May 2006 CFB Meeting Minutes

May 15, 2006

Peter Blum, Chairman
Kent Burrow, Member
Elizabeth Herriman, Member

OTHERS PRESENT

Chairman Blum calls the May meeting of the Marion County Cable Franchise Board to order.

The first item on the agenda is the Approval of the April Minutes that were included in the Board packets. Ms. Herriman moves to approve the minutes. Mr. Burrow seconds the motion. The motion is voted on 3-0.

The next item on the agenda is the Cable Agency Report submitted by Mr. Rick Maultra, Director of the Cable Communications Agency.

Mr. Maultra thanks the Board for the opportunity to highlight some of the things that the Cable Communications Agency has been involved with during the past month.

With respect to the Bright House rate order for limited basic tier rates and associated equipment, the auditor has revised his findings and the Agency will take that matter up under Old Business.

With respect to current outstanding franchise fee audits, the Agency has conferred with Comcast, who will get back with the City regarding the amount of overpayment they believe they have made to the City versus what the auditor has identified. With respect to Bright House, the City plans to review internally those findings that were done out of house.

The City has been preparing its list of requirements with respect to the Bright House renewal. The Cable Agency has been working on drafts with respect to this renewal.

The Agency has also contacted interested parties with respect to their input and comment on the renewal. Near the end of today’s meeting there will be an opportunity for those parties to publicly comment on the renewal.

The Cable Agency has been assisting the Department of Public Works in providing research and navigation with respect to the City’s interest in developing a wireless Internet for the community.

The Cable Communications Agency has been serving as a consumer advocate to Indianapolis and Marion County cable subscribers in assisting them in mediating cable complaints on their behalf.

For the month of April, the Agency received 28 complaints for Bright House. The high areas of complaints were in billing procedures and service interruptions. For Comcast, the Agency received 38 complaints. The high areas of complaints were in the areas of billing procedures, rates, telephone service, and customer service.

That concludes Mr. Maultra’s Agency Report and remarks and he will answer any questions that the Board may have.

Chairman Blum states that at some point it was discussed with Comcast that they would do the overpayment over a couple of quarters but asks Mr. Maultra if they have decided to do it over just one.

Mr. Maultra responded that is what he was told that over the phone but they are supposed to be sending him a letter confirming that. He is going to contact Mr. Clifford to ask him if he would prefer to have it spread out over a longer length. Comcast’s initial comments to Mr. Maultra were to just underpay that franchise fee amount for the second quarter.

Chairman Blum asks Mr. Maultra to characterize the complaints regarding billing procedures and Mr. Maultra responds that they are usually billing screw-ups like service has been disconnected and customers are still receiving bills. There are claims that equipment has not been returned in which case it has. It could be a Pay-Per-View movie on their bill that the customer says they haven’t ordered.

The next item on the agenda is the Government Access TV Programming Report with Ken Montgomery, Manager of Channel 16.

Channel 16 covered 56 hours of live and tape delayed meeting coverage during the month of April. There were 19 hours and 15 minutes of Specials and Events Production including a number of events for the Governor’s Conference on Service and Volunteerism. Channel 16 also did a program with the Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center.

In-Kind production was fairly light last month. Channel 16 did a number of Continuing Legal Education programs for the Public Defenders Office and they produced a revised version of the Election Inspector Training Program that the County Clerk’s Office uses to train the election inspectors prior to any primary or general elections.

For series programs, Channel 16 did one for DPW – Keeping Indianapolis Running and an Off the Bench program. The total for month of May in all production categories was 80 hours and 1 minute.

The total for In-Kind services if Channel 16 would have charged for it was $6,175. Quite a bit of that was the Election Inspectors Training Program. They would have paid about $1,500 for that if Channel 16 would have charged.

Mr. Montgomery announces that Mr. Alan Dhayer will be leaving Channel 16 on May 24^th.

With that, Mr. Montgomery will answer any questions from the Board.

