4.d) Forest Lake Cable Commission Meeting Date: 2/8/2011
Agenda item: �
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City Council Agenda Report
City of Scandia
14727 209th St. North
Scandia, MN 55073 (651) 433-2274
Action Requested: Receive a status report from Scandia's representatives to the Forest
Lake Cable Commission (FLCC), Mayor Simonson and Administrator
Hurlburt.
Deadline/Timeline: N/A
Background: Please see the attached memo for background on the FLCC and
current issues.
Recommendation: The FLCC is currently facing some issues that have caused the city's
representatives to believe it may be desirable to significantly change
or perhaps dissolve the Commission as it is now constituted. It is
possible that the Scandia Council and the Councils of one or both of
the other cities may agree. One option would be to appoint a
committee of two Council members and the administrator to meet
with similar representatives from Forest Lake and Columbus to
discuss the future of the FLCC.
Attachments/ Memo dated February 4, 2011
Materials provided:
Contact(s):
Prepared by: Anne Hurlburt, Administrator
(FLCC)
Page 1 of 1
02/04/11
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SCJE��NI)IA
Memo •
To: Scandia City Council
From: Randall Simonson,Mayor
Anne Hurlburt,City Administrator
Date: February 4,2011
Re: Forest Lake Cable Commission
The purpose of this memo is to brief the Council on the Forest Lake Cable Commission(FLCC) and
some issues that we have identified as Scandia's elected official and citizen representatives to the
FLCC.
What is the Forest Lake Cable Commission?
The Forest Lake Cable Commission(FLCC)is a joint powers organization of the cities of Farest
Lake, Columbus and Scandia. Each city council appoints two members of the board of directors,one
elected official and one citizen member,each to two-year terms. The primary operational acrivity of
the FLCC is to produce government and local access programming for replay on LATV-10 and
Ranger-20 cable stations. At full staff,FLCC has 4 employees(3 full-time and 1 part-time)and also
uses a number of free-lancers to record and produce its programs. The total budget of FLCC for 2011
is$146,572. About 75%of revenues are from subscriber fees and franchise fees passed through the 3
cities.
Governing Documents
The purpose of the organization, as stated by the JPA(Joint Powers Ageement)is to "monitor the
operations and activities of cable communications and related communications matters,provide
coordination of administration, enforcement and renewal of the franchises of the members, and to
conduct such other activities authorized herein as may be necessary to protect the interests of the
Member and it citizens with respect to the delivery of cable communications and related
communications matters."
Under the JPA,the cities retain their individual franchising authority. The Commission is to
administer the renewal proceedings,draft a franchise ordinance,and recommend it to each of the city
councils. The Commission is the entity responsible for the ongoing administration and enforcement
of the franchise. The Commission is to review rate changes as allowed by federal law. It is
authorized to make contracts for things necessary to accomplish its purposes, including contracts
related to the provision of community access programming. The JPA includes procedures for a
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2/4/201 l
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member to withdraw(a process that becomes effective in two years)and for dissolution of the
Commission. If the Commission was dissolved,each city would be responsible far enforcing its own
franchise ordinance.
The FLCC also has by-laws submitted to and approved by the cities. The latest version of the by-laws
was adopted August 24,2007. The bylaws contain some provisions(such as employment of an
"administrator"with certain responsibilities)that are not currently in operation. Much of the
language in the by-laws repeats language in the JPA.
Scandia adopted Ordinance No. 59,the Cable Television Regulatory Ordinance in December of 1997.
On the same date, Ordinance No. 60 (the current franchise ordinance)was also adopted. The teim of
the franchise is 15 years following acceptance by the gantee. The franchise includes specific
provisions about public, educational and goverruiient access channels and the funding to be provided
to the"member cities"(a joint powers organization)to operate, administer,promote and manage the
programming on those channels.
How is FLCC benefiting Scandia?
• A small number of Scandia households(approx. 180 of 1,500 households)have access to and
pay far this service(through franchise fees collected from US Cable and passed through the
city.) The franchise does not require the cable company to provide service unless there is a
certain minimum density per cable mile(10 homes per % mile.) The attached map shows the
known extent of cable availability within the city of Scandia.
• LATV records 2 regular city meetings per month. Meetings are replayed once following the
meeting. Only residents who have cable seivice have access unless they visit LATV or
purchase a DVD ($15.00 price.) The city does not receive free copies of recordings. There
has been discussion of making recorded meetings available on the internet but no schedule for
obtaining the needed equipment for doing so.
