HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-04-28 - AGENDA REPORTS - LOCAL PUBLIC TV MGMT (2)Agenda Item:
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR City Manager Approval:
Item to be presented by: Darren Herndndez
DATE: April 28, 2009
SUBJECT: LOCAL PUBLIC TELEVISION MANAGEMENT — UPDATE
DEPARTMENT: Administrative Services
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council accept report, and direct the City Manager to continue efforts towards the creation
of a broad-based Joint Powers Authority to fund and oversee the operation of Channel 20.
BACKGROUND
At the December 9, 2008 City Council meeting, Council appropriated funds in the amount of
$205,000 to fund costs associated with the public television studio, including facility lease,
equipment upgrades, and operational staffing. At the same time, Council directed the City
Manager to initiate efforts with community stakeholders to work towards the creation of a Joint
Powers Authority (JPA) to collaborate and economically support Channel 20 and return with an
update by the end of April 2009.
Since the beginning of this year, various capital equipment totaling $82,000 has been purchased
to get the public television studio in Newhall up to current broadcast standards. The
expenditures to date include a state-of-the-art playback and graphic system that will display
current weather, time, and news, and new video' editing equipment and. camera packages to use
for studio production and help provide a revenue stream via rental. Additionally, a bid process to
purchase more than $50,000 in new cameras for the studio will be complete in the next few
weeks.
In January, City staff and Channel 20 community stakeholders began meeting as a Public
Television Committee with the goal of developing a long-term community-based approach for
funding the continued operations of Channel 20. The Committee includes representatives from
the William S. Hart High Union School District (Gloria Mercado-Fortine and Jamie Castellanos),
College of the Canyons (Bruce Fortine and Mitch Capet), The Signal (Ian Lamont and Paul De
MOVED
La Cerda), KHTS (Carl Goldman), and SCVTV (Leon Worden).
The creation of a JPA represents the preferred approach for multiple local public agencies to pool
their financial and managerial resources to operate and staff Channel 20. The JPA would be a
separate public entity possessing full authority for the purposes of exercising the common powers
of the members relating to community public television. Such common powers would include
administering or renewing contracts to finance, manage, procure equipment, and operate a
community public television channel.
City staff and Public Television Committee members have reached out to other local public
agencies to solicit their participating in the JPA. To date, staff and Committee members have
met with to the superintendents of each local elementary school district, Castaic Lake Water
Agency, and the Sanitation District. In addition, the Committee members met with
administrators at Cal Arts to discuss how Channel 20 could help promote and advance their
organization.
Conceptually, members of the Public Television Committee have discussed the formation of a
JPA, with each participating agency having a seat at the table to determine how best to manage
public television resources. On an annual basis, each participating agency would make a
contribution to the JPA in the form of direct funding, in-kind service or both, to support public
television operations. Ideally, the individual amount of each agency's contributions would be
less each subsequent year, as SCVTV develops and grows revenue streams towards making the
operation self-sufficient.
Staff will continue to work with the Public Television Committee to develop a JPA for Channel
20. Concurrently, staff will bring forward a budget proposal that outlines recommended FY
2009/10 appropriations to fund capital equipment needs and the City's proportional share of
public television operating costs for the coming year.
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item at this time.
I.