City Council Study Session Agenda and Packet 2012 02 13

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PAGE THREE SUBJECT: DISCUSSION — PUBLIC ACCESS STATION MANAGEMENT CONTRACT DATE: FEBRUARY 13, 2012 • Releasing the funds to CCTV; • Assuming a new contract will be signed in May, the City may hold the money until then and give it to whatever group gets the public access contract; • Keeping the funds for use for Channel 8. The City's last PEG distribution was made to CCTV on December 21, 2010 for the third quarter of 2010. The City is currently holding PEG payments for the fourth quarter of 2010, the first quarter of 2011, the second quarter of 2011, and the third quarter 2011, totaling $12,777.50. The 2011 fourth quarter invoice is expected imminently and will add approximately $3,200 to that total. 2. What should be done with the equipment purchased with PEG money? The City technically owns all of the equipment that CCTV has purchased with PEG funds. If the City decides to end its Public Access program, or use a different contractor, a determination would be needed on what to do with the equipment. THE ROLE OF THE CITY IN PUBLIC ACCESS TELEVISION One overriding issue of this discussion is the role of the City in Public Access television. As staff has noted previously, while the City controls the contract for the station, the day -to -day operations of the facility and the organization are the responsibility of the contractor. The City is not, and should not be, involved in the day -to -day activities of the channel. That said, in the past when residents have been unhappy with the contractor, they have called on the City to require the contractor to change their operations. City involvement in day -to -day operations of a public access TV contractor is not consistent with the idea of public access and a media voice that is truly independent. The ease with which media can be posted to the internet and viewed on the web has dramatically improved in the past few years. These and other factors may be issues the Council wants to consider regarding what role the City should, play in public access. FISCAL IMPACT: Dependant on what action(s) Council decides to take. RECOMMENDATION: Discussion ATTACHMENTS: None 16