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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-02-05 Bd Comm minutesIowa City Public Library BOARD OF TRUSTEES Minutes of the Regular Meeting November 15, 2007 4b 1 FINAL APPROVED Members Present: Linzee McCray (arrived at 5:24 pm), Thomas Dean, Michael Cohen, John Kenyon, William Korf, Mary New, Meredith Rich-Chappell, Leon Spies Members Absent: Thomas Martin Staff Present: Barb Black, Maeve Clark, Susan Craig, Debb Green (arrived 5:09), Heidi Lauritzen, Kara Logsden, Patty McCarthy, Elyse Miller Call Meeting to Order. Dean called the meeting to order at 5:07 pm. Public Discussion. None. Approval of Minutes. The minutes of the Regular Meeting of October 25, 2007 were reviewed. A motion to approve the minutes of the October 25, 2007 meeting was made by Cohen, seconded by Rich=Chappell. Motion carried 7/0. Unfinished Business. None. New Business. In Service to Iowa: Public Library Measures of Quality: Application/Report Form for Accreditation and Standards FY08. The State Library of Iowa is required by state law to document the condition of public library service in Iowa. Every three years Iowa City Public Library must reapply for accreditation. State aid is contingent upon accreditation. This form is due in January. Spies asked where these criteria came from. Craig said that a Committee representing all sizes of libraries and the State Library developed the original standards which are periodically reviewed and updated. Craig was on this committee that made some of the changes reflected on the current document. Cohen asked if there were any criteria that our Library reviewed and looked to improve from the last accreditation process. Craig said that the criterion for minimum days and hours of service was an area ICPL sought to improve. The three hours that we added last fiscal year brought us from level C to one hour below Level A. Craig believes ICPL has made the most progress on this measure. Kenyon asked about Item 64; the space needs assessment, which was unchecked on the document. Spies asked if there was much request for Braille materials. Logsden said that during her first few years she had Braille materials in her office and no one requested them. Clark said that the State Library for the Blind supplies materials and they are also obtainable through Inter-Library Loan (ILL). ICPL also refers persons to other agencies and organizations. Staff Reports. Departmental Reports: Adult Services. Dean mentioned the transfer of the leadership role for Weber Days to Johnson County Historical Society in 2009. Kenyon asked about a list of the outreach sites. Logsden will follow up. Circulation Services. New asked about filling Ron Prosser's position. Information Services. Board members liked that back issues of periodicals can now circulate. Clark said that changes in technology permit us to provide access to materials that formerly were kept as reference only. New wondered how many periodicals ICPL holds. "543," said Craig. Development Office. McCarthy thanked everyone who participated in the Book Gala. ICPL received $1,354.00 from Prairie Lights, which represents 20% of the sales during this fundraising event. IUPLA Statistics.' Craig said there has been an IUPLA meeting since the draft of the comparison of Iowa Urban Public Libraries was included in the Board packet and a few changes will be made to the document. Craig believes that ICPL is still the busiest building in IUPLA. New asked about methods for collecting volunteer statistics. The date for the Public Libraries of Johnson County Reception for Legislators has been changed from December 10, 2007 at the Legislators' request to Wednesday, December 19, 2007. A brief demonstration of statewide databases will be presented at 6:00 pm. Miscellaneous. Craig wanted to share the "Dealing with Problem Behavior in the Library" article with Board members, despite its length. Kenyon asked about partnering with UAY or other teen outreach agencies. New asked about the ban process. Basement Space. The furniture for the basement tenant is supposed to be delivered on Monday and then their technical people will begin setting up their computer infrastructure. It is hoped that the UIHC training lab will be operational in December. President's Report. McCray thanked Dean for his willingness to convene the Board meetings during the semester while she was teaching a class at UI. Next semester her class will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays and will not affect her Board duties. Announcements from Members. Dean