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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-10-15 City Council (5)Citv of Palo Alto TO: FROM: DATE: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT:ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES OCTOBER 15, 2002 SUBJECT:GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNEL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES CMR: 408:02 This is an informational report and no Council action is required. BACKGROUND In 1983, a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) was entered into by Palo Alto, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Atherton and unincorporated portions of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties for the purposes of obtaining cable television service for these jurisdictions. The JPA gives Palo Alto the sole authority to grant and administer a cable television franchise on behalf of the JPA member communities. In 1986, a cable television franchise agreement was executed with Cable Co-op. Subsequently, the City Council designated MPAC as the Community Access Organization (CAO) to bring community media services to the JPA service area. In 1999, the Cable Co-op System was sold to AT&T. On July 24, 2000, the City Council approved the transfer of the cable system and a new franchise agreement with AT&T. As a condition of the sale, AT&T made a charitable donation of $17 million to SVCC, a public benefit corporation established by Cable Co-op. On August 20, 2001, SVCC and MPAC merged. Under the merger, MPAC was the surviving organization and was renamed Midpeninsula Community Media Center, Inc. (Media Center). On October 22, 2001, Council approved a resolution designating the new entity, the Media Center, as the CAO serving the JPA. Following the Council designation, on July 8, 2002, the Council approved a new CAO agreement between the Media Center and the JPA. DISCUSSION The terms of the new CAO agreement are substantiallydifferent from the terms of the old agreement. In the new agreement, the Media Center has an expanded scope of services, which includes responsibility for the operation and administration of government access channel(s). These duties include the coordination of JPA member requests for use of the CMR: 408:02 Page 1 of 3 channel(s), program scheduling, program acquisition and production, channel publicity and maintenance of the scrolling cable text. In the past, City staff performed these duties. Staff is currently transitioning these duties to the Media Center and expects the transition to be complete by the end of 2002. To facilitate a smooth transition, the new CAO agreement requires the Media Center to develop guidelines, approved by the JPA Working Group, for the scheduling and prioritization of governmental programming requests by JPA members. It also requires the Media Center to develop a set of service level standards that it shall meet in responding to and carrying out its responsibilities. For the past several months, the JPA Working Group has worked with the Media Center to develop policies and procedures that mee~ the requirements of the CAO agreement and ensure the government channel(s) are administered equitably and in accordance with the desires of JPA members. This report.transmits these policies and procedures (Attachment A) to the Council. The policies and procedures cover the following: 1) the objective of the government access channel(s); 2) the roles and responsibilities of the JPA and the Media Center; 3) programming prohibitions; 4) program editing policies; 5) programming sources; 6) program scheduling priorities; and 7) Service level standards. The program scheduling priorities established in the policies and procedures make one key change to past practice. The live broadcast of both regular and special City Council meetings is prioritized over o"~her types of public meetings (e.g., Council Committee meetings, Board and Commission meetings, etc.). In the future, if a special City Council meeting is conducted on the same night as a regularly scheduled Council Committee or Board and Commission meeting, the special Council meeting would be broadcast live and the Committee or Commission meeting would be taped and replayed at a later time. On occasion, this may impact the live coverage of Palo Alto Council Committee and/or Commission meetings. Currently, there is one government acCess channel serving the JPA, operating on cable television channel 26. AT&T is required to provide a second government channel after the completion of the cable system rebuild, which is expected to occur in August 2003. After the second government channel is available, it will be possible for more public meetings to be broadcast live. More specifically, should Atherton and East Palo Alto want to cablecast their City Council meetings in the future, the second channel will make it possible for all four cities to cablecast their Council meetings live. As the government channel operation and administration duties ~ully transition to the Media Center, the viewing public may notice some changes. There will be a growing variety of governmental programming, expanded hours of programming, new times for replays of public meetings, and improved channel promotion and advertising. CMR: 408:02 Page 2 of 3 RESOURCE IMPACT Funds for government channel operation and administration are generated AT&T’s payment of Public, Education and Government (PEG) access fees. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act. ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: Government Access Channel Policies and Procedures through PREPARED BY: DAVID RAMBERG IT Manager, External Services DEPARTMENTAL HEAD APPROVAL: " ~-"~~ YE ytS Director / CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: EMILY HARRISON Assistant City Manager CMR: 408:02 Page 3 of 3 ATTACHMENT A JPA GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNEL(S) PROGRAMMING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES The current Government Access Channel operates on Cable Charmel 26. An additional Government Access Channel will be added at the completion of the re-build of the cable system, which is expected to occur in August 2003. It is the goal of the Government Access Channel(s) to provide governmental programming to the citizens of the JPA service area. Members of the JPA include the cities of Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Menlo Park, the Town of Atherton and portions of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. OBJECTIVE The fundamental purpose of the Government Access Channel(s) is educating and informing residents regarding local government meetings, programs and services and other topics of interest to residents including educational, cultural, public health, safety and welfare issues. The Government Access Channel(s) are not intended as a political forum, or as a mechanism for building support for a particular policy, program, issue, party or individual. POLICIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES The Govermnent Access Channel(s) and programming operate under the jurisdiction of the JPA. Responsibility for programming lies with the Media Center, the designated Community Access Organization (CAO), under the advisement of the JPA Worldng Group. Day to day operation of the channel(s) is under the direction of the Media Center. The JPA Worldng Group shall periodically review the programming, policies and operations of the Government Channel(s) and make recommendations. The use of the Government Access Channel(s)shall be reserved for informational and educational programrning created by municipal departments or agencies of the JPA or provided by another municipality or govermnent agency, or acquired, from other sources so long as it promotes the education of citizens. Selection and scheduling of outside source programs shall be the responsibility of the Media Center based on the policies and procedures defined in this document. 9/19/02 PROHIBITIONS Any advertising messages on behalf of a political candidate or measure on a ballot. EXCEPT THAT: This shall not preclude the presentation of official materials or programming which includes the opportunity for all candidates for a particular elective position or proponents of all sides of any issue to appear in an equitable manner. Any advertising message on behalf of or opposing any measure proposed by a JPA agency or department or under consideration by a City Council or Board of Supervisors. EXCEPT THAT: This shall not preclude the cablecasting of JPA jurisdiction public meetings and/or programming produced by or for the Government Access Channel(s) which provides background information on any measure under consideration if. the various sides ’of the issue are presented. Any promotional material concerning products or services presented for the purpose of .any solicitation of funds or other things of value. Any information concerning any lottery, gift enterprise or similar promotion offering prizes based upon lot or chance. Any material which constitutes libel, slander, invasion of privacy, violation of trademark, or copyright, or which might violate any local, state or federal law; including FCC regulations. EDITING ,POLICY Public Meetings - Any public meeting cablecast shall not beedited or subjected to editorial comment. Meeting coverage shall be from gavel to gavel. " Insertion of alphanumeric or computer graphic information or visual aids pertaining directly to council or other meeting agenda is allowed. Video Scroll -Informational.messages programmed for use on the scroli shall be edited for clarity and to maximize the capacity of the computer graphics system. PROGRAM SOURCES Government Access Channel programming will come from the following sources: Live Coverage of JPA Jurisdiction Public Meetings -- Palo Alto, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, and Atherton City, Council and other Council Committee and Board and Commission Meetings 9i1 Video Scroll Tape Delay Cablecasting - Some public meetings, city functions, and special events will be taped for cablecasting later. Repeat presentations are scheduled to gi’~e the public more opportunities to view them. -- Palo Alto, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, and Atherton City Council and other Council Committee and Board and Commission Meetings -- Santa Clara and San Mateo County Board of Supervisors Meetings -- Other Special County Meetings. JPA Produced Programming - Programs may be produced by municipal staffs or under their direction through the contracted production services of the Media Center or other video production service providers, e.g., CityBeat produced for Palo Alto. to showcase City operations. Outside Source Programs - Some television programs will come from sources outside the JPA. Such programming must fit within the policies and procedures defined in this document. PROGRAM PRIORITIES AND SCHEDULING As of July 2002, only one Govermnent Access Channel exists and only two cities are connected to the head end of the cable system, allowing them to cablecast their meetings live. These cities, Palo Alto and Menlo Park, have their City Council meetings on Monday and Tuesday nights, respectively. After the cable system upgrade is Complete, a second Government Access Channel will be made available. Atherton and East Palo Alto hold their meetings on the third Wednesday and the first and third Tuesday, respectively. Should they want to cablecast their meetings in the future, the second channel will make it possible for all four cities to cablecast their city Council meetings live. . Scheduling the use of the Government Access Chamael(s) time shall be the responsibility of the Media Center. Scheduling shall be performed on an equitable and non-discriminatory basis. Scheduling will be in accordance with channel use priorities (listed below) and the availability of equipment and resources. Until the Media Center has an automated playback system, only weekday daytime playback on the Gov..