Before continuing with the next item on the agenda, Chairman Blum announces that Mr. Dan Lynch has retired from the Cable Franchise Board.

The next item on the agenda is the Cable Operators Management Reports beginning with Bright House.

Al Aldridge, Director of Public Affairs for Bright House Networks will present their operator’s management report that was included in the Board Packet.

Bright House began the month with 61,192 customers and ended the month with 62,338, giving a system total of 1,146 customers gained for the month of March.

On the incoming call report, Bright House handled 54,314 calls out of 54,616 calls received. 50,408 calls were answered in 30 seconds or less, which gave a call answer rate of 92.8% and a busy rate of 0.35%, as represented by them.

On the Complaint Summaries Report, there were 28 complaints from 20 customers.

100% of service interruption calls were addressed within 24 hours. There were no planned outages, but there were 52 unplanned outages that affected 9,274 customers. The system reliability for the month was 99.96%, as reported by Bright House.

100% of total service calls were addressed within the next business day, unless as otherwise directed by the customer. There were no appointments kept outside of the 4-hour service window during normal business hours, unless requested by customer.

100% of standard installations were performed within seven business days after the order was placed.

There were 0.06 underground constructions in multiple dwelling units on the Bellouny at Chatman and 0.06 aerial constructions at Trash to Treasure during the month of May.

The Division helped to sponsor and plan the Alzheimer's Association 2006 Memory Run fundraiser reception at the Indianapolis Museum of Art during April. BHN's Division President is this year's "Memory Run" Chairman and has pledged to sponsor a BHN team for this year's event and to double the donation of 2005.

Bright House Networks and VH1 presented the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) School Board an award of merit for IPS' support of the VH1's "Save the Music" program. The Board's support has allowed BHN and VH1 to grant IPS over $550,000 dollars to start or restart music programs in 22 schools in the last 5 years.

The Division produced and/or ran PSA's for 5 Indianapolis non-profit organizations during the month. These PSA support is valued at over $34,900.

Members of the Division continue to volunteer with the Indianapolis Public Schools Education Foundation (IPSEF), the Walker Theatre Center, the 100 Black Men of Indianapolis, the National Hemophilia Foundation, Indiana Black Expo, and the YMCA.

The continued partnership with WDNI provided 201 hours of local programming as mandated by the City's franchise agreement.

With that, Mr. Aldridge will answer any questions from the Board.

There is nobody from Comcast to present their Management Report for the month of May.

The next item on the agenda is the ETC Monthly Report submitted by Charlie Wiles.

ETC programming this month includes full coverage of the Decorator Showhouse on ETC 2.

IPS is producing "The ABCD Awards." Hosted by Amos Brown, the program is a recording of the "Above the Call of Duty" awards. The awards honor IPS employees that go above and beyond the call of duty to help students. The program will be seen on ETC 1 starting in June.

IPS also will soon start production on "Parents Empowered." This 6-part series, 3 in English/3 in Spanish will focus on teaching parents how they can help educate their students. At home activities in the areas of reading, math, and summer tips will be provided.

IPS produced the Eighth Annual "Talent Showcase". The show originated from IPS Crispus Attucks Middle School and was seen live on ETC 1 Friday night from 6-7pm. The show featured 15 student acts and was hosted by IPS students. Performances included students singing, dancing, and playing instruments. The show will repeat throughout the rest of the month of May, as well as in June on ETC 1.

With that Mr. Wiles will answer questions from the Board.

The Old Business portion of the meeting is next covering the Bright House 2006 Rate Order.

Mr. Maultra states that the City’s consultant had reviewed Bright House’s January 1, 2006 review of the rates that Bright House charges for limited basic cable and associated equipment. The City is certified under the FCC rules and regulations to regulate and review the limited basic rates and equipment, also known as FCC forms 1240 and 1205. The auditor has found Bright House to be in compliance for the limited basic tier of service at a rate of $11.31.

