Councilman Rogers made a motion to approve the June 22, 2009 meeting minutes. Commissioner Brentano seconded the motion; the motion passed.

Transcription

1 Mid Willamette Valley Cable Regulatory Commission Committee Meeting CCTV Conference Room, 575 Trade Street, Salem December 20, 2009 Minutes: Jolene Bray In Attendance Members: Commissioner Sam Brentano, Councilman Brad Nanke, Councilman Bruce Rogers Staff: Guests: Jolene Bray, Perry Grier, Alan Haley, Jo Stonecipher Sean O Day, City of Salem Linda Berman, City of Salem Alan Bushong, CCTV Doug Cooley, Comcast Ken Lewetag, NWVT Northwest TV I. CALL TO ORDER: 3:31 p.m. II. III. IV. MINUTES Councilman Rogers made a motion to approve the June 22, 2009 meeting minutes. Commissioner Brentano seconded the motion; the motion passed. CHURCH STREET PROJECT UPDATE Alan Bushong Alan said they are on the last legs of construction. There are sound problems to work out in the studio and the audio engineer is coming down on December 21st. Brad and Dave from Pro-Video are wrapping up work in time to start a new project for new technology they will be using. Alan said the building is gaining tenants with the sale of nine condos and the City of Salem s IT Department occupying the second floor. FINANCIALS Perry Grier Perry distributed financial summary and financial analysis spreadsheets. He said it is important to note that the summary shows we have done better in interest than we budgeted, which was projected lower because of the economy. We re also bringing in a bit more in franchise fees than we d budgeted and have received an energy rebate for the building. Perry said that networking capital are also better than budgeted, but that we are not quite under budget in capital outlay. We have $400,000 in capital outlay for upgrading equipment but have budgeted nothing for the building since it was just built. Alan B. said we are looking at changing technology that is 19 years old, such as the City of Salem s council room. He said we hope to bring it in under $100,000. We also had $50,000 for MWVCRC Meeting December 20, 2009 Page 1

2 general system improvements. Additionally, we are upgrading the truck which has 12-year old cameras. There has been discussion about sending the truck to surplus or auction, but this is unlikely because it is so old and is used 130 days per year, which is past the accepted average. He said we will try to get some money out of it, but is not hopeful. Perry said in the first quarter we came in pretty close in capital outlays and other contractor services because we keep $20,000 in reserve for contingencies. We expect more expenditures in the second quarter. V. NATOA CONFERENCE UPDATE Councilman Nanke, Councilman Rogers, and Commissioner Brentano attended the annual conference of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) in New Orleans. They said a large portion of the agenda was devoted to the new social media in regards to distributing a message in a new mode of communication (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.). When in New Orleans you can opt into their emergency network (even as a tourist) and you will be notified in the event of a hurricane. This mode of communication saves people who didn t even know a hurricane was coming. Councilman Nanke said they met neighbors/representatives from the cities of Portland and Corvallis at the conference and all went to meetings after general session. He said there was good information shared on what others are doing in terms of the renewal process. Councilman Rogers said it was impressive to learn how big broadband is expected to be in the future. At the conference there was a lot of discussion about every conceivable way to get cable programming into homes including utilizing the Internet. There was also a feeling of change in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and representatives feel that they may now have input into the decision making process. The next NATOA Conference will be held in VI. OTHER BUSINESS KWVT & CCTV Sports Coverage Discussion Councilman Nanke said he read the letter submitted by Ken Lewetag of KWVT, which addressed some concerns about having access to provide local sports coverage, specifically football feeds. Ken shared his belief that CCTV broadcasts the most popular games and KWVT also wants an opportunity to film the games. He said that while their feed will be shown on cable television, they can also provide to CCTV to broadcast at no charge. He said his goal is to have as many people as possible view the games and added that when KWVT covers a game it can be viewed by roughly ½ million people in Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties, and also MWVCRC Meeting December 20, 2009 Page 2

