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PEG Access Oversight Board meeting Albany City Hall, March 9, 2017 Mario Chiarello (chair), Marc Gronich (vice chair), Chris Sagaas (treasurer) Ron Lesko (secretary), Tracian Gordon, Don Hyman, Mary Rozak, Cathy Taylor, Ocasio Willson Chiarello called the meeting to order at 6:08 p.m. Introductions Review and approval of minutes No changes or question Rozak moved approval. Hyman second. Approved unanimously Public comment Dennis Karius – Noted web presence for uploading and downloading programs to share among PEG channels in the Capital Region. Kimberly Krepp – Capital District Cannabis Consortium, show currently on Ch. 18. Need to have a program guide so the public knows when programs are on. Need to have a printed program guide ASAP (that includes Video on Demand programs). She also noted that there is a need for clarification and consistency regarding studio hours and availability for the community. She suggested Channel Albany have a presence at summer informational community events Tulip Fest) Keith Irish – Referenced a Spectrum Business Internet ad in the day’s Times Union and asked why PEG has not yet contacted Spectrum to take advantage of the opportunity. He noted that recent studio problems were problematic, and that there have been delays in repairing those types of problems. He planned to tape the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade for broadcast on Channel Albany. Activities since last meeting Chiarello provided a status update to board members in advance of meeting and reviewed that report during the meeting. o Clarification – Under Coordinator’s Activities, last sentence about regular communications being attempted. That represents his making time to reach out to talk with the studio coordinator. He also tries to communicate with the studio coordinator on off days if there is a need. o No other questions from board members. Studio coordinator follow-up: o He has been documenting procedures. He is working on one currently detailing how he does recording process. Others previously have been more about specific equipment. Using existing programming to create brief “commercials.” The studio coordinator believes he is not in position to decide what would make good outtakes from other ---PAGE BREAK--- programs. Chiarello agreed, and indicated it is up to those responsible for each program to identify that specific content for the pull-out segments to promote the programs. Improvement opportunities o A discussion about additional ways to market Channel Albany. A need for a process for updating web content. The Facebook page is inoperable. Gordon – If you can figure out the year it was created you can figure out who was working on the page at that time. o Chiarello – We have asked both previous coordinators. We could take it down but not being able to log in blocks that. Also indicated we should look at other social media tools such as Twitter, Instagram and SnapChat. o We don’t have a current list of programs ready to be uploaded, etc. Chiarello believes that would assist with workflow and prioritizing shows, etc. Public notice of meetings o A discussion about what constitutes official public notice for our board. o We will contact the appropriate city employee to update the list of our meeting dates o Rozak spoke to specific concerns that were raised about short notice for the February meeting, which was moved to Feb. 14 after the original date of Feb. 9 was cancelled due to a snow storm. We wanted to make sure as a board that we rescheduled the meeting for February. There were extenuating circumstances. This is not something that’s going to happen on a regular basis. o Rozak also noted that making our web and social media tools current would allow us to better share meeting dates in a timely way. Chiarello read a statement of support from the League of Women Voters for increased funding for PEG TV to offer greater public access. Report to the Common Council o The updated report is nearly complete. Still need to finalize recommendations to the Common Council and Mayor’s Office. Chiarello shared draft recommendations Common Council recommendations: Funding. Amount not specified in the draft report. Implies continued funding at our current level minimally. Council members actively promote PEG TV in their wards and recruit prospective board members, volunteers and content producers. Resources for recording Common Council meetings. o Gronich – A matter of the studio coordinator training board members and volunteers to finish production of the meeting videos (bottom thirds, etc.) o Chiarello – Supports that concept. ---PAGE BREAK--- o Gordon – Believes the report should be clearer about what we are asking for than it is in current draft form. Request assistance to help the PEG board in developing grant applications. o Sagaas believes the recommendations for the Common Council and the Mayor are good with no changes. o Gronich would like to do some proofreading before report is finalized, but also agrees with the content. o Sagaas moved to approve with grammatical