SWCSR 01-20-2003 Sherburne Wright Cable Commission
City Updates
January 20th, 2003
The cable commission staff has been very busy this year with numerous
projects ranging from basic equipment upgrades to full blown redesigns for
brand new city hall offices and council chambers. We are of course also
dealing with the normal everyday items such as service and maintenance of
the equipment in each of our member,cities.
Both Delano and Elk River are in the middle of major remodeling efforts
with Delano building a brand new City Center and Elk River completely
overhauling its existing offices and Council Chambers. Big Lake is sending
their meeting signal out over 2 systems, Charter Cable Television and
Connections the telephone company.
Program playback technology will be an important issue for this commission
to look at in 2003. With the increase in production by all of our member
cities comes the need to expand playback capabilities. Some cities such as
Elk River and Buffalo, have added additional non-meeting programming.
They are producing shows on topics ranging from public safety to
infomercials about city services.
Equipment companies are discontinuing analog playback technology, so the
focus will be on finding economical replacements for our existing
equipment. Our cities have unique playback requirements so commission
staff has been researching both digital and server based solutions.
Our research recommendations will be summarized in our franchise renewal
equipment plans. Commission staff has finished franchise renewal
equipment and facility based interviews with all cities and will have a
summary report ready for our next meeting.
On the following pages is a city-by-city update of 2002's progress as well as
a look at where we are headed.
1
Big Lake
In 2002 we added additional playback equipment to the control room as well
as adding a connection for the Telephone Company "Connections". In the
process we added a new Character Generator as well as distribution
equipment. The distribution equipment allows Big Lake to send out an
"equal" signal to both companies. We can monitor the channel on both
systems, which allows us to make sure the signal is clean and the equipment
is running correctly in Big Lake.
We need to look at expanding this room if we need to add any more
equipment because we have simply run out of space. We are already over-
crowding the room and heat is beginning to build up which will soon cause
problems for the equipment. Servicing the equipment is difficult because we
have to disconnect and remove various pieces to gain access to the parts that
need repair and maintenance. The tight space is also difficult for the cable
casters to operate in.
I have asked Sandy Petrowski for contact information for Big Lake
contractors so that we can get some estimates to determine just how much
expanding the room might cost. During our meeting with the Big Lake City
Council we talked about the need for expanding the room, which the council
members acknowledged.
Big Lake Requests
Control room expansion, playback expansion, basic editing and SMART
Board presentation equipment.
Buffalo
At the beginning of 2002 we finished adding the SMART Board
presentation system, additional dais monitors, additional audio and video
distribution and support equipment as well as a new camera system. The
equipment upgrades have been very well received by both the City Council
members and the public. We also added a digital camcorder system and
provided training and support for this equipment.
We have reached capacity in the present equipment racks and will need to
re-orient the room to accommodate any additional equipment. It is also
recommended that we rewire the system as we have been adding onto it over
the past 10 years and it is in need of having the cabling upgraded to better
2
support the current equipment configuration. We have had several tech calls
over the past year, which serve to reinforce this recommendation.
The city has reported increased use of the room for meetings and would like
to add an additional 5 microphones to support the different groups that wish
to cablecast their meetings. We will need to run additional wiring back into
the control room to accommodate this. The existing mixer should be able to
handle the additional microphones with a little creative planning.
Buffalo Requests
Additional microphones and audio support equipment, playback expansion,
basic editing, equipment and room rack re-orientation and rewiring.
Cokato
Cokato has increased program playback and will need to add at least 1
additional VCR. They are currently providing playback services for the city
of Dassel while the line issues get resolved.
Cokato Requests
The meeting room above the Cokato City Council chambers plays host to
many gatherings and community events. The city would like to see many of
these events cablecast. They have asked the commission to provide TV
production equipment, which could be used for this purpose. Staff has
included these requests into the franchise renewal equipment requests report,
which we will present at our next commission meeting.
Dassel
With a new city administrator Dassel is interested in upgrading their cable
TV equipment. They do not currently have the ability to cablecast their
meetings and have had to bring their tapes to Cokato to be played back. Both
cities are hoping that this is temporary so that they can have their own
discreet channels.
Because of their unique meeting table, Dassel has used one central
microphone along with a lavaliere microphone for the Mayor. The city
3
would like to add additional microphones so that all the council members
and staff will have their own individual mics.
Dassel Requests
New microphones and wiring for council and staff members. Additionally
the city will need its own playback equipment.
Delano
Delano has been very occupied with the planning and building of its new
city hall. Groundbreaking happened August 2002 and the doors are set to
open at the beginning of September 2003.
