CABLE ACCESS ADVISORY COMMISSION
PRESENT: Ernie Bedford,
ALSO PRESENT: Melissa Barnard – Library Director
I.
CALL To Order
By
Beacom at
II.
WELCOME New
Member
Beacom
reported there is a change in the representative for the Midland Public
Schools. Norm Neher will be replacing
Jim Huber and Neher should be at the next meeting. Beacom introduced Ernie Bedford, a new
citizen-at-large member.
III.
ELECTION Of
Chair
1. Chair
Beacom
opened the floor for nominations.
Deibert nominated Malekadeli.
Green seconded. No other
nominations. Beacom called for
vote. Motion to make Malekadeli chair
passed unanimously. Malekadeli will
serve as chair.
2. Vice-Chair
Malekadeli
called for nominations of Vice-Chair.
Deibert nominated Granstra. Green
seconded. No other nominations. Deibert moved to close nominations.
IV.
APPROVAL - of
Minutes
approved as submitted
V.
PUBLIC Comments
None
VI.
OLD Business
1. Cable Communications Fund
Beacom
presented an update on the status of the Cable Communications Fund. City
Council approved the one-time payment of the $106,100 this fiscal year. For the fiscal year 2007-08, MCTV will be
looking at the same deficit issue. MCTV will also have to consider the impact
of the pending legislation that could cause more of a reduction in revenue if
it is passed.
2. Commission Vacancy
Beacom
stated that the position for a Media Professional is still vacant. City Council
may consider another citizen at large or MCTV volunteer to fill the position.
VII.
NEW Business
1. Annual Report, 2005-06
Beacom
reviewed the annual report to be submitted to City Council (agenda
packet). Green moved to accept the
annual report as submitted. Deibert
seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
2. CAAC Goals, 2006-07
Beacom
presented the proposed goals to the commission (agenda packet). Deibert emphasized the importance of the
third goal, which is to increase awareness among the public and the access
users about the challenges facing MCTV.
3. Friends of MCTV
Beacom
reviewed the purpose of the Friends of MCTV.
Meetings were held in June, July and August, and meetings are planned
for September, October and November.
Deibert
stated that the initial goal of the Friends was to obtain a 501c3.
Beacom
stated that the Foundation has approved the agreement with the Friends of MCTV
but the Friends still need to come up with the $5000. Malekadeli stated $2,250 has been raised so
far. Letters have been sent to large
organizations that use MCTV to raise the start-up money. The Friends will begin
planning fundraising events. Honors Night will be the first event.
Beacom
said Deibert has been handling the legal aspects while Malekadeli has headed up
the fundraising committee. The Membership/Public Relations Committee has been
working on how to price the membership fee, determining the benefits of being a
member, and how to promote access television in
Green
asked what happens if someone wants to make a contribution before the $5,000 is
raised, is there still a tax benefit if done before December 31st? Deibert said the checks would be held until
the $5,000 is raised and the fund is set-up. Beacom said the fundraising letter
asks that the checks be made out to the Midland Area Community Foundation.
4. Ordinance & Rules Changes
Beacom
reviewed the proposed changes to MCTV Fees Ordinance and the Rules and
Procedures that includes the addition of an access user annual fee and a
revision in the video duplication fees and policies. A special hearing
tentatively set for October 11 will be needed to get public input on the
proposed changes.
Discussion
followed on pros and cons of assessing the access user fee and raising costs
for training and assessing access user fee on the occasional message board
user.
Deibert
moved to raise initial training fees from $10 – $20. Green seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
Deibert
moved that the annual user fees not apply to the persons who take the initial
training that calendar year. Granstra
seconded. Motion failed 3-2.
Yeas – Deibert, Granstra
Nays – Bedford, Green, Malekadeli
Motion failed.
Beacom
stated an alternate public hearing date needs to be set if October 11 does not
work. Thursday, October 19th
is available. Beacom read the
resolution. Granstra motioned to accept
resolution.
(NOTE:
Hearing now changed to Monday, October 30th because of conflicts for
the commission with the October 19th date)
5. Meeting Dates, 2007
Beacom
presented meeting dates for quarterly meetings for 2007. Deibert moved to accept meeting dates as
submitted. Green seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
VIII.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Beacom
updated commission on the legislation.