edits. Hyman second. Unanimously approved. Chiarello will share the entire report with the board members for review, suggestions and ultimately present it for approval at our April meeting. Scope of services for RFP seeking a cable public access coordinator This year we have an additional $20,000 in funding for a total of $35,000 available for staffing. Chiarello presented three options, which we have discussed previously. One nearly full- time position, two part-time positions, or use some of the funding for contractual services. He noted that those options are not presented in the RFP as drafted. The studio coordinator records public-access content, gets it on air and scheduled and a handful of other duties. He believes the position also should include marketing and outreach responsibilities to expand the reach of PEG TV. Chiarello also would like to see a studio coordinator do more in all areas, including supervising and managerial duties. Recruiting and managing volunteers. Perhaps less of recording programs and more of the broader outreach activities. Taylor said she leans toward one person; the position is more financially attractive that way and the employee would remain accountable to the board (vs. a person or people under contracted services). Lesko and Rozak agreed. Taylor emphasized that the person should have the skills to promote the station publicly. Sagas suggested a tech-savvy person with people skills in the office. He noted that if we put good product out there, people see a good show and a quality product, they will be more inclined to create their own new content. He believes those duties in the studio would be more urgent than the community outreach. Gronich suggested the possibility of using volunteers to do some of the current in-studio duties such as switching cameras, producing the video, etc. Hyman noted that a previous studio coordinator used to provide that guidance for content producers and also trained volunteers (from St. Rose, UAlbany, etc.). 2-3 volunteers were with him most of the time he was in the studio. Gronich suggested that the language in the RFP is outdated and does not reflect what we want or need. The board agreed to continue to work on an updated draft of the RFP via e-mail before the next meeting. ---PAGE BREAK--- Resolution to extend the studio coordinator’s contract $15 hour through the end of April We resolve to ask the City of Albany to do an extension of the existing contract through April 29. Chiarello moved approval of the resolution, Hyman second. Approved 8-1 (Gronich voting no). Gronich asked if the library could help find and secure a grant to support PEG TV. Sagaas indicated he would bring that request back to Albany Public Library leadership. Gronich noted that there is a grant coming up to get up to $5,000 for equipment and materials for which we do not currently have funding. The application deadline is April 15. He will share the application with the board members. Gronich talked with Diane Fredericks, video production teacher at Albany High School’s Abrookin Career and Technical Center, about possibility of having 5-6 Albany High students serve there doing internships. Similar type of volunteer recruitment at St. Rose. A person who is graduating from St. Rose, lives locally. Willing to come to the studio. Gronich will update us on her status. Hyman received a request from Open Stage Media; Anne Parillo wants to get her show on our channel. Gronich said we do not currently have availability on our schedule at this time. She also would need to have a City of Albany resident make the request on her behalf. Chiarello noted that there are open slots and we probably could accommodate that request. There was a previous standing agreement for her program. He will communicate that to her, including the need for a city sponsor. Strategic planning background discussion Former PEG Board Chairman Joe Cunniff participated in the discussion. Tom Brownlie also via conference call. Chiarello noted that the discussion offered an opportunity to provide more background and information for board members on how we got where we are and how we might be able to grow and advance. Cunniff provided a brief overview of PEG history and recommendations for moving forward. Brownlie agreed with Cunniff’s assessment that Common Council cameras are outdated. Discussion about equipment options for chambers. Chiarello asked about the interview process for past coordinators, and suggestions for how to do that better to get the competencies that we need: o Cunniff noted that if you have more than one candidate, ask them to demonstrate the experiences they say they have. Hyman asked for suggestions on managing the studio coordinator. ---PAGE BREAK--- o Cunniff agreed with Hyman that those supervising the coordinator should have technical skills to be able to properly evaluate the work. o Brownlie also suggested that training the person at the outset is important, and the need for someone with skills in video production at that point would be critical. Hyman moved adjournment, Gordon second. The meeting adjourned at 8:09 p.m.