Minutes Cable TV Teleprogramming 9 4 07MINUTES OF CABLE COMMUNITY TELEPROGRAMMING COMMISSION MEETING
September 4, 2007
CITY HALL ANNEX - 2nd FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM #2
MEMBERS PRESENT: Sr. Carol Hoverman, George Herrig, Pauline Maloney, Jennifer
Tigges, Burton Everist.
MEMBERS ABSENT: Two seats remain vacant on the Commission.
OTHERS PRESENT: Jim Barefoot, Mediacom
Craig Nowack, City of Dubuque Cable TV Coordinator
Ms. Maloney called the meeting to order at 4:12 p.m.
Acceptance of the Agenda.
Upon a motion by Sr. Hoverman, seconded by Mr. Everist, the agenda was
accepted unanimously as published.
2. Approval of the Minutes of the August 7, 2007, Meeting
Upon a motion of Ms. Tigges, seconded by Mr. Herrig, the Minutes of the August 7,
2007, Commission meeting were approved unanimously.
3. Public Comment
None.
4. Access Equipment Expenditures
Mr. Nowack reported that $142,020.33 remains to be awarded in the Capital Grant
for Access Equipment and Facilities. He raised for discussion the practice of the
Commission making grants for slightly more than was being requested in order to
cover shipping costs and other small overages. This is causing some grants to be
completed later and later as recipients look for ways to spend the excess. Mr.
Everist stated that recipients should not do this, that their grants are approved for
specific equipment and nothing more. Ms. Tigges said that the Commission often
does not specify exactly what the funds should be used for. Mr. Everist disagreed
with this. Ms. Maloney stated that when the Commission makes a grant, it is
working off a specific list of equipment that is being purchased. But Ms. Tigges
countered that the motions made to approve the grants are not that specific. Mr.
Everist stated that the approval is for the proposal being requested, and the extra
funding is to account for incidental costs which otherwise would have to come out
of the grantees' pockets.
Mr. Barefoot requested funding for the following items:
• Afield monitor for the Sony Anycast Station
• A time code slate for Steadicam shoots
• New handheld microphones
• A printer to print DVD labels and inserts
• LED meters for the FM studio and the production truck
• Anvil cases for remote production equipment
• Anvil case for the Jib pedestal
• Pelican case for audio gear
• Two portable FS4 cradles to accommodate high-capacity batteries
Ms. Tigges asked if the printer being requested will print directly to DVDs or only to
a label. Mr. Barefoot said it will only print labels. A discussion ensued about the
problems that sticky labels can causes on spinning media and it was the
consensus of the Commission that adirect-to-DVD printer should be acquired.
Mr. Nowack raised a question regarding this equipment request in relation to the
method he uses to keep track of the Capital Grant for Access Equipment and
Facilities. One of the ways he tracks the fund is by which individuals and
organizations receive grants. One such recipient he created was a generic
"Access Community" for equipment to be shared among the key stakeholders in
the local PEG community, specifically the City of Dubuque, the public access
studio at. Mediacom, and Dubuque Community Schools. In the past, the Access
Community has received grants for a portable teleprompter system and a camera
jib. Although he acknowledged that this was merely an accounting distinction, he
wondered if a request associated with the camera jib, such as the case Mr.
Barefoot was requesting today, should be a separate request and attributed to the
Access Community.
This raised the question of the ownership of equipment purchased through the
Capital Grant for Access Equipment and Facilities and a lively discussion followed.
Mr. Everist suggested that perhaps this should be discussed further at a future
meeting.
Mr. Everist moved to grant $5,500.00 for the items Mr. Barefoot requested. The
motion was seconded by Sr. Hoverman and approved unanimously.
5. Access Programming and Promotion
Mr. Barefoot announced that a meeting is scheduled for tomorrow among
Mediacom, the school district, and Finley Hospital for a new programming
collaboration entitled "Doctor Doctor". Shooting is expected to start on September
12. He also said that there is a plan for a series with the Dubuque Symphony
Orchestra. On Thursday Mr. Barefoot is helping Gary Olsen produce the League
of Women Voters candidate forum for the school board election. Season Three of
Kids in the Kitchen should start shooting in January. There is also some
discussion about doing a Farmer's Market show in the spring.
Mr. Everist inquired about producing a video describing what equipment was
available for use at the public access studio. Some time ago the Commission had
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discussed this and he wondered if it was possible to do this, or if a list of the
equipment even existed.
Mr. Barefoot also reported that someone from Hillcrest Family Services produced a
breast-feeding video for a support group.
6. Mediacom Cable Report
Mr. Barefoot informed the Commission that he has been granted an intern for 15
hours per week. He plans on hiring Marcus from Loras College for this position,
which is to help take the load off of all the things Dustin does, including scheduling,
promotion, and editing.
7. Cable TV Division Report
Mr. Nowack reported that the renovation of the Federal Building is taking up the
majority of his time. ECS has been in town installing the production and
presentation equipment. He hopes the facility will be ready for the first City Council
meeting on September 17. He suggested scheduling a Commission meeting there
this fall to show everyone the new facility. Ms. Tigges wondered if a Commission
meeting could be scheduled in the afternoon prior to a Council meeting so
commissioners could stay for the City Council meeting. Mr. Nowack said that in
order to accomplish that, the Commission meeting would have to be on a Monday.
Mr. Nowack announced that he will be attending the NATOA conference in
Portland, OR, the first week of October.
Mr. Nowack also stated that the Cable TV Division conducted the first live
broadcast of the Dubuque Labor Day Parade in a number of years. The cameras
were placed better than they were for the Memorial Day Parade. Yesterday's
telecast had no announcers. Since the parade organizer could not guarantee in
what order groups would be marching, he thought it unfair to make hosts guess on
the air. Time will tell if there is any audience reaction to this.
Mr. Everist wondered if public access television could provide any programming to
address the racial unrest in Dubuque in the wake of the recent downtown murder.
Mr. Nowack responded by saying that he had approached the Human Rights
Director to see if CityChannel 8 could broadcast a forum to address this issue.
While interested in the idea, ultimately she declined the offer. CityChannel 8 has
been airing the Mayor reading the City Council's open letter to the community.
Mr. Everist presented a print out of an Internet article on non-linear editing which
used Adobe Premiere, the software used at the public access studio, as an
example.
8. Video On Demand
Mr. Barefoot stated that Mediacom is upgrading the Des Moines VOD equipment.
Soon he expects to have the VTN, the video transport network, between Dubuque
and Des Moines up and running.
9. Future Agenda Items
Mr. Everist suggested that a clarification of the grant process, specifically
ownership and programming, be discussed as part of the Access Equipment
Expenditures agenda item at the next meeting.
10. Adjournment
Upon a motion by Ms. Tigges, seconded by Ms. Hoverman, the meeting was
adjourned at 5:16 p.m.
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