said that President Mason enjoyed her visit to the ICPL. Dean also mentioned that in addition to Weber Days, there are a few upcoming Weber Chautauqua meetings including one on 12/3/2007 from 7:30-9:00 pm in Meeting Room A. Shaner Magalhaes, Executive Director of the Johnson County Historical Society will give an update on the past, present and future of the Johnson County Historical Society. Committee Reports. Foundation members. No meeting. Communications. The visual marker on the stairs issue was discussed at length following up on further communication from Mr. Lechay. Craig spoke to the architects and was informed that there are no ADA recommendations or guidelines about improving our staircase. Disbursements. The Visa expenditures for October 2007 were reviewed. A motion to approve the disbursements for October 2007 was made by New, seconded by Spies. Motion carried 8/0. Set Agenda Order for December Meeting. Next Board meeting is Thursday, December 20, 2007 Circulation Policy review Legislator reception Adjournment. It was moved by Spies, seconded by Cohen to adjourn the meeting. Dean declared the meeting adjourned at 5:56. Respectfully submitted, Elyse Miller 4b 2 IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2007--5:30 P.M. FINAL CITY CABLE TV OFFICE, 10 S. LINN ST.-TOWER PLACE PARKING FACILITY MEMBERS PRESENT: Saul Mekies, Hans Hoerschelman, Brett Gordon MEMBERS ABSENT; Margaret Wieting, Gary Hagen STAFF PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Mike Brau, Bob Hardy, Dale Helling OTHERS PRESENT: Lee Grassley, Josh Goding, Susan Rogusky, Michael McBride, Laura Lowe RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL None at this time. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION Grassley reported that ESPN and ESPN 2 in high definition will be added to the Family Package at no additional charge. Subscribers would need a high definition tuner or a device with a cable card such as TiVo or a cable HD converter box to view those two channels. The price for the high definition package of channels will be decreased by $3 to $6.95. Mediacom has been pursuing more high definition contracts and if they sign a high definition contract with a programmer that is carried in the Family Package the high definition channel will be added to the Family Channel at no charge. School administrators have cleared the proposal to spend $44,000 for a complete AV makeover of the Board Room. Perry Ross has been working on a grant for staff development in the production and use of multi-media technologies. It is hoped that if teachers can be trained they in turn can offer instruction to students. Shaffer met with the Community Television Group (CTG) to help them understand the long-term challenges facing local access television and how the public might be made more aware of the channels and value them. The CTG will be meeting in January to further develop a strategy. Shaffer reported that oral arguments in the court challenge to the recent FCC Report and Order on franchising will be made on Feb. 6. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Gordon moved and Hoerschelman seconded a motion to approve the amended November 26, 2007 minutes. The minutes were approved unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS Gordon urged Commissioners and citizens to contact the -FCC and our representatives in Congress regarding a proposed rule change by the FCC to allow greater consolidation in media ownership. Mekies referred to Shaffer's report on the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors conference and noted the comparisons of other communities to Iowa City. SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. CONSUMER ISSUES Shaffer referred to the complaint report in the meeting packet. There was only 1 complaint, which was resolved. MEDIACOM REPORT Grassley reported that ESPN and ESPN 2 in high definition will be added to the Family Package at no additional charge. Subscribers would need a high definition tuner or a device with a cable card such as TiVo or a cable HD converter box to view those two channels. The price for the high definition package of channels will be decreased by $3 to $6.95. Mediacom has been pursuing more high definition contracts and if they sign a high definition contract with a programmer that is carried in the Family Package the high definition channel will be added to the Family Channel at no charge. Mekies urged the City Cable TV Division to add that information to their website to help better notify consumers. Mekies also requested