WCTV Cable Advisory Minutes
September 11, 2008
Present: Margaret Case Chair, Leo Hart, Vice Chair, Mary Griffin, J Gross, Roger Hohenberger, Dave Unger,and Dan Griffiths Alternate (Sitting for Alan Shoemaker)
Stacey Sofronas, Cable Coordinator
Guest: Eric DeLong to discuss special project
Excused: Alan Shoemaker , Greg Capiello
Meeting called to order at 7:08 pm by Margaret Case, Chair
Margaret opened the meeting with reviewing the financial report. Margaret explained the purchase of the monitor and new deck for the planning department.
Motion to approve minutes from the May 2008 meeting by Jay Gross
Discussion by Jay of what " absent" and "excused" means.
Second by Dave Unger. Minutes approved unanimously.
There were two board members re-appointed to the Cable Advisory Board. Mary Griffin until 2011, and Leo Hart until 2011. New cable board alternate Dan Griffiths until 2009.
Correspondence:
The board read and reviewed received correspondence:
A Comcast letter regarding channel changes. A Comcast sent a system outage report . A letter regarding the cable franchise extension was received. A Comcast letter notifying bill changes.
A memo from Board of Selectmen regarding CIP.
A memo from the Planning Dept regarding CIP.
A package from Comcast about products they are offering.
A letter from Comcast about preparing for broadcast of digital TV.
Presentation by Eric De Long regarding GIS project:
Eric made a proposal to the Board of Selectmen about a month ago to buy large 42 inch widescreen that would hook up to a computer which would operate the GIS system. The purpose is to make use of the GIS information on the internet. This is to be used for the town staff to do presentations which can be made viewable to viewers a home in better quality. It would be a secure and mobile unit
Recommended made by Margaret to purchase the monitor through Cable's special funds.
Motion made by Dave and seconded by J. to purchase monitor of at least 42in, cabinet, cables and any necessary parts not to exceed $2500.00 to allow computer presentations on channel 20 and to request the special funds from the selectmen. Specifics will be sent to board members before the purchase. Voted unanimously
Other:
The new look of the community bulletin board was discussed. Leo recommended one page for all meeting announcements. A recommendation was made to time slides so they don't repeat as often. Stacey agreed these are good suggestions and she will change the bulletin board.
Coordinator’s Report:
The coordinator read her report. She reported on an increase of dubbing copies of meetings. The current bulk of shows are still being aired with new episodes monthly or weekly. There were several shoots over the course of the summer, which included "Meet the Candidates" with Mary Griffin, Rockingham Roundtable, and Time for Animals, America’s Future and Windham Watch. WCTV also covered the Strawberry Festival, Town Day, Senior Picnic, America for Prosperity Forum, and the September 11 Tribute. Upcoming events are the Harvest Festival and Santa visits Windham LIVE. She also reported on two new shows. In Their Boots and Meet the Bloggers are from the New Hampshire Coalition of Media and will be updated monthly and weekly.
Stacey discussed plans to upgrade the Planning Office. Jay mentioned LED light panels for the planning office. Margaret discussed the budget for the planning office. The pricing for the curtain was higher than anticipated.
Motion by Roger to increase the previous $1,500.00 to $2,000.00 to purchase the curtain and necessary supplies and installation. Seconded by Jay
Approved Unanimously
The budget was reviewed and the Board supported the chairs recommendation to ask for $12,000 in the equipment a $ 1500.00 increase over last budget. All other items to remain the same except for employee related items.
Margaret brought up the two problems with the cable studio; the fire extinguishers and the back door. Read a letter by Fire Chief McPherson regarding the repairs. The back door has been shaved on the bottom so that it can now be opened. A new door is to be replaced soon. The fire hydrants were checked and all have passed inspection.
Motion by Roger to Adjourn. Second by Dave.
Adjourn 9:15pm
Respectfully Submitted,
Anastacia Sofronas
Minutes
Windham Cable Advisory Board Meeting
November 8, 2007
Present: Chairperson Margaret Case, Vice Chair Leo Hart, Mary Griffin, J. Gross, Alan Shoemaker, Dave Unger, Roger Hohenberger, and Greg Cappiello Alt.
The meeting called to order by Margaret Case at 7:08 p.m.
Minutes of the 27 September meeting were read. Motion to approve was made by Leo Hart, and seconded by J. Gross. Approved unanimously.
The Alliance for Community Media, Northeast Region, announced that WCTV won first place in its 10th Annual ACM NE Video Fest competition, in the category of Municipal Programming – Non Professional, for the program Windham School Board Meeting.
Margaret reported that the PEG Access Support check in the amount of $22,523.32 was received.
In response to myriad requests resulting in considerable disquietment from the community, Alan Shoemaker made a motion that WCAB Cable Board approach Comcast to strongly urge return to the former lineup the TV Guide, Hallmark and CSPAN II channels. Seconded by Roger Hohenberger. Unanimously approved.
The Board wished to extend its gratitude to Tom Case, who during this interim period has been acting as studio coordinator. All shows have been covered. Also, kudos go to the Town maintenance Department crew under Alan Barlow, who have done a great job in sprucing up the studio facility.
It was decided that the Board would look into various ways to divest itself of obsolete studio equipment.
The Board agreed that Margaret should approach the Town Manager to return to the Board’s original budget request of $12,000 for equipment, and minor changes in a few other lines ($325.00). The line item for telephone will need to be address.
The matter of the WCAB Web Site was discussed. The proactivity in getting the site up and running was appreciated. The Studio Coordinator will be taking over the web site maintenance, and any major changes deemed necessary will be discussed among and approved by the Board.
There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made by J. Gross and seconded by Dave Unger. Unanimously approved, and the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Alan Shoemaker, Secretary