~rnment Access Channel is possible. Meetings cablecast live from city halls will continue at their usual times. Emergency Override Notification - To provide citizens with information and procedures in the event of emergency situations (severe weather, civil emergencies, failure of government service or systems, hazardouslwaste, et al.). Live JPA Jurisdiction Public Meetings - To help increase and encourage citizen awareness and participation in public policy decision-making. a)City Council aneetings, both regular and special, take precedenceover other types of meetings. Council Committee ’and Board and Commission meetings will be allocated on an equitable basis. Palo Alto now provides coverage of all of its Committee and Commission meetings. Menlo Park has expressed an interest in cabiecasting its Planning Commission meetings. Because they are held on Mondays, the same day as Palo Alto City Council meetings, it will not be possible for them to be cablecast live until a second channel is available. They could be taped and re-played at a later time. 3. Tape delayed replays of JPA Jurisdiction Public Meetings b) City Council meetings, both regular and special, take precedence over other types of meetings. Council Committee and Board and Commission meetings will be allocated on an equitable basis. Palo Alto now provides coverage of all of its Committee and Commission meetings, Menlo Park has expressed an interest in cablecasting its Planning Commission meetings. Because they are held on Mondays, the same day as Palo Alto City Council meetings, it will not be possible for them to be cablecast liveuntil a second channel is available. In the meantime, they could be taped and re-played at a later time. JPA Produced Programming- To illustrate and describe the functions, operations, and services of municipal departments or agencies of the JPA in order to increase citizen understanding of their services. 5. Outside Source Programming - To provide an Outlet for discussion of issues that bear upon the JPA communities or upon specific audiences or neighborhoods. This could include programming from another municipality, government agency, or special district and governmental seminars produced by professional organizations. o Video Scrotl- Alpha-numeric information, such as meeting agendas and library programs, will be programmed on the Governrnent Access Cha~mel(s) as the default whenever meetings or other programs are not on. 9il !)/02 4 b) Sources for information or messages displayed on the scroll shall be limited to those generated by: JPA Jurisdictions and School District contacts, until such time as there is a local Educational Access Channel for School Districts to use. It shall be the general policy of the Government Access Channel(s) to exclude all other information on its scroll not described above, except in the following circumstances: Emergency notification (severe weather, civil emergencies, failure of local services or systems, hazardous waste, et al.). SERVICE LEVEL STANDARDS JPA AGENCIES Will submit their city council agendas to the Media Center via email on or before the deadlines agreed upon by the JPA Working Group. Will share the Government Channel(s) resources that are available in time of emergency and will abide by the priority guidelines set by the JPA Working Group. Will give the Media Center two weeks notice in advance of special meetings to guarantee coverage. Will provide 24 hours notice when meetings scheduled for cable casting or taping are cancelled. ¯CITY HALL VIDEO OPERATORS Will report to the video booth on time and provide gavel-to-gavel coverage of all scheduled government meetings Will provide the requested number of tapes of the meeting. Will work to promote signal quality, by reporting any transmission problems to the franchise cable company or equipment problems to the JPA agency. ¯THE MEDIA CENTER Will schedule re-plays of meetings requested by the JPA in accordance with the policies and procedures defined in this document. Will ensure that all JPA government meetings are covered from city halls. When two or more meetings are happening simultaneously, every effort will be made to provide single camera coverage of lower priority meetings or "studio in a box" coverage of meetings and events out in the community. Providing a minimum of three weeks notice to schedule coverage of a remote or extra event increases the likelihood of availability. Will follow program priorities policy when more than one meeting is happening simultaneously, allowing the priority meeting to go live, while taping the other(s) for later replay. Will pay video operators for 3 hours of work when a meeting is cancelled without notice. The JPA agency will be charged for 3 hours if they fail to give a minimum of 24 hours notice when canceling scheduled Media Center coverage. Will make the Media Center production studio available to JPA agencies that want to produce live or taped programs. To guarantee studio date availability, scheduling should be done in mid March, July and November, when a schedule is produced for the next four months. Once the studio is scheduled, there are openings but no guarantees for specific dates. 9/1