On the federal level, the House passed the COPE Bill last spring. The
Senate is now working on the Stevens bill.
House version is more favorable to access. On the state level, the House version
(HB6456) is worse than the federal legislation. Franchise fees could be reduced
by 30%. Deibert asked whether these
bills allow cable providers to provide phone service. Beacom stated that they already could.
Beacom
announced that a couple of staff members have been out of the office battling
illnesses.
The
next ACM conference is in
IX.
ADJOURNMENT –
Next meeting is the special meeting on
Respectfully
Submitted,
Brandi
Pfohl
Recording
Secretary
Cable Access Advisory Commission
Goals for 2006-07
1. Review
proposed changes to MCTV Ordinances and Rules, hold public hearings, and make
recommendations to City Council.
1. Review Cable
Communications Fund Budget Response Plan for 2007-08 and make recommendations
to City Council
2. Increase awareness
among access users and the public about the challenges and opportunities facing
MCTV
3. Hold a joint
meeting with City Council to discuss Budget Response Plan and Friends of MCTV
organization
4. Participate in
MCTV’s “Honors Night 2006.”
Cable Access Advisory
Commission
City of
Dear Commissioners,
To review, in May 2006, City
Council approved a $106,100 General Fund subsidy for the Cable Communications Fund
budget. This action kept MCTV’s services and staff whole for the 2006-07 fiscal
year. Major cuts in staff and services had been proposed because a deficit in
the fund is projected in the current five-year plan.
City Council instructed City
staff, the Cable Access Advisory Commission and supporters of Midland Community
Television to study options to help alleviate the projected deficit. Three options discussed at the Commission
level during the budget process were user fee, revisions to the fees now charged
for video duplications, and more fees for training.
User Fees
The City has never charged a
user fee for the use of MCTV’s facilities and equipment.
An annual fee of $25 per
individual is now proposed by City staff.
If collected from the current list of access users involved in video
production and from individuals and organizations who submit messages to the
community message board channel, the projected revenue would be $2,500-$3,000
annually.
Duplication Fees
MCTV currently charges a
video duplication fee of $10 per 30 minutes of content. However, the MCTV Rules
and Procedures allow producers to receive one free copy of a program. City
staff proposes a revision in the duplication fee and the end of the free copy
program.
The proposed fee is $10 per
60 minutes of content with a maximum fee of $30 for programs over two hours in
length. The goal of this revision is to generate more requests for copies of
popular programs including high school sports and concerts. Current fees are
often over $40 for those programs that discourages the public from buying
copies.
The proposed elimination of
the free copy program would eliminate staff time used to make these copies.
Almost half of the requests processed by staff are for the free copies.
The goal of these revisions
is to raise more revenue from duplications. Total revenue generated in 2005-06
from video duplications was $2,800. In fiscal year 2004-05, the total was $900.
In 2003-04, the total was $1,300.
Training Fees
MCTV currently charges a fee
of $10 for the beginning access user training. At your September meeting, the
Commission voted to recommend raising that fee to $20. No fees are charged for advanced training.
Staff is proposing a fee of $10 per each advanced training course.
Potential additional revenue
is $250-$300 annually.
For the past five summers,
MCTV has offered a four-day video camp for children, ages 12-17. The fee
charged in July 2006 was $40. Staff proposes a fee of $50 for the video camp.
Class size is limited to 12. Projected revenue for each camp is $600.
Ordinance and Rules Revisions
The proposed revisions in the
MCTV Fees Ordinance and the MCTV Rules and Procedures are included in this
document. New language is shown in italics,
while proposed deleted language is shown in strikethrough font.
Commission Action
No action is needed at the
October 30th meeting.
Instead, a resolution will be prepared for the Commission’s November 8
meeting. The Commission may then act on the proposed changes based on input
received at the public hearing.
Respectfully submitted,
MCTV Network
City of
CITY OF
ARTICLE VII.