3 in Eugene and Roseburg. Coverage provided by CCTV is broadcast in Salem on Comcast with a viewership of about 50,200. Alan sent out a letter in response to Ken s letter, but it was not received and/or read by the council before this meeting. He said KWVT is commercial television and CCTV is non-commercial television. CCTV does cover and broadcast local football games. He thinks that any request for exclusive coverage should go to Oregon Schools Activities Association (OSAA). Alan said the CRC created CCTV to serve the public through education of individuals, schools, colleges, and governments, and they have provided this service for 20 years. There was discussion about equipment, sharing feeds, and coverage of sporting events. The two organizations have different equipment, different ways of filming, and neither is interested in airing the other s feeds. Alan said CCTV needs to receive the feed in a form that is ready to be broadcast so they do not have to edit it. Ken agreed they were a commercial enterprise but said it costs $1,500 every time they roll out the news truck and it must be funded. He added that other news outlets are able to air their feeds and believes CCTV can also. Ken said they have met with athletic directors for Salem-Keizer School District (SKSD) and they have requested only one news truck be present at a time. Alan said there are usually two games each night so there is something for both to cover, so this issue isn t about coverage but about cherry-picking games. He said more could have been done if discussion between CCTV and KWVT had started earlier. By March 2010, CCTV and KWVT need to make decision regarding who is covering which games. Ken asked who owns the material produced by CCTV. Alan said CCTV copyrights all material. There was more discussion regarding the CCTV franchise, in particular it s non-competitive, commercial vs. noncommercial elements. Alan said these elements are the intent of Congress, adding this is largest capital city without an affiliate station (ABC, CBS, or NBC). There was further discussion about scheduling coverage of playoffs. CCTV is set up with dual roles; as publisher for schools and government, and as conduit for the public. Councilman Rogers asked who gave permission for CCTV to put on high school football programs. Alan said they have an agreement with the school district, which is an open agreement to cover games without charging a fee. They also cover Willamette University and Corban College, and other local colleges that have Salem athletes. Brad said he wants to read Alan s response and wants a legal opinion regarding what, if anything, CRC can do on this subject. If CRC has no MWVCRC Meeting December 20, 2009 Page 3

4 authority, it will have to be worked out between CCTV, KWVT, and the school district. Councilman Rogers made a motion that the council request legal staff form an opinion for CRC and also document the council s responsibilities and recommend if protocols should be established for competition. Commissioner Brentano seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. Discussion of Comcast Franchise Renewal Sean O Day distributed a memo regarding Comcast s franchise renewal. Staff from the City of Salem and Marion County are bringing two matters: 1) Recommendation that the CRC recommend to the Marion County Board of Commissioners that the county and city extend the franchise for 180 days which they believe will be enough time to re-negotiate the franchise. 2) Set aside $25,000 to $30,000 to assist with hiring a consultant to assist with the franchise renewal process. Commissioner Brentano asked when the extension would begin and Sean said right now. Both the city and county hold the franchise and it will expire in early All parties have exchanged the appropriate notifications but we have not proceeded far in negotiations. The last time we renewed this franchise was about 10 to 15 years ago and a consultant was used. Sean is asking that the city and county join together to hire another consultant. He explained the reason we use a consultant is that it only occurs every 10 or 15 years and staff do not have a lot of experience in cable franchises. He said staff sees a need to bring in this expertise. If the CRC agrees, staff will be meeting and will discuss how to structure an RFP and who (city or county) will receive the funds for hiring the consultant. Once this is complete, they will return to the CRC with a request for the funds. He also noted that just as they did last time, they will ask the company to have this money reimbursed to the commission when the franchise renewal is successfully negotiated. Jo provided Councilman Nanke with a draft of a resolution produced by Marion County legal staff. Councilman Rogers asked why they are requesting funds from CRC instead of from the city or county. Sean said because neither has budgeted for this. This commission was set up to advise the city and county on these matters and has funds available. Perry said funds could come from contracts if less than $20,000, but if more the council would need to go to contingency. Sean said the action would be to set those funds aside with intent. The commission would not be committing the funds until the city or county returns with a formal request. MWVCRC Meeting December 20, 2009 Page 4

5 Doug said the only note Comcast would put forth is that if a resolution or agreement is passed to extend, Comcast has already distributed notices regarding this and may not sign. Jo asked if Comcast would be willing to sign something stating that they did not sign the extension because they feel their notices are legally sufficient for the extension. Doug agreed. Commissioner Brentano moved that the CRC approve taking the resolution to Marion County and the City of Salem for passage. Councilman Rogers seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilman Rogers asked Sean what happens if they need more money than what has been requested. Sean said this is an estimate and the best answer is we ll cross that bridge when we cross it. Councilman Rogers made a motion to put aside $25,000 to $30,000 for the City of Salem and Marion County to hire a consultant to assist in renegotiating the franchise. Sam seconded and the motion passed unanimously. VII. VIII. NEXT MEETING: February 11 3:30 at CCTV ADJOURNED: 4:42 p.m. MWVCRC Meeting December 20, 2009 Page 5