Minutes TV Cable Teleprogramming .8 8 06
MINUTES OF CABLE COMMUNITY TELEPROGRAMMING COMMISSION MEETING
August 8, 2006
CITY HALL ANNEX - 2nd FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM #2
MEMBERS PRESENT: Pauline Maloney, George Herrig, Jennifer Tigges, Sr. Carol
Hoverman.
MEMBERS ABSENT: Burton Everist. Two seats remain vacant on the Commission.
OTHERS PRESENT: Jim Barefoot, Mediacom
Craig Nowack, City of Dubuque Cable TV Coordinator
Mr. Herrig called the meeting to order at 5:40 p.m.
1. Acceptance ofthe Agenda.
Upon a motion by Ms. Tigges, seconded by Ms. Maloney, the agenda was
accepted unanimously as published.
2. Approval of the Minutes of the June 26, 2006 Meeting
Upon a motion of Sr. Hoverman, seconded by Ms. Tigges, the Minutes of the June
26, 2006 Commission meeting were approved unanimously.
3. Public Comment
Mr. Barefoot stated that he's been hearing a lot of comments such as, "Wow, I saw
that on X Channel." He relayed a comment from Craig Schaefer at Loras College
that people have noticed some older access programs now being re-run. Mr.
Nowack mentioned a recent complaint from a subscriber upset that music is no
longer being played on the public access channels. Mr. Barefoot stated that he is
now running programs 24/7 on the access channels.
4. Access Equipment Expenditures
Mr. Nowack provided a financial overview of the PEG fund.
Becky Specht, an Art and Video Production Instructor at Wahlert High School,
requested $5,085.88 from the fund for a Panasonic camcorder, an extra battery, a
camera case, and a JVC DVNHS recorder/player. She has been producing
access programs from events at Wahlert for three years, and in the upcoming
school year she plans to one event each semester for each of the Holy Family
elementary schools and the middle school. Having her own camera will enable her
to produce more programming and not have to worry about reserving the
equipment from the Public Access studio.
Ms. Tigges wondered about the City's purchasing policies and stated that she
would like to see more than one quotation for equipment requests. Mr. Nowack
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said the City does allow multiple vendors, and that he often gets competing quotes
to make sure he's getting a good price.
Mr. Nowack noted that Ms. Specht's request contained sales tax, and that the City
would be able to purchase the same equipment for $4,798.00.
Sr. Hoverman moved to allocate up to $5,000.00 for Ms. Specht's request,
seconded by Ms. Maloney. The motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Barefoot had three requests for funding:
. $64.95 for a camera brace.
. $5,000.00 for a wireless six-station intercom system for the Anycast Station.
. $3,715.00 for a wireless video transmission system.
Mr. Nowack said the wireless video transmission system was a great idea and
would be a great addition to the local access community. However, he had talked
with ECS about this type of system and was told that they just didn't work. The
Commission suggested that Mr. Barefoot contact users of the particular system he
wants to buy and get their feedback.
Ms. Maloney made a motion for up to $5,070.00 for the camera brace and wireless
intercom system, seconded by Sr. Hoverman. The motion passed unanimously.
5. Access Programming and Promotion
Sr. Hoverman mentioned that she was very pleased with the 24/7 programming
now on the public access channels.
6. Mediacom Cable Report
Mr. Barefoot announced that his assistant had tendered his resignation, feeling "it
was just time for a change." Mr. Barefoot stated that he is already looking for a
replacement.
Mr. Barefoot reported that his new network should be up and running in the next
month, and that he finally got the purchase order for the Arboretum Green paint so
he can paint the chroma key wall in the studio soon.
He also mentioned a film festival he recently attended and how he received
permission from one of the entrants to run one of the films on public access.
Mr. Barefoot reported that access is thriving in Dubuque and that he is very busy.
He's seeing a lot of series programming in the area.
7. Cable TV Division Report
Mr. Nowack that CityChannel 8 is one cable away from having their new server on
the air. In the past week the station has been displaying weather data on the air
from the weather station on the roof of City Hall Annex. Earlier in the day he and
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Doug taped an edition of City Journal with the City's Economic Development
Director, and they've also begun a monthly Dubuque Health Matters program.
8. Future Agenda Items
No new agenda items were suggested.
9. Adjournment
Upon a motion of Ms. Tigges, seconded by Sr. Hoverman, the meeting was
adjourned at 6:48 p.m.
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