HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-08-07 City Council (15)TO:
City of Palo Alto
Manager’s Report
HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL ~l~
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT:ADMINISTRATIVE
SERVICES
DATE:
SUBJECT:
AUGUST 7, 2000 CMR:346:00
NOMINATION OF SIX INDIVIDUALS TO THE BOARD
SILICON VALLEY COMMUNITY COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
OF
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve and authorize the Mayor to nominate six
individuals to the Silicon Valley Community Communications, Inc. (SVCC) board of
directors, three of whom will represent the Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) jurisdictions
and three of whom will represent the Mid-Peninsula Access Corporation (MPAC).
BACKGROUND
In 1983, a JPA was entered into by Palo Alto, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Atherton, and
portions of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties for the purposes of obtaining cable
television service within these jurisdictions. The JPA gives the City of Palo Alto sole
authority to grant and administer the cable television franchise on behalf of all the JPA
member communities. In 1986, a cable television franchise agreement was executed with
Cable Co-op, which was later amended in 1991.
On July 24, 2000, the Council approved a transfer of the cable television system from
Cable Co-op to AT&T and a new franchise agreement with AT&T. The Council also
approved an agreement with Silicon Valley Community Communications, Inc. (SVCC)
for the provision of facilities and equipment for MPAC, the City’s community access
organization. The agreement with SVCC requires that, within six months, SVCC
establish a new board of directors composed of three individuals designated by SVCC
and six designated by the City (three representing the JPA and three representing
MPAC). This new board will replace the existing three-member board of SVCC. Within
six months, the new board of directors must develop new bylaws, which will include
information regarding term limits and the selection of future board members.
CMR:346:00 Page 1 of 3
DISCUSSION
~ recommending that the Council proceed to authorize the Mayor to nominate six
individuals to the new SVCC board of directors. It is important that the new board be
established quickly because there are significant deadlines facing SVCC. In addition to
the six month deadlines related to the new board of directors and the new bylaws, AT&T
is providing SVCC (and thus MPAC) office and studio space for only 18 months. After
that time, both will have to relocate to another facility. Because of these impending
deadlines, the new board needs to begin making decisions immediately regarding the
future of SVCC and MPAC.
On July 25, 2000, the MPAC board of directors convened a special meeting to select its
three representatives to the new SVCC board. The MPAC board of directors
recommends Christine Shambora, Sally Kiester, and Annie Niehaus as its three
representatives. Staff recommends that the Council endorse these recommendations.
In addition, staff recommends that Council authorize the Mayor to select three Palo Alto
City Council Members as the three JPA representatives. Since 1986, the City of Palo
Alto has been the local franchising authority for the JPA, with responsibility for granting
and administering the franchise. This responsibility has given Palo Alto City Council
Members an in-depth understanding of community needs and interests related to cable
communications, local programming, and Public, Education, and Government (PEG)
access services. This makes Palo Alto City Council Members strong candidates for the
SVCC board. Further, this approach would allow the Mayor to make the nominations
swiftly so SVCC can promptly begin conducting its affairs.
ALTERNATIVE TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Another approach for selecting the three JPA representatives for the SVCC board would
be to nominate members from several of the cities involved in the JPA. As of December
1999, 53 percent of the subscribers resided in Palo Alto, 25 percent in Menlo Park, 10
percent in East Palo Alto, seven percent in Atherton, three percent in San Mateo County,
and two percent in Santa Clara County (Stanford). Under this approach, the Council
could ensure the communities with the highest percentage of subscribers were
represented on the new SVCC board. The disadvantage of this alternative is the time it
would take to conduct outreach with the other JPA cities. This would result in a delay
before the new SVCC board could begin to address its deadlines.
RESOURCE IMPACT
The new board of SVCC will be responsible for overseeing the charitable donation of $17
million and will make decisions regarding the allocation of the funds to meet the existing
and future needs of MPAC.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
This report does not represent any change to existing City policies.
CMR:346:00 Page 2 of 3
TIMELINE
Within 30 days after the nomination by the City, SVCC will hold a meeting of its existing
board to appoint the six individuals to the new board of SVCC.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This is not a project under the Califomia Environmental Quality Act.
PREPARED BY: Melissa Cavallo, Assistant Director, Administrative Services
REVIEWED BY: Grant Kolling, Senior Assistant City Attorney
DEPARTMENT HEAD APPROVAL:
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
~MILY HARRISON
Assistant City Manager
Mid-Peninsula Access Corporation (MPAC)
Silicon Valley Community Communications, Inc. (SVCC)
CMR:346:00 Page 3 of 3