• In 2010, LATV began to record and play events(sports,music) at Farest Lake High School on
a new station,Ranger 20. This has been popular with the families of the students(some of
whom live in Scandia)and has significantly increased LATV's DVD sales. The current
LAT'V staff has many ideas for expansion of this part of the service. They ha�e also begun to
produce other shows(for example,they are recording events at Scandia's Vinterfest)
showcasing the community. Other examples are a new monthly show from the Forest Lake
Police Department and reviews of local restaurants.
• LATV provides opportunities for all community members,whether or not they are cable
subscribers,to learn to use video equipment and edit and produce their own television shows.
Once they receive training provided by LATV they may check out equipment free of charge.
We have significant concerns about FLCC management
We are new representatives to the FLCC, and some Commission members who have served longer
than us believe that the situation has improved compared to the past. However,we ha�e identified
2/4/201 I
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some concerns about management of the organization:
• FLCC Oversight the commission members(the 6 directors appointed by the 3 City
Councils)have not adequately supervised the operation. Some have lacked commitrnent to
attending meetings. The city councils who appoint the members have not paid much attention
to the organization. Minutes and other records are inaccurate and incomplete. There is a
history of a past director using their position to benefit a family member. There has sometimes
been a blurring of roles among the directors and volunteers or staff. (For example,a volunteer
appears to have been involved inappropriately on the Personnel committee.)
• Staff Supervision—the staff is not adequately supervised in their day-to-day work. The
budget does not appear to be adequate to hire someone capable of managing the organization.
The personnel policies do not appear to comply with the law in some respects.
• Finances—the cities(formerly Forest Lake and now Columbus)have managed the checkbook
on behalf of FLCC. They regard it as a nuisance and they are minimally compensated. There
has never been an audit, even though the JPA requires it at least every two years. There are
concerns about basic practices(such as documenting whether expenditures have been properly
authorized.) Policy direction(such as a purchasing policy)is lacking. Financial resources are
not adequately considered in discussion of major issues(recent examples are potentially
moving the operation and increasing employee pay and hours.)
• Joint Powers Ageement—some actions of FLCC appeaz to be inconsistent with the JPA. For
example,the JPA requires that the budget be submitted to the cities in August of each year for
approval. This has not been done, and when it was called to the attention of the Commission
it was dismissed. In the last couple of years they have spent a lot of time discussing(without
competent legal advice) some sort of non-profit status that appears to be incompatible with the
JPA.
Current Issues
• FLCC's lease for rental space occupied by LATV expired in October. The stafftook actions
to move the operation to a new location without Commission authorization. The prospective
new landlord made improvements(estimated by him as costing$18,000 with additional work
planned up to about$25,000)based on verbal representations of the staff. While there were
no written agreements and the Commission believes FLCC is not liable,this will likely result
in a dispute with the building owner and cause possible expense and embarrassment for the
FLCC and the sponsoring ciries. FLCC has not budgeted for any of the costs that have been
or may be incurred to move the office. The current space is on a month-to-month lease until
the Commission determines its next steps.
• On February 2,2011 during a special closed meeting of the Commission the Access
Coordinator(the lead/supervising staffmember)resigned. The Commission will need to
evaluate staffing and whether or not to hire someone to fill that position.
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• FLCC's access policies are currently being reviewed,due to significant concerns about how
requests to televise political events were handled during the 2010 election. The policy is
inadequate and so has been staff's ability to interpret and manage the policy.
• The FLCC has approached the City of Wyoming on several occasions to encourage them to
enter the Joint Powers Ageement. They are in the same service area and receive the LATV-
10 and Ranger-20 progamming,but retain their franchise fees and do not participate in the
commission. FLCC does not televise their local meetings or allow access for Wyoming's
local events ar to their citizens far producing programming. Partly due to recent events,
FLCC has directed staffto put this effort on hold far the time being.
What is the future of FLCC?
The FLCC is at a crossroads. Some significant decisions must be made about the physical location of
the operation, and about staffing. It is an appropriate time to evaluate whether this JPA is serving
Scandia's best interest. Some points to be considered:
• Technological advances make it possible to record and stream video of public meetings on the
internet as a viable alternative to cablecasting. Scandia could likely make its meetings
available to all residents on the internet for less than the franchise fees that are now passed
through to FLCC.
• In most communities govertunent access and public access are two different services,with
two different missions. It may be time to consider separating them.
• The franchise ordinance will be coming up for review in the near future. Regulating cable
television is a complex issue that requires some specialized technical and legal expertise,
making it advantageous for the cities to join together. However,the organization as currently
constituted may not be equipped to manage this important function. Any changes to the JPA
would need to take account the provisions of the franchise ordinance so must carefully be
considered.
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