Minutes Cable Teleprogramming 2 6 07MINUTES OF CABLE COMMUNITY TELEPROGRAMMING COMMISSION MEETING
February 6, 2007
CITY HALL ANNEX - 2nd FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM #2
MEMBERS PRESENT: Jennifer Tigges, George Herrig, Pauline Maloney, 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 5:42 p.m.
1. Acceptance of the Agenda.
Upon a motion by Sr. Hoverman, seconded by Ms. Maloney, the agenda was
accepted unanimously as published.
2. Approval of the Minutes of the January 22, 2007, Meeting
Upon a motion of Ms. Tigges, seconded by Sr. Hoverman, the Minutes of the
January 22, 2007, Commission meeting were approved unanimously.
3. Public Comment
None.
4. I-Net Overview
City of Dubuque Information Services Manager Chris Kohlmann was unable to
attend to make a presentation on the Dubuque institutional network, or I-Net.
5. Access Equipment Expenditures
Mr. Nowack presented revised quotes for board room equipment on behalf of Gary
Olsen and Dubuque Community Schools. Ms. Tigges noted that the vendor for
one of the quotes, ECS, is doing some of the other work in the board room at The
Forum, and that the school district is only asking for money for the television needs
for this room. Since the two quotes are so close, she would like to see the
business go to ECS since they are already doing work there. A motion by Sr.
Hoverman to approve $30,000.00 for the listed equipment, seconded by Ms.
Maloney, was approved unanimously.
Mr. Nowack presented a request for funding for a portable teleprompter system for
the access community. He stated that he would have the need for such a device a
handful of times each year. He said he had discussed this matter with both Mr.
Barefoot and Gary Olsen and they thought they would have occasions each year to
use one, although Mr. Barefoot is considering a permanent system for the public
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access studio. Mr. Nowack also brought up for discussion the problem of needing
a laptop computer on which to load the prompter software and feed the prompter
monitor. A discussion about this ensued, and it was suggested to allocate an extra
$1,000 to purchase a laptop to accompany the teleprompter. Also discussed were
the specifics of each quote and the concerns that a sturdy tripod be purchased to
properly support the prompter. Ms. Malone made a motion to approve $10,000 for
a teleprompter system, including a tripod and the teleprompter software, as well as
an extra $1,000 for a laptop computer to feed the teleprompter, for a total of
$11,000.00. The motion was seconded by Sr. Hoverman. The motion passed by a
vote of 3 -1, with Ms. Tigges dissenting.
There was a discussion regarding equipment needs for the I-Net. Mr. Nowack
mentioned the necessity of a network switch at each of the twelve core/ring
locations in order to manage the use of this new community resource. He thought
that the purchase of these switches might be an appropriate use of this fund and
that such a request or requests might be forthcoming as the I-Net becomes
operational.
6. Access Programming and Promotion
Mr. Barefoot reported that Kids in the Kitchen, which he submitted to the Beacon
Awards on behalf of Gary Olsen and the school district, is one of the finalists from
the pool of 493 entries. National Geographic has entries in this category. He plans
to go to Washington, DC, for the awards ceremony on March 13.
7. Mediacom Cable Report
Mr. Barefoot said that Mediacom is involved in the Get Reel Film Festival. This is a
high school competition. Mr. Barefoot expects more than 30 films from a class at
Hempstead. Senior and Wahlert are also involved. The deadline for submissions
is at the end of March. Star Cinema has offered a theater to screen the films. He
expects to run the winners on public access. The top prize is $1,000.
Mr. Barefoot also reported that he is very close to having a "really cool playback
system." Once he gets the access codes for the server functionality approved last
night by City Council, everything will be in place. He can sit at anon-linear editor
and move files around the building, he just cannot get them on the server. He can
also now control the access channels from anywhere in the world he can get an
Internet connection.
On a couple of final points, Mr. Barefoot plans on going to NAB this year, and he
said he desperately needs to have a garage sale to get rid of old equipment. Mr.
Nowack reported that he has contacted the school district about their annual
auction. City policy places certain restrictions on disposing of old equipment.
Finally, Mr. Barefoot asked the Commission to consider money for dedicated
cabling at various venues when new money becomes available in July. Grand
River Center and Five Flags would be good places to run cable to facilitate
broadcasts from those locations.
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Mr. Herrig mentioned some new Sony cameras that might be able to be' controlled
remotely by the Sony Anycast Station. He thought Mr. Barefoot and Mr. Nowack
might be able to utilize these cameras in some of their field productions.
8. Cable TV Division Report
Mr. Nowack reminded Commissioners that the Cable TV budget presentation
before the City Council is scheduled for February 26. As usual, Cable TV is the
last presentation of the evening. He also stated that today is his first anniversary
on the job, and that this year things are less hectic.
He reported that CityChannel 8 now as automated on screen program listings.
One screen always shows the next two programs to air. Another screen shows a
line-up of four programs coming up at some point on the current day or the next
day. This service has been available since the first of the month. These screens
update every ten minutes.
9. Video On Demand
Although there have been some technical problems with VOD, for the most part Mr.
Barefoot reported that things are going fine. He needs to get new content regularly
to keep things fresh. Mediacom is considering adding another shift in order to
encode material for VOD. Some VOD programs have been incorrectly encoded
and only available on HD set boxes. Ms. Tigges wondered about the turn-around
time. Mr. Barefoot said it's currently about a week.
10. Future Agenda Items
No new items were considered.
11. Adjournment
Upon a motion by Ms. Tigges, seconded by Ms. Maloney, the meeting was
adjourned at 7:03 p.m.