MIDLAND COMMUNITY TELEVISION (MCTV) FINES, FEES AND OTHER CHARGES*
Sec. 21-120.
MCTV fines.
The
fines for MCTV services are as follows:
(1) Late equipment returns:
a. Late return of equipment, five dollars
($5.00) per day, starting after the first hour late.
Sec. 21-121.
Use fees.
The use
fees for MCTV services are as follows:
(1) Annual access user fee $25.00
(2) Training
fees:
a.
Access user training course
(initial) $20.00
b. Access user training course
(advanced) 10.00
c, Video camp 50.00
(3) Videotape duplication fees:
a. 0-60 30 minutes of content 10.00
b.
61-120 minutes of content 20.00
c.
Over 120 minutes of content 30.00
(3) Videotape duplication processing
fee:
a. Processing fee . . . . 5.00
MCTV Rules and Procedures
Use of MCTV Equipment
2.1 MCTV
facilities and equipment are available for use by residents of the City or
a. Paid the user
fee established in Article VII, Chapter 21 of the City of Midland
Code of Ordinances.
b. Taken the training course provided by MCTV as
specified in paragraph 1.1; or
c. Demonstrated production capability and competence in
using the production equipment to the MCTV staff
d. Completed the access user application from, which
includes a statement of compliance with these rules. Any violation of these rules may result in
the qualified access user being temporarily or permanently restricted or
prevented from the use of MCTV equipment facilities at the discretion of the
MCTV Coordinator.
8.3 A qualified access user may purchase copies of his or her program on a video format purchased from
MCTV. obtain one copy of his or her program for which there will
be no duplication or processing fee.
MCTV will provide the qualified access user the copy on either a new
videotape supplied by the qualified access user or on a videotape purchased
from MCTV. Additional copies will
be made upon request at the rates established in Article VII, Chapter 21 of
the City of Midland Code of Ordinances.
8.4 Members of the public may also purchase request copies of a program on a video format purchased from MCTV videotape. at the
rates copying and processing fees established in Article VII,
Chapter 21 of the City of Midland Code of Ordinances. will be charged. New videotape(s) may be provided by the
person submitting the request or a videotape may be purchased from MCTV.
ARTICLE II
MIDLAND COMMUNITY TELEVISION
(MCTV)
ELECTRONIC BULLETIN BOARD
RULES AND PROCEDURES
17. Electronic
Bulletin Board Messages.
Messages submitted for cablecasting may be submitted
by any resident of the City or
Messages must meet the criteria of Section
15-132 of the City of Midland Code of Ordinances.
BELOW
Ron,
I will not be able
to attend the meeting but as a long-time user (Mothers of Twins and now
Thank you for
asking.
Ron, I will be
out of state on Oct. 30 - but want to respond to the fee ordinance.
My church, St.
Timothy Lutheran, is small and has a small budget. We hold benefits for Open Door, Shelterhouse, etc, at least once - usually twice - a year,
plus give-away rummage and other benevolence functions. These are
functions that address community needs, and donations are never
kept in-house.
While I
understand that you - and all organizations - need funds to operate your
community service, $25 would be beyond our budget. I would
personally pay a $5 or $10 fee from my pocket when I submit an ad
for St. Timothy, but $25 is beyond my financial ability.
I know our
events would feel the effects of losing your advertising service.
Thank you for
the opportunity to respond.
Nancy Rogers
Thanks for your e-mail. I want to be clear that the
fee we are proposing is an annual fee not a per message fee.
That's better - but those of
us who use it for one message - twice a year - need to pay the same as
those who have 8 or more daily announcements all year long? Is something
wrong with this picture? No disrespect intended - but there are a couple
of groups whose messages go on and on, one after the other, and it's hard to
justify small groups paying the same. When we have our next function
- in the Spring - we'll have a decision to make, won't we?
Thanks for your reply.
Nancy Rogers
HI
RON,
I
AM 4-SQUARE IN FAVOR OF
I'M
ALSO IN FAVOR OF FUNDRAISING SO THAT ANYONE, WHO WATCHES THE LOCAL EVENTS
KEEP
UP THE GOOD WORK!!!
BILL
LEE