City Council Minutes 2006 03 07 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes March 7, 2006 Page 8 of 16 John Bollinger, 943 Salina Street, Lafayette, CO expressed his appreciation to the City of Louisville for supporting the community access television. He stated Louisville has taken the lead and hoped other cities will follow. He felt confident Lafayette would provide substantial financial support to public access television, and noted there is a very limited budget to build a new studio. Alan Sobel, 1408 Kennedy Court, Louisville, CO asked why the Council Chamber's video equipment was not updated under the current franchise. He questioned the City's delegation of authority to CMTC, a non-elected body. He stated decisions that affect the community should be made by the City and PEG channel decisions should be made by the City in consultation with the public. He proposed a PEG tier programming, at a cost $1.00 per month. He referred a letter the City wrote to citizens in 1995 outlining the public process. He asked why the citizens were not notified in the same manner. Ken Fellman, Kissinger, Fellman, P.C., responded to citizen comments. He outlined the process, which was followed during the franchise negotiations, and noted the negotiation team met with various focus groups including the CCTV. He stated the City did not negotiate away the community cable access studio. Congress changed the law, and limited what can be required for public access. Because the law does not provide for a public access studio, the City does not have legal authority to require a studio. He did not feel it appropriate to address the access provider in the franchise agreement and noted the $50,000 one-time grant is unrestricted and can be used however the City wishes. He stated the PEG and franchise fees are policy decisions that should be made by the City Council. He stated the City's video equipment was not upgraded under the current franchise because it was not addressed. He explained the City is a member of the Greater Metro Telecommunications Consortium (GMTC), which is an intergovernmental agency. In addition to supporting members, it provides regional programming through the metro area on a quarterly basis. He explained federal law prohibits the City from regulating fees, or requiring tiers. He explained how the 2005 franchise negotiation progress differed from the 1995 process. The City did a random written survey, an on-line survey, met with focus groups, developed a needs assessment and held public meetings that were tape recorded and televised multiple times on the government channel. He stressed the Council allowed public input at every meeting. COUNCIL COMMENT Council member Muckle thanked all those who spoke and gave valuable input and Mr. Fellman for his expertise. He asked if the Resolution could include provisions that would designate the Comcast studio equipment and how the PEG fees would be shared. City Attorney Light explained if Comcast donated the studio equipment to the - .