The Cable Agency recommends that the Cable Board approve the rate order for Bright House for 2006.

The Public Comment portion of the agenda is next.

Mr. Smashey spoke under Public Comment regarding the cost of cable service.

Chairman Blum announces that on June 6 at 5:30 in room 260, there will be a meeting of the City Counsel Rules and Policy Committee. Part of that meeting will be a formal public hearing into the Bright House renewal. This meeting is not the only opportunity that the public will be able to comment on that.

The following is testimony read by Andrea Price, Board President of Public Access of Indianapolis, Inc. to the Indianapolis Cable Franchise Board. Materials were handed out to the Board including Ms. Price’s statements for the record.

The mission of Public Access of Indianapolis, a nonprofit community media organization is to promote and provide non-discriminatory, community access to communication tools and technologies, and to support media that represent the diverse interests and viewpoints of the community. They organized in 1997 around two of their primary goals: the creation of an Indianapolis community media center for community-based training and production, and restoration of Indianapolis’ public access television channel. Since then, Public Access of Indianapolis has provided volunteer video services for nonprofits, schools and community groups; maintained a streaming video library of community events and meetings on their website, www.indyaccess.org; provided training to youth and adults in the use of video technology; published the bi-monthly newsletter, The Right of Way; and organized the biennial Indianapolis Alternative Media Festival. They call it, "Building Community through Media."

They also say, "A world class city needs world class community media." Yet, Indianapolis remains one of only two major cities in the United States without a public access television channel and community media center.

They lost those valuable community resources in the 1996 cable franchise renewals with Bright House Networks (then Time Warner and formerly American Cablevision) and Comcast. The possibility of a local cable franchise renewal with Bright House Network by next month is the best opportunity they have had in ten years to restore public access television to at least part of Indianapolis. They affirm the value of a local cable franchise agreement to Indianapolis, including accessible and speedy local complaint mediation, auditing that has brought hundreds of thousands of dollars to the City, the retention of local customer service jobs and staff, the I-Net, the availability of cable television and cable modem service throughout the county, and the provision of adequate resources to support vibrant public, education, and government (PEG) access television. However, they are concerned if they do not make the most of this opportunity to restore public access television, residents within the old City limits will be left without a voice for another 10 years or even longer.

Across the US, local PEG programmers produce 20,000 hours of new programs per week – more new programming than all of the broadcast networks combined. 250,000 organizations and 1.2 million volunteers make use of some 3000 access centers and channels.

There is also a legacy of strong public access television in Indiana, although not in the state’s capital. Ft. Wayne, for example, has been selected as the location to house two important historical libraries related to public access television, including the work of New York University Film Professor George Stoney, called the "Father" of public access television, whose groundbreaking 1953 film, All My Babies, is preserved in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry.

When Professor Stoney came to Indianapolis in 2004 as keynote speaker of our Alternative Media Festival, he was recognized by the City County Council for his body of film work, decades as an educator of documentary filmmakers, and historic activism on behalf of community television in the US and Canada. Professor Stoney took a keen interest in our city, our history, our culture, and our buildings, monuments and architecture. He also asked to read our cable franchise agreements, which were negotiated without input from any of us present today, then chastised all of us -- as only an 88 year old man could get away with – for one of the worst cable franchise agreements he had even seen when it comes to providing for the community. One of the many things Ms. Price learned from Professor Stoney was that the problem we are experiencing in Indianapolis today, where we have strong, government access television, but no public access television, was a foreseeable outcome of the change from the original term, "community access" television, to "PEG access" television. So Ms. Price’s purpose today is to ask all of Indianapolis, including Bright House Networks and Comcast, to work together to put the community back into Indianapolis cable access TV.

Community Needs: To Ms. Price’s knowledge, no new community needs assessment studies have been initiated. Fortunately, we do have several points of data to understand the needs and interests of Indianapolis as it pertains to public access television.

