The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutFEBRUARY 22,1994 1 1 pllQ \,; 36:0058t/.l J ~ 1/'; (e CITY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS ARE TAPE RECORDED AND ON FILE IN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK ROLL CALL 1. CLOSED SESSION 0(/0 ..,(J 2. CABLE TELE- VISION OVERVIEW OJ/() , .',,' MINUTES CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA and the ARCADIA REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING (STUDY SESSION) February 22, 1994 The City Council and the Arcadia Redevelopment Agency met in an Adjourned Regular Meeting (Study Session) on Tuesday, February 22, 1994, at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers Conference Room. PRESENT: ABSENT: Councilm~mbers Fasching, Margett, and Ciraulo Councilmembers Harbicht and Lojeski It was MOVED Margett and Harbicht and by Counci1member Fasching, seconded by Councilmember CARRIED to EXCUSE the absences of Councilmembers Lojeski. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Johanna Hofer, 875 Monte Verde Drive, stated, in part, that she would like to see seismic reviews and upgrading studies made of all public buildings, large structures, malls, churches, and overpasses in the City of Arcadia. With regard to cable television, Mrs. Hofer believes the future lies in wireless cable. There are currently 90 wireless companies in the country, some of which claim to offer customers rates of about $17 a month, $10 of which is profit. Kurt Tav10r of TCI Cablevision introduced himself and two staff members, who were present to observe and answer any questions. - The City Attorney announced that, "We're going to have a brief Closed Session pursuant to Government Code Section 54956. 9c to discuss a situation where the City is going to be considering the possibility- -and I just want to emphasize, the possibility- -of initiating litigation. That litigation is potential litigation only that would involve TCI, the current cable operators. It's just a brief discussion of that. Mr. Risk will be participating in that discussion. And with that, I recommend we go into a Closed Session for a brief discussion." At 5:36 p.m. the City Council ENTERED the CLOSED SESSION, ADJOURNED and RECONVENED the regular meeting at 5:48 p.m. to continue the regular agenda. Alex McIntyre, Assistant to the City Manager, presented a report giving a history of the City's cable systems, which began in 1959 with installation of a commercial master television antenna, Mr. McIntyre presented information to aid the Council in providing direction to staff on matters relating to cable television. The City'e current franchise is with Telecommunications. In~, (TeI), the nation's largest cable operator. Mr. McIntyre explained that the Cable Act of 1992 allows local cable franchisors to regulate "basic-only" cable rates. As a result, in November 1993 the Council adopted a resolution allowing the City to regulate the rates. "Basic-only" refers to broadcast channels and a few others. The City is in the process of working with TCI to regulate those rates. The City has hired Communications Support Group, Inc., a cable consultant, to help in that process, It is a very complex matter, and the rates must be regulated consistent with the Federal Communications Commission and the standards they have established. -1- 2/22/94 36:0059 It appears that the rates established for basic-only service are acceptable, but there are concerns with regard to charges for the hardware provided by the cable company. It is anticipated that Council will have the opportunity to take action on the rates some time in April. The Cable Act established many customer service standards. The City's existing franchise also outlines customer service standards. The City will exercise those standards which are most beneficial to subscribers. The City's franchise with TCI expires on July 4, 1995. In accordance with FCC regulation, TCI advised the City in July of 1992 that they are interested in renewing the franchise. The City is seeking expert legal and technical direc tion to aid in the renewal process. The length of a franchise could be from five to twenty years; the goal is to act now to assure that the City is prepared to enter the "information highway" of the future. I The City has been notified that there is a pending reorganization of TCI and some of its subsidiary companies. To aid the City in understanding the technical and specialized legal nature of the reorganization, staff recommends retaining the assistance of Communications Support Group. The City Attorney advised utilizing the services of Richards Watson and Gershon, a law firm which has been working with the Group and has attorneys who are familiar with cable television legislation. In January of 1993, the City of Arcadia began cablecasting its Council meetings. In an effort to improve broadcasting abilities. Communications Support Group (CSG) has proposed four alternative ways to furnish the City Council Chambers with permanent cablecasting equipment. Councilmembers who toured various facilities which reflected the end product of CSG's work agreed that the "Cerritos Plan" was preferred. The Cerritos Plan uses a state-of-the-art, five-camera, remote controlled tele-production process to cablecast the meetings. The cost for equipment and installation is approximately $210,000. In November 1993 staff pI~ented three types of local origination access systems to Council: public access, educational access, and governmental access. At that time, Council consensus was that a government access system seemed to be the most appropriate for the City. Rough estimates suggested a cost of $150,000 annually for original productions on government access. At the rate of $500 to $1,000 per finished minute of video, a one-half hour program could cost as much as $30,000. TCI generates approximately $4,000,000 a year in revenue from cable subscribers in the City of Arcadia. The City receives five percent of that, or $200,000, as a franchise fee. A ten-year renewal with TCI is a $40,000,000 contract, and as such, a big commitment to the City. Forty-three percent of all households in Arcadia are cable subscribers, which is approximately 9,000 households. The Acting City Manager commented that this is a complicated 1 matter, and staff has presented an overview of the issues. However, in order for staff to effectively represent the Council and Arcadia residents in this matter, outside assistance is needed. In a future meeting, Council will be asked for authorization to retciill lJvth It:!)C1l al-ld technical services. If Council gives approval this evening, requesting authorization to advertise for bids for installation of permanent video equipment in the Council Chambers could come before Council in early- or mid-April. Requesting authorization to retain legal and technical services might also be handled at the same time in April. It was mentioned that it may be necessary to rearrange seating in the Council Chambers in conjunction with installation of cameras and other equipment, There is approximately a five-month time period after authorization to advertise for bids until the equipment is ins talled, -2- 2/22/94 1 1 36:0060 It was MOVED by Councilmember Fasching, seconded by Councilmember Margett and CARRIED on roll call vote as follows to AUTHORIZE staff to retain the needed legal and technical consultants, and to prepare plans and specifications for approval and authorization to advertise for bids for the "Cerritos Plan," (reconfiguration of the Council Chambers in conjunction with installation of cablecasting equipment) . AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Councilmembers Fasching, Lojeski, Margett, and Ciraulo None Councilmember Harbicht Councl1member Margett suggested that perhaps staff could make a comparison between money spent by residents on former local newspapers in the City, and the City's contemplated expenditure with regard to cablecasting. He would like to know what subscribers were willing to spend in order to receive community information via newspapers. Now that there is no local newspaper, the most reliable way to disseminate information to the community would be through cable television. It was agreed that any reconfiguration of the Council Chambers could be handled in the future, after the cameras and other equipment were in place, so as not to delay the start of the installation work. ADJOURNMENT At 6:20 p.m. the City Council Study Session adjourned to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, 1994, in the Conference Room of the City Hall Council Chambers, for an Adjourned Regular Meeting to conduct the business of the Council and the Redevelopment Agency, and any Closed Session necessary to discuss personnel, litigation matters or evaluation of properties. ~ ATTEST: J Alford, -). 2/22/94