Mediacom notify the City as soon as such changes are known so they could assist informing the public. Gordon asked if prices will go up in August. Grassley said Mediacom will be making the annual basic tier rate filing according to the usual schedule, which would make any changes effective around the first of August. If the Family Package rates rise that increase will take place at that time. UNIVERSITY OF IOWA REPORT McBride distributed the University channel's annual report. The University cable channel continues to grow. They have access to more programming and requests from University departments for coverage have increased. More students are producing programs as well. Daily Iowan Television is now in their second year. The Student Video Producers have made a large increase in productions made available for playback. The collaboration with Iowa Public Radio for the Live at Prairie Lights and the Java House programs has been a continuing asset. McBride said that he is fortunate to have the energy and creativity of University students. Mekies asked how the University of Iowa compares to Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa. McBride said that the University of Iowa is fortunate to have abetter-developed cable operation than the other state schools. The U of I uses other stronger Big 10 universities as a benchmark for evaluating progress. Hoerschelman noted that the annual report acknowledges that one weakness is the inability to gather scientifically valid audience research due to cost restraints. Hoerschelman said audience research for all the access channels is needed. Shaffer said two scientific surveys have been done in the past seven years but the University was not a part of those surveys. KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE O'Brien was unable to attend but provided a written report. PATV REPORT Goding distributed a report summarizing programming in November. PATV's Live and Local program is on the presidential caucuses and explains how people can participate. Two high school interns from Regina High School working through the Workplace Learning Connection program are working with PATV. PATV will be closed December 24 through January 1. The guidelines workshop will by Sunday Jan. 6 at 12. The next board meeting is January 17, 7 p.m. SENIOR CENTER REPORT Rogusky distributed a programming schedule. A two-part program on the presidential caucuses has been playing on City Channel 4 and on PATV. The program has interviews with candidates and tracks four issues across candidates. The second Spanish-speaking program is being played back on City Channel 4. Numerous concerts at the Senior Center have been taped. Gordon suggested adding subtitles to the Spanish-speaking program. IOWA CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT REPORT Lowe distributed a written report. In addition to the usual programs on school board meetings, DPO meetings, and Education Exchange, the channel recently has been working on a program on anti-bullying. The program will be shown to school administrators and on the school channel. Work continues on the request for a grant from the Iowa City Community School District Foundation. School administrators have cleared the proposal to spend $44,000 for a complete AV makeover of the Board Room. Perry Ross has been working on a grant for staff development in the production and use of multi-media technologies. It is hoped that if teachers can be trained they in turn can offer instruction to students. Work continues on the channel's mission statement. Included in it will be strategy statements including a method of benchmarking and the desire to get student productions on the channel. Mekies said it was the sense of the Commission that benchmarks are an important tool to monitor progress and was glad to see the schools thinking in those terms. LIBRARY REPORT No representative was present. CITY MEDIA UNIT REPORT Hardy reported that the InfoVision software has had some recent problems and was down for a period of time but is now back on the air. The Community Television Service has been taping a number of holiday programs at the Senior Center and one program was carried live from the Senior Center. Five programs for the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council were shot of presidential candidates giving addresses. A program at the Englert, Generations of Jazz, will be shot. CABLE ADMINISTRATOR REPORT Shaffer reported that he was provided a tour of the facilities at Kirkwood and was impressed with their operation. Shaffer met with the