Roland Garza stated that there was finally stability instilled with public access and he cautioned not to re-invent the wheel or get into a form of censorship. Janie Gordy stated that it was not fair to come for the first time and turn everything around. Marty Wind said he empathized with Mr. White's concern about paid programming being aired on public access and that he agreed that if someone paid for programming elsewhere, they should get free programming here. He cautioned that maybe it is going too far if we limit programs produced elsewhere. Mr. Garcia made a motion to have Mr. White and Ms. Dancer serve as a committee to recommend a revised definition of producer. Dr. Stratton seconded the motion, and it passed 4. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING MEETINGS — After a discussion of recent special meetings, Juan Garcia moved to meet bi-monthly at noon. Mr. White suggested monthly meetings, indicating that 39 of the 51 City boards met monthly and only two met quarterly. Dr. Stratton said he would provide lunch. Juan modified the motion to meet monthly on the third Monday. The motion then was modified to include four quarterly evening meetings at 6:00 pm. Ms. Dancer seconded the motion, and it passed. 5. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING CHANNEL 18 PAUG COMPLAINTS — Juan Garcia read Jack Gordy's complaint letter. Jerry Vestal,president of the Channel 18 PAUG, stated that all 35 churches have reviewed the Rules and they have given instructions to producers to comply with the Rules. He indicated that he thought most producers were complying. Buddy Murphrey welcomed the new members. He discussed the problem with adding tags to programs, indicating that producers use programs over and over and they would have to go in now and interrupt the program to add tags. He also questioned the program identification rule. Mr. Vestal stated that all producers want to meet the guidelines. Mr. Gordy stated that Channel 18 producers had made major changes in the past two weeks. Mr. Vestal invited the Commission to participate in the Channel 18 lottery. Mr. Garcia stated that Channel 18 needed to stop using the term "RAUG" and was informed that the channel guide with the term had been removed. Mr. White made a motion to suspend any action on Channel 18. Ms. Dancer seconded the motion and it passed. 6. REVIEW AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING CHANNEL 10 PAUG BY-LAWS Mr. Stratton made a motion to accept by bylaws as submitted. Ms. Dancer seconded the motion and it passed. 7. REVIEW AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING PUBLIC ACCESS APPLICATION FORM — Mr. White made a motion to accept the proposed changes to the application form. Dr. Stratton seconded the motion and it passed. 8. REVIEW AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING CHANNEL 10 PAUG RECOMMENDED CHANGES TO THE RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR PUBLIC ACCESS CABLECASTING—Mr. Garcia asked Mr. Gordy to review the main changes being proposed. Mr. Gordy reviewed the proposed changes and stated that the PAUG voted on them at the lottery. The Commission discussed postponing approving any changes until a full review of the Rules and Procedures could be completed. Dr. Stratton moved to accept the changes and Ms. Dance seconded. The motion was approved. Il 9. REVIEW AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING VIOLATION APPEAL—The Commission heard the complaint appeal of Roland Garza. Mr. Gordy reviewed the complaint that Mr. Garza failed to submit a tape for two consecutive weeks. Mr. Garza stated that he had been a producer for eight years and had not missed a week. He indicated he was in the Valley with a family emergency and could not return to Corpus + Christi. Mr. White asked Mr. Garza if he could add the program title, producer name and date at the beginning and end of his program. Mr. Garza indicated that the rule had been enforced. Susan Cable stated that the City is not responsible for administering the Rules and Procedures and that the PAUG were responsible for enforcement, with oversight from the Cable Communications Commission, which had been working for almost two years trying to get producers to comply. Ms. Dancer moved to grant the appeal. Mr. White seconded and the motion passed. 10. UPDATE FROM ACCESS USER GROUPS—Mr. Gordy indicated that he was working on enforcing the Rules and was making progress. He stated that a petition regarding the tag requirement was being circulated. He said that the Channel 10 PAUG agrees with the tag, but not the production date. Mr. White stated that the FCC considers the date important as a point of reference. Mr. Gordy also reported that the 30-second tag had been previously approved prior to going to Council. He stated that the Channel 18 by- laws were outdated and that one producer listed as a board member lives in Gregory. Mr. Vestal said that Channel 18 set the standard for the Rules and that they only get complaints from Mr. Gordy. Mr. Vestal emphasized that the Channel 19 PAUG was trying to what is right. He also stated that they could not watch and review every program,to let them know any problems and they would correct. 11. COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS — Mr. White said that he has been reading a lot, and that he only knows how to follow the rules 100 percent. If some of the rules are wrong, he will work to change, but once they are set, the PAUGs are responsible to enforce. Dr. Stratton expressed thanks for being there and stated that he agreed that you need to follow the rules 100 percent and administer fairly and evenly. Ms. Dancer stated that the meeting had been interesting and expressed thanks to Commissioners and City staff. 12. PUBLIC COMMENT—Mr. Lumbert said he appreciated all of the work of the Commission. Mr. Gordy stated that everything was working out regarding the duties of the PAUG. He said he had nothing against Mr. Vestal and Channel 18. He reiterated that there are one set of rules, and that the Commission had previously decertified the Channel 10 PAUG for not following the rules. K.D. Logan expressed his concern about noon meetings of the Commission and difficulties for producers to attend. He stated he hopes Commissioners will take that into consideration. Mr. Garza stated that perceptions are powerful and that it was up to the Commission to work together to maintain protections. He said that we have come a long way and should continue to strive forward. 13. ADJOURNMENT AT 8:45 P.M.