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4.d) Forest Lake Cable Commission Meeting Date: 2/8/2011 Agenda item: � � � 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 f ��� ` \ � ��_ , �� � � � � � ` � ��,� �i w�` �; 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 _ . 2/4/201 l Page 2 of 4 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 Page 3 of 4 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. 2/4/20ll Page 4 of 4 • 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. 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