In June 1994, Municipal Services Associates, Inc. delivered an extensive community needs assessment, "Utilization Review and Future Uses Study" on Indianapolis public, education and government access television, that had been commissioned by the Cable Franchise Board. Municipal Services Associates found that Indianapolis' then public access TV had a number of significant inhibitors, resulting in the underutilization of its production facilities:

• Inadequate promotion and outreach, particularly to the nonprofit community
• Equipment that was at the end of its useful life and cumbersome and expensive to use
• Waits of up to 6 months for training to use production facilities and equipment
• Fees for the use of equipment and studios
• Inadequate staffing

The study made a number of recommendations to improve public access TV in Indianapolis, which it found the least developed of its peers: government access and educational access television. Recommendations included:

• Developing an alternative funding and management mechanism for public access TV, such as a nonprofit corporation, increase to a 5% franchise fee, and use of franchise fees
• Eliminating the bottlenecks in training and inhibitors in video production
• Replacing equipment
• Ensuring cable operator compliance with certain sections of the franchise agreements

In this 91-page 1994 study, Municipal Services Associates also talked about the potential for managing public access television in cooperation with education access television and even government access television. Ms. Price thinks that potential still exists today, with the benefit of high efficiency through shared resources. In particular, if looking at the organization, Public Access of Indianapolis, and the Educational Television Cooperative (ETC) that runs the two Indianapolis educational access channels, Ms. Price sees a lot of potential for partnership. She would go so far as to say that their organizations’ strengths are quite complimentary. So as they consider how to run public access television, she would welcome discussion about partnering that respects the different missions and considers the needs of all three components of PEG access television.

Using data from the 1994 study they looked at the impact of the elimination of public access television and reported the results to the Cable Franchise Board. They found that ten years later, Indianapolis had lost 80% of its community producers. They found that "Local Community Interest Programming" – even contractually defined as 25 hours of programming from local religious, charitable, literary, cultural and public health organizations -- could not sustain what our "underutilized" public access channel had provided. Ms. Price wants to state clearly that my comments are in no way a criticism of that channel used for Local Community Interest Programming. As a community media organization, our foundational values include diversity of commercial media ownership, localism, carriage of all local channels on cable television systems, and public interest programming, which this channel provides far and above the national average of .5%. Ms. Price has shared the story many times, but she personally used and supported this channel before she discovered public access television as the only viable solution for smaller groups to affordably produce their own quality shows. It, like public access television and public broadcasting, is a vital part of the spectrum of channels that should be available in a community and on cable television, and there is tremendous opportunity to increase local programming through cooperation, especially since there is now plenty of channel capacity on cable television.

Indianapolis cable subscribers, who pay the franchise fees that support access television, expressed strong support for public access television in a December 1998 customer satisfaction survey, the "Indianapolis Cable Franchise Board Cable Television Quality and Value Survey" by Harvard Information Services of Carmel, IN. Of the 600 telephone-surveyed cable subscribers, even split between Bright House Networks and Comcast, 84% thought it valuable to have at least one local cable television channel openly available for use by the community, and 72% thought such a channel is important.

Ms. Price would like to deliver two things demonstrating Indianapolis’ continued desire for a public access television channel. The first is a list of organizations that think Indianapolis should have a public access television channel.

Although the image of public access TV may be Wayne’s World, the reality of public access television is that it offers tremendous benefit to local businesses, community groups, local musicians, the library, health and welfare associations, neighborhood associations, cultural groups, filmmakers, and churches, which is usually the single largest group of public access producers. Organizations such as Citizen’s Action Coalition, the NAACP, the Urban League, and the Central Indiana Labor Council, and locally-owned businesses such as Key Cinemas, Rehab Resources, Utrillos art gallery, and Just Hair Salon are among the supporters of public access television, and among the constituency that has lost the most without it. In addition to affording these organizations an avenue for education, publicity, PSAs, and outreach, public access television provides a connection for those whose health no longer allows them to directly participate in activities important to them. One example is the Lutheran Brotherhood’s widely distributed, Dayton public access program, Worship for Shut-Ins.