Community Television Group (CTG) to help them understand the long-term challenges facing local access television and how the public might be made more aware of the channels and value them. The CTG will be meeting in January to further develop a strategy. The City Council budget process has time available for Commissions to address the Council on Jan, 23 at 7 p.m. Mekies and Shaffer have discussed but have not arrived at a conclusion on what might be said on the Commission's behalf. Mekies referred to Shaffer's report on the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors national conference and asked if there was anything Shaffer would like to emphasize. Shaffer said he was struck by how many countries are ahead of the United States with developing a plan to provide broadband to every citizen. Gordon noted that some of the countries have speeds that far exceed typical speeds in the United States. Shaffer said that FCC Commissioner Adelstein spoke at the conference and said that many of these countries have regulated monopolies where the United States has unregulated providers. Grassley said that Mediacom has been testing technology that can provide 100 megabits. CITY CABLE TV DIVISION BUDGET Shaffer said that the FY 2009 budget is much like budgets in past years. BIG TEN NETWORK Shaffer said he was contacted by Big Ten Network officials who informed him that they will not participate in a program on the issue of carriage on the Mediacom system. The City administration does not wish the program to be on the City Channel and suggested PATV as an alternative. Mekies urged the program proceed as quickly as possible. Shaffer said he will need to identify people who would be willing to participate on behalf of the Big Ten Network. LEGISLATION AND FCC UPDATE Shaffer reported that oral arguments in the court challenge to the recent FCC Report and Order on franchising will be made on Feb. 6. Hoerschelman asked about Mediacom's intent to submit comments to the Iowa Utility Board regarding the rules proposed to implement the recent state franchising legislation. Grassley said Mediacom believed that the definition of a competitive cable service provider needed clarification but decided that the best way to get clarification was to apply for a state franchise for a certain community. CTG FUNDING AND BENCHMARKING Hardy said the CTG met in November. A benchmark for tracking the use of funds allocated to the schools has not yet been developed. Mekies said it is the sense of the Commission that the pass-through funds needs to have some accounting of the progress made with the funds. Hardy said that he has seen more progress made in the last six months in the schools than over a number of years. Mekies said there are tangible results coming out of the efforts made by the Commission and the access channels. ADJOURNMENT Hoerschelman moved and Gordon seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment was at 6:53. Respectfully submitted, Drew Shaffer Cable TV Administrator TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 12 MONTH ATTENDANCE RECORD 01/01/03 to CURRENT Meeting Kimberly Saul Meikes Brett Castillo Terry Smith Jim Pusack Date Thrower 6/2/03 x x x x x 7/28/03 x x x x x 8/25/03 X X X X O/C 9/22/03 X X X X O/C 10/27/03 x x x x o/c 11 /24/03 x x o/c x x 12/15/03 o/c o/c x x x 1 /2/04 x o/c x x x 1 /26/04 x x x x x 2/23/04 x o/c x o/c x 3/22/04 x x x x x 4/ 26/04 X X X X O/C 5/24/04 x x_ O/C x x 6/28/04 X X X O/C X 7/26/04 o/c x x x x 8/26/04 did not meet did not meet did not meet did not meet did not meet 9/27/04 X X X X X 10/25/04 X X 11 /04 Did not meet Did not meet Did not meet Did not Did not meet meet 12/20/04 X X X X X 1 /24/05 X X X X X 2/28/05 X X X X Gar Ha en 3/8/05 X X X X X 3/25/05 X O X X X 4/25/05 x o/c X X X 5/23/05 X o x vacancy X James Ehrmann X x Bebe Balantyne x 6/27/05 X_ x X_ X X X Michael Chritians 7/25/05 O X X X X 9/26/05 0 X X 0 X 10/31 /05 X X o/c X X 11 /28/05 X X X X X 1 /23/06 o/c X X O X 2.27/06 X X X_ 0 X 3/27/06 o/c X X John Weaterson X X 4/24/06 X X X X X 5/22/06 0 X x/o 0 X 6/26/06 0 X Vacant 0 X Nick Parker 7/24/06 x x x X 8/24/06 X x M. Wietin~ o/c X 9/25/06. x x x 0/c X 10/23/06 x X x o/c X 10/30/06 x x x vacant X 11 /27/09 X X X X 12.18/06 X X X X Brett Gordon 1 /22/07 X X X X X 2/26/07 X X X X X 3/26/07 Vacant x o/c x X 4/23/07 Vacant X X X X Hoerschelm an 521 /07 X X o/c X x 6/26/07 X X X X X 7/23/07 X X X X X 9/24/07 X X o/c o/c X 10/22/07 x x o/c o/c x 11 /26/07 X X X X X 12/18/07 X X o/c X X 1 /28/08 X x o/c x x (X) =Present (O) =Absent (O/C) = Absent/Called (Excused)