Commission staff has been working extensively with the architectural and
electrical engineering firms to layout conduit runs, wall structural support
locations and other equipment issues.
Delano Requests
Commission staff is developing a plan to move much of the equipment that
exists in the current council chambers into the new facility sometime in
2003. Additionally the city would like to add a SMART Board presentation
system, additional microphones and audio support equipment as well as new
TV monitors.
Commission staff will be meeting in the next few months with City
Administrator Phil Kern to finalize and firm up all of the AV requirements
as well as moving plans.
Elk River
ERTV has been growing in leaps and bounds. With the addition of the new
editing equipment they are able to produce a program from start to finish in
the digital format. I have attached their playback schedule. They are
currently using up to.5 VCRs to play back programming each day.
4
•
Several pieces of audio equipment as well as the council meeting character
generator had to be replaced this summer in Elk River due to storm damage.
Lighting strikes were to blame causing damage to the equipment despite
having basic surge suppression. The commission staff has recommended
adding more advanced suppression equipment to all the cities, which the
commission approved. A working plan is to have the equipment added
before the 2003 storm season begins.
Other new equipment added in Elk River includes a Roland Edirol non-
linear edit system, a 2nd digital camcorder with case, 2 different teleprompter
systems, a voiceover microphone and voice processor, new camera tripods
and dollies, additional playback VCRs, NTSC production and computer
monitors and,new Character Generators.
Elk River is in the process of expanding their city hall, which will also
include new facilities for their cable TV operations. They will be adding a
larger control and playback room as well as new offices and edit suites.
They will temporarily need to relocate their offices and playback equipment
into the basement while the current facility is being remodeled.
Construction has been under way for a while and the cablecast facilities will
need to be moved in April. The city will not be able to cablecast city council
meetings for about a year but will continue to produce other programming.
Elk River Requests
Taking into consideration the construction timetable, commission staff has
been meeting with Elk River for the past 8 months to fine tune their
equipment requests. They have been meeting with the city architects and
staff on everything from carpet samples to room layouts. An updated
equipment request list will be presented to the commission in the last quarter
of 2003 in anticipation of the council chambers reopening in the spring of
2004.
Maple Lake 4,. a,
Currently Maple Lake is not taping their meetings and is in the process of
looking for a cable caster. Linda Hruby reported that she is working with the
city council to try and locate someone who can provide this service on a
regular basis.
5
•
•
Monticello
The Cable Commission has added playback equipment in the past year to
Monticello and is currently helping them to recalibrate and adjust their
equipment. Several of the cameras are out of calibration and need to be sent
back to the manufacturer for service. Commission staff has been getting
quotes for this work and hopes to have all the cameras serviced by the
middle of March.
Additionally staff is recommending that the audio system be recalibrated.
Staff is trying to find documentation on the wiring layout before this can
begin. We may have to create a new wiring diagram. Staff also discovered
several pieces of equipment that were being "adjusted" and causing
problems with the audio and video equipment. We put security covers on
these to prevent future tampering.
Monticello Requests
Adjustment of audio and video equipment, SMART Board Presentation
equipment
Rockford
City Clerk Nancy Evers reports that things are running smoothly in
Rockford. They currently have a cable caster who is semi retired running the
equipment and he has supplied consistent and reliable support.
Watertown
Everything seems to be operating ok in Watertown. They have requested
that they would like some advanced training on the Scala Character
Generator software as they enjoy using it and would like to see if they can
produce even more advanced community announcements. Staff will be
calling them soon to schedule this training time.
Watertown Requests
SMART Board Presentation technology, additional training
6
•
From:
2:16 PM
Subject:
To: "Bill Bruce (E-mail)" <billb@visi.com>
Bill,
I have attached two spreadsheets. The first file is what we currently are
trying to run - name: Program Schedule. The second file is the programming
we were running when I had an assistant.
Because we have not yet filled the assistant position and may not fill it
due to possible Local Government Aid cuts the programs we created will be
limited. However, I will give you a list of what we used to do.
Crime Time - a video police log - every two weeks
Fire Chief's Corner - fire related information - every 3 -4 weeks
The McPherson Report - the Planning Director would describe applications to
come before the planning commission and give park and recreation updates -
once a month
Klinzing Thoughts - an interview show hosted by our Mayor, Stephanie
Klinzing - once a month
I would also dub stock programs and new community event programs together,
along with PSAs between the programs, to fit an hour time slot.
I have also attached a word document that shows the program schedule in a
different format.
See you tomorrow. Hope this helps.