Five days ago, this organization asked people to add their comments to our website, www.indyaccess.org, on why they support a public access TV in Indianapolis. Ms. Price will give you a copy of the comments they have received thus far, with the rest to be delivered at the official public hearing at the Rules and Public Policy Committee for the Bright House Networks franchise renewal on June 6. Ms. Price would like to share four short examples of comments:

Joanne Bloomberg: "The community of Indianapolis needs to have their voice back - especially if we are to be a world-class community. What does world class mean without the voice of its' people?"

Sandy Hawk: "Indianapolis needs Public Access Television!

We here in Indianapolis need the freedom to communicate that only a community-based Public Access Channel can provide.

We have become a visual culture, and television has become the dominant communication channel for news and information, but the number of local and independent voices putting television programming on the air is diminishing as the media, cable and telecommunications industries consolidate.

Public Access Television is a counterweight to the corporatization of media content. And it is a communication tool that gives all the various communities that make up our City the ability to visually speak to one another and share their stories, their hopes and fears, and their dreams. This sharing is essential if we are to find the strength and creativity we need to move forward together into the 21st Century as a world class city."

Jane Clark: "I believe public access TV is increasingly relevant for communities going into the future from the aspect of archiving historical knowledge, diversity, local issues, the arts, volunteerism, fundraising, democracy, skills training and community pride!"

Joshua Ramsey: "I'm heavily involved in local independent film and have wanted a venue to display my own work and see others' without the requirement of renting a theatre - an expense most local filmmakers can't afford. Without their work being seen, how can they gain the attention they need to gain the funding necessary to rent a theatre?"

In translating this information on community needs to cable franchise contract terms, this organization proposes the following:

One public access television channel available for activation in 2007

Additional public access television channels available as usage increases (the number depending on contract length)
Compensation and adequate notice for PEG channel movement
PEG access television participation in all programming guides, print and electronic
PEG access television participation in video on demand services
Interconnection to any local community media center(s)
Technology parity for PEG access channels with other cable channels
Free promotional spots and billing inserts
PEG funding support

Today Indianapolis government access television and education access television are supported by a very small portion of the cable franchise fees paid to the City and through capital grants by the cable companies that go into a dedicated PEG fund. A continuation of this approach with the inclusion of public access television would obviously be acceptable. Another alternative gaining momentum is the allocation of an additional 1% over and above the franchise fees to cover all PEG access funding. This approach is currently included in the national video franchising legislation under consideration in both Congressional Houses. Although this is significantly less than the Alliance for Community Media’s recommendation for a city the size of Indianapolis, Ms. Price thinks it is a financially viable alternative to meet Indianapolis’ needs that is also in line with where legislation appears to be headed.

This organization also looked at how this would compare with several other cities.

Media Bridges (Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH) delivers nearly a 7x return on investment to the greater Cincinnati community. With a $5.3 million economic impact, according a 2003 study, Media Bridges cablecasts more than 15,000 hours of local programming on three public access and one educational access channels, produced by and for organizations such as the Contemporary Arts Center, the Lifecenter Organ Donor Network, the Literacy Network of Greater Cincinnati and more than 80 area religious organizations. Media Bridges provides production assistance to local nonprofits and also covers community events. One of the public access channels is devoted to religious programming. Cincinnati’s 1996 franchise with Time Warner provides up to 9 PEG channels and $.96 per subscriber per monthARP supports public access television. In addition, major financial supporters of Media Bridges include AT&T (SBC), Fifth Third Bank, The Greater Cincinnati Fund, the Ohio Arts Council, and more than 50 other businesses that donate $1000 or more.

