HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-05-20 - AGENDA REPORTS - LOCAL PUBLIC TV MGMT (2)CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor Ferry and Members of the City Council
FROM: Ken Pulskamp, City Manager �-
DATE: May 20, 2009
SUBJECT: LOCAL PUBLIC TELEVISION MANAGEMENT — UPDATE
RECOMMENDATION
City Council receive staff presentation and discuss.
BACKGROUND
At the December 9, 2008 regular meeting, the City 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.
In January of 2009, City staff and Channel 20 community stakeholders came together to form a
Public Television Committee. The Committee meets monthly with the goal of developing a
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), 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/or in-kind resources to fund operational and staffing costs associated with
Channel 20. The formation of a JPA would create a separate public entity possessing full regulatory
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
oversee the management of public television, as well as the ability to finance, manage, procure
equipment, and operate a community public television channel.
City staff and Public Television Committee members have also taken efforts to reach out to other
local public agencies and special districts to inquire as to their potential interest in participating in
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LOCAL PUBLIC TELEVISION MANAGEMENT — UPDATE
May 20, 2009
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the JPA. To date, staff and committee members have reached out to the superintendents of each
local elementary school district, Castaic Lake Water Agency, the Sanitation District and Cal Arts to
discuss how Channel 20 could help to promote and advance their organizations.
Conceptually, members of the Public Television Committee have discussed the formation of a five-
year authority with each participating agency having a seat at the table to determine how best to
manage public television resources. As currently proposed, the JPA would be established in a
fashion that would identify the Chief Appointed Officer (CAO) of each participating agency as
Director to the JPA Board. On an annual basis, each participating agency would make an equal
financial contribution to the JPA, either in the form of direct funding, in-kind service, or both, to
support public television operations. It is envisioned that the contribution amount of each individual
agency will be less each subsequent year as SCVTV develops and grows revenue streams that will
ultimately make this operation financially self-sufficient.
Currently, representatives of College of the Canyons, the Hart School District and Castaic Lake
Water Agency are reviewing the draft JPA Agreement. Staff anticipates that the CAO of each
agency will likely bring the proposed JPA Agreement to their governing board within the next 60 to
90 days for consideration. Participation in the JPA is also currently under consideration by
representatives of all local elementary school districts and the Los Angeles County Sanitation
District.
City staff continues to work with the Public Television Committee to develop a community-based
strategy to fund the annual operating and staff costs for Channel 20. Staff intends to return to the
City Council on June 9, 2009 with the finalized JPA Agreement for its consideration. 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.