Kristin M. Thomas
Gov't Access Cable Producer
City of Elk River, MN
«Program Schedule.XLS» «Programming.XLS» «CABLE TV SCHEDULE.doc»
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JAN. 22. 2003 10:01AM ELK_RIVER_CITY_HALL NO. 958 P. 2/5
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JAN, 21. 2003 4: 10PM ELK RIVER CITY HALL NO. 94/ F. 5
Elk River
Government Access
ERtV "`"' Cable Television
Your Local Cable Channel Channel
Missio Statement
The mission of the Elk River Govetnmen Access Cable Television Channel is to provide a
communications link for Elk Rivet citize s that will enable them to better understand the
operation and function of government an to become more actively involved in community
life.
P •ose
The Elk River Cable Channel is dedicated o developing an awareness and understanding of
the operations of municipal government, ommunity issues and events, and governmental
programs.
0•jectives
1. To promote the education of River citizens concerning local government by
cablecasting meetings consisting •f the City Council, Planning Commission, Park
and Recreation Commission, Ho sing and Redevelopment Authority, Economic
Development Authority and other •.oaxds as the City Council deems appropriate and
beneficial to the citizens.
2. To provide live coverage of city eetings and replay of those meetings to allow
citizens opportunities to familiariz• themselves with issues presented to the council,
boards, commissions,and authoriti s.
3. To inform the citizens at large abo t programs and public services provided by City
departments and City-sponsored a.encies and explain the opportunities for citizen
participation in these programs and services.
4. To promote the education of the citizens by presenting educational and cultural.
programs along with information o public health,safety,and welfare issues.
5. To continue developing awarene:s of the government channel through public
relation efforts using local press,ci newsletter,city website,and cable television and
to continue to grow and create ne programming and new styles of programming to
increase viewership of the channel
- JAN. 21. 2003 4: 10PM ELK_RIVER_CITY_HALL NO. 947 P. 2
GUIDELINES
FOR
ELK RIVER GOVERNMEN ACCESS CABLE TV CHANNEL
Any program produced by the city of Elk River's governmental
organizations may be cablecast o the government access channel.
Programs produced by others ab• t the City of Elk River's governmental
organizations and/or its supporte• activities may be cablecast on this
channel, subject to the approval o the Elk River City Council. Programs
produced by other governmental -gencies or other community
organizations may be cable cast o this channel, provided they have
interest and value for the citizens ., Elk River. Such programs shall also
be subject to the approval of the E k River City Council.
Programs that contain, in wh le or in part, any of the following
subject matter will not be ca•lecast on the government access
channel.
A. Commercial Messa•e o Material
Anything promoting a product or a service, with the primary objective of
producing a monetary profit for a -pecific commercial organization or
individual, may not air on the gove ment access channel. This is not to
preclude the incidental mention of . business or product, as part of a
program where the primary purpo.e is to disseminate information of
public benefit. Businesses, indivi• als and organizations may be
acknowledged for assistance in th- production of a program or the
provision of other means of suppo .
•
, JAN. 21. 2003 4. 10PM ELKRIVER_CITY_HALL NO. 947 P. 3
•
B. Political Campaigning
The government access channel will not be used for political campaigning
by individuals or organizations seeking public office or legislation. Neither
can this channel be used for solicitation of funds for political purposes.
This is not to preclude the cablecasting of political debates or candidates'
meetings, provided that fairness and equal time rules are followed. Also
reports by current elected officials or community organizations regarding
the status of issues and other governmental business, providing again,
that fairness and equal time rules are followed where applicable.
C. Religious Material
Programming generally considered religious in nature will not be allowed.
Program material that would advocate a particular religious belief will also
not be allowed to air on the government access channel. Religious
organizations or ideals may be mentioned as incidental information as part
of a program. This rule certainly should not preclude the appearance of a
clergy or individual representing a particular religion as part of a program
providing general information.
D. Obscenity and Defamation
Every effort will be made to assure that all programs cablecast on the
government access channel adheres to the rules of the Minnesota Cable
Communications Act and community standards relative to obscenity and
defamation.
E. Schedule and Program priorities
The Elk River City Council and staff shall determine priorities for the
production and cablecasting of programs in accordance with these
• • JAN, 21. 2003 4: i0PM ELK_RIVER_CITY_HALL NO. 947 P. 4
guidelines and available resource.. Responsibility for planning,
budgeting and operation shall be -s designated by the City Council.
Passed and Adopted by the City C•uncil on February 22,1999
\\elkriver\sys\shrdoc\forms\cablguid.doc
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