In the suburban Detroit communities of Farmington Hills, Farmington, and Novi in southwest Oakland County, Bright House Networks provides 6 PEG access channels on the basic tier, an additional 1% funding for PEG support (in exchange for the Bright House Networks public access studio and equipment), and PEG television programs are listed in Bright House Network’s electronic program guide as part of their 2000 franchise agreement. Southwestern Oakland Cable Commission (SWOCC) runs all channels from the same location, with some equipment dedicated to public access, and other equipment dedicated to government access. There is also a volunteer Public Access Promotion Committee.

Community produced programming is shown on the public access channel, but may also be shown on the educational and government access channels. Basic training classes and cable casting are free for residents, and the studios are available for rental for commercial productions.

Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV) has five public access channels and ran 160 hours of local election coverage during the 2004 election season, which the Chicago Tribune hailed as "serious politics." CAN TV also showed interviews of state legislators from the Illinois Channel that provides C-SPAN type coverage of state government that is distributed throughout the state via access channels. CAN TV dedicates one of its public access channels to religious programming, and another provides an interactive community bulletin board with news about jobs, cultural activities, nonprofit resources, and audio from Chicago Public Radio.

Grand Rapids Community Media Center’s Mobile Media Lab for Information Education (MoLLIE) project brings digital video cameras and laptops with editing software to public, private and parochial grade schools and middle schools throughout the city. Thousands of young people have had the opportunity to learn to create and edit videos as part of school projects in subjects including civics, science, language arts and history. Working in teams of three to five, the young people have fun, practice teamwork, demonstrate mastery of the subject matter, learn about the power of media, and engage their family and friends when their videos air on MoLLIE Matinee on public access TV. One civics-related project at a school in an area with low voter turnout resulted in 40 new registered voters when the videos were shown to parents.

Grand Rapids Community Media Center (GRCMC) also houses a community radio station in addition to its public access television facilities, and recently acquired the historic Wealthy Theater for special events.

Dayton Access Television (DATV) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that runs Dayton two public access television channels, one dedicated to religious programming. DATV is primarily funded by cable franchise fees and Time Warner capital grants, and has a $700k annual budget, and 800 members.

There are just a few examples of what public access television is capable of providing to a community. According to the International Center, there are 209 different languages spoken in Indiana. Public access television is an invaluable tool to build understanding, share news from home, and engage the entire community in our diverse city. In addition, access centers provide valuable technical training and jobs. It is noteworthy that PEG operations employ more people of color in management and technical positions than in all commercial media industries combined. PEG access centers also provide vocational training and internships for local high school and college students.

As we move forward in restoring public access television in Indianapolis, we also have the strong access centers in Indiana cities such as Richmond, Bloomington and Ft. Wayne that are willing to host visits and offer guidance.

In closing, Ms. Price wants to thank all of the people who have been tireless in their efforts over the last four weeks to alert the Indianapolis community about Bright House Network’s interest in a local franchise renewal by July 1.

Ms. Price would also like to thank all of the groups who added this organization to their meeting agendas at the last minute, and all the people who met with them on short notice. From this community effort, Ms. Price is convinced that Indianapolis should not just have a public access television channel, but should be one of the leading – world-class -- community access television communities.

Ms. Price thanks the Board for the time on the agenda today and would be happy to answer any questions.

Derrick Davis, Linda Proffitt, Dave Menzer, Matthew Barron, Jean Coughlin, Reba Wooden, David Pilbrow, Ron Halderman, Nancy Holle, Kathleen Dobie, Carl Kakasuleff, and Christina Cesnik spoke under Public Comment regarding the Bright House Networks Franchise Renewal and Public Access.

Chairman Blum announces the next Board meeting on Monday, June 19^th at 2:30 PM in room 260 and adjourns this meeting.

Home | Search | Services | Mayor | Council | City | County | Courts

© 1996 - 2008 All Rights Reserved | Privacy Statement | Terms of Use | About this Site