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7.4. SR 10-11-1999 rei ---'\) ( )j tli( Item # 7. 4 . River MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor & Council FROM: Sandy Peine, City Clerk DATE: October 7,1999 SUBJECT: Conference Update by Government Cable Producer Marissa Lee Marissa Lee, Government Cable Producer, recently had the opportunity to attend the national NATOA (National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors) Conference. The conference was funded by the Cable Commission. . Marissa attended many sessions relating to government programming and would like to update the council on the conference. Marissa will also update the council on the status of Elk River going live. This has been a slow process, however, we still believe it will happen by the end of the year. Marissa is working on programming for the Elk River government channel and will share this information with the council on Monday evening. S:\CQUNCIL\marissa.doc . 13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330. TDD & Phone: (612) 441-7420. Fax: (612) 441-7425 . 10-7-99 To: Elk River Council Members From Marissa Lee, Government Cable Producer . Hello council members! I recently went to the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) national conference in Atlanta, Georgia, September 15th through the 19th. The Wright/Sherburne cable commission paid for the five-day trip. Every year the commission budgets one person from each city to attend. I attended seminars from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Attendees could pick from different seminars. For example, lawyer's and administrators attended the regulatory sessions, editors attended technical programs and producers attended programming sessions. I found the programming sessions very helpful. I meet inventors from leading software companies, brilliant web page designers, popular government producers and press reporters. This organization focuses on government related topics geared to assist media and communication departments throughout local government . agenCIes. Cities like Denver and Santa Monica had government cable channels that looked like NBC. I saw government web sites and cable programming that won national awards (Cottage Grove and St. Paul took home a few of those). I saw the capabilities that a government accesses channel can have within a community and what it can achieve. Elk River's government channel is progressing and narrow broadcasting is right around the corner. Last I heard, at the end of October, Elk River would go live. Since rumors of such event have been circulating since I started 21 months ago, I've been able to prepare. I have visited Delano, Coon Rapids, . . . Anoka, Quad City and Cottage Grove (South Washington County Cable Commission) to explore the possibilities for Elk River's channel. Granted, Elk River won't have the budget or the staff that the bigger cities have, but we will have a good, informational channel to serve the residents of Elk River with the equipment we do have. I have a long-term goal for Elk River's channel. But first, the early stages will be a bit simpler. Think of the new channel as a library. We will begin with a Bulletin Board that will scroll city information much like the Bulletin on cable now done through Bresnan (which will be Charter in a few months due to the recent buy-out). The city council, EDA, planning and school board meetings will replay three or four times each day. Closer to spring, a half-hour show with the mayor will air the morning after city council meetings to give a recap of what happened. Community events like the fair, Fourth of July, art soup and the heritage festival will air on the channel. After the first year, you can expect to see programming like updates with the police department, fire and ambulance rescue team. Candidates will have an equal opportunity to debate during political coverage. This channel will cover all community events and news including the high school clubs and sports. Cable staff will continue to assist employees with annual reports and projects that require editing or videotaping for council presentations and cable shows. Outside sources like the Washington Report and State Legislature Update programming will also air. Years from now we will have professional anchors and on site reporters like Coon Rapids and Anoka (if that's what the city wants). But for now we have just me, so I will do my best to provide a high quality, informational and visually stimulating channel to serve the residents of Elk River. Any comments, ideas or concerns from your constituents, please inform me. My extension here at city hall is 4712. Thank you.