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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-01-30 Bd Comm minutesMINUTES IOWA CITY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1996- 4:30 P.M. CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS Subject to Approval MEMBERS PRESENT: Lowell Brandt, Patricia Eckhardt, William Haigh, Tim Lehman MEMBERS ABSENT: Susan Bender STAFF PRESENT: Anne Burnside, Melody Rockwell OTHERS PRESENT: None RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL: The Board, by a vote of 4-0, recommended to Council that the Board of Adjustment procedur- al rules dated 1/10/96, as amended by Board members on January 10, 1996, be approved by Council, following review of these procedural rules by the Council Rules Committee. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Eckhardt called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. ROLL CALL: The roll was called, and all members except Bender were present. CONSIDERATION OF THE OCTOBER 11, 1995, MINUTES: Haigh moved and Brandt seconded the motion to approve the October 11, 1995, Board of Adjustment minutes. The motion was approved on a 4-0 vote. ELECTION OF OFFICERS: Haigh moved and Brandt seconded the motion to nominate Eckhardt to be Chairperson of the Board of Adjustment. There were no further nominations. Eckhardt was elected Chairperson on a 3-O-1 vote, with Eckhardt abstaining. Eckhardt moved and Brandt seconded the motion to nominate Haigh as Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Adjustment. There were no further nominations. Haigh was elected Vice- Chairperson on a vote of 4-0. SPECIAL EXCEPTION ITEMS: EXC93-0001. Public hearing on a request submitted by the Heritage Christian School to extend to July 1, 1996, a Board of Adjustment decision made on February 10, 1993, that permitted an increase in the student enrollment limit for a religious Board of Adjustment January 10, 1996 Page 2 institution (school) from 60 children to 100 children for the Heritage Christian School located in the CC-2 zone at 1470 First Avenue, Rockwell said the Heritage Christian School had first come to the Board to establish a school with a maximum enrollment of 60 students. In 1993, the school requested that the student enrollment limit be increased to 100. The Board approved the higher enrollment limit, but stipulated that due to concerns about the operation of the school with increased enrollment in a commercial zone, the decision should expire on February 10, 1996. Rockwell reported that staff considered the requested extension for a five month period to be reasonable. She said allowing the school to continue to operate at its present location until the end of the school year should not create negative impacts for neighboring property owners. She .said no complaints had been received concerning the school while it has functioned at a higher enrollment level during the past three years. Rockwell noted that the Heritage Christian School intends to relocate and start its Fall 1996 term on a property located outside of Iowa City, which will eliminate concerns about the higher enrollment level in the CC-2 zone at the 1470 First Avenue property. Rockwell said staff recommended approval of the request to extend the expiration date to July 1, 1996, for a Board of Adjustment decision (EXC93-0001) made on February 10, 1993, that permitted an increase in the student enrollment limit from 60 children to 100 children for the Heritage Christian School located in the CC-2 zone at 1470 First Avenue. Public hearing: No one appeared either for or against this item. Public hearing closed. MOTION: Haigh moved to approve the request for an extension of EXC93-0001, a Board of Adjustment decision made on February 10, 1993, that permitted an increase in the student enrollment limit from 60 children to 100 children for the Heritage Christian School located in the CC-2 zone at 1470 First Avenue; to extend the expiration date from February 10, 1996 to July 1, 1996. Lehman seconded the motion. Lehman said the extension request seemed reasonable. He said the property is sold, and all the Board was doing was granting an extension to allow the Heritage Christian School to finish its school year. Eckhardt noted that there had been no problems to date with the school at its present enrollment level in its current location. She said no one from the public had raised objections to the extension. The motion carried on a 4-0 vote. Board of Adjustment January 10, 1996 Page 3 Public hearing on a request submitted by Our Redeemer Lutheran Church for a special exception to expand a religious institution use, that is, to extend a parking area located in the RS-5 zone at 2301 E. Court Street. Eckhardt noted that the Board had received a letter from the applicant requesting that this item be withdrawn. MOTION: Lehman moved that the request submitted by Our Redeemer Lutheran Church for a special exception to expand a religious institution use, that is, to extend a parking area located in the RS-6 zone at 2301 E. Court Street be withdrawn. Eckhardt seconded the motion. The motion carried on a 4-0 vote. PROCEDURAL RULES AMENDMENTS: Rockwell stated that the Board's procedural rules do not contain provisions for the election of officers, who shall act as chairperson when the chairperson is absent, or other rules that are stipulated by the City Code to be part of the Board's procedural rules. The Board's current procedural rules are limited to sections on applications, notice requirements, hearing procedures, record keeping, decisions and amending procedural rules. Rockwell said she had prepared a draft that revised the Board's procedural rules by incorporating adapted sections of the Planning and Zoning Commission by-laws, and by incorporating pertinent sections of the State Code. She said staff was open to any amendments that the Board might have on this item. Eckhardt commented that she felt staff had given a great deal of thought and care in drafting the revised procedural rules for the Board. She said she didn't have any specific changes to recommend, except that she wondered if some of the language had been duplicated. Lehman pointed out that the Board's current procedural rules had been duplicated in the draft of revised procedural rules, and language had been added to make the rules more complete. Haigh said he had four comments. First, he suggested including deferral procedures in Article VI, Section 10. Haigh noted that the Board has had to deal with deferrals several times during his tenure, and he felt it would be helpful to include procedures to help deal with deferrals. Second, Haigh asked about the protocol that should be used when a person has a conflict of interest. He said when this occurred in the past year, the person who had a stated conflict of interest left the Council Chambers during the entire hearing, discussion and vote on the ~tem for which there was a conflict of interest. In the second paragraph of Article VI, Section 10, the procedure appears to be that the person should refrain from discussion and voting, but is not required to leave the room. He said he didn't have a preference for one way over another, but just wanted this clarified. Burnside responded that the City Attorney's Office has advised that a person with a conflict of interest should refrain from discussion and voting on the item, but is not required to leave the room. She said this is the way it is handled by City Council members. Third, Haigh asked if Article VI, Section 1 could be revised to state specifically that hearings are generally held at 4:30p. m. on the second Wednesday of the month, instead of stating the Board of Adjustment January 10, 1996 Page 4 meetings are generally held once a month. Haigh said the Board's meeting date and time have been established for a number of years, and he asked why the procedural rules couldn't reflect this practice. Burnside said that would be appropriate. She said using the word "generally" to proceed the specific time of day and month allowed flexibility for special circumstances. Fourth, Haigh said Article IX, the section on amendments to the procedural rules, states that "a vote of three members of the Board shall be necessary to amend these procedural rules." He thought that it should be clear that at least three members should be voting in favor of the amendments. Haigh said the way it is written, an amendment could be approved by a 2-1 vote of the Board, and he didn't think that was what was intended. Brandt suggested that the draft be amended to state "a concurring vote of three members of the Board shall be necessary to amend these procedural rules." Burnside clarified that Haigh wanted to make it clear that at least three Board members would need to vote in support of a procedural rules amendment in order for it to be approved by the Board. Haigh said yes. Brandt said the only change he wanted to suggest had to do with Article Vl, Section 5, concerning applicant representation. He asked if it was possible to make it clear in the procedural rules that the applicant is encouraged to be present at the public hearing. He said it has happened two or three times that applicants have not appeared at the public hearings, and this has presented difficulties when the Board had questions and there was no one to respond to those questions. Burnside recommended an alternative to putting this in the procedural rules was to make sure this was an instruction the applicant received from staff. She agreed with Brandt that the applicant needed to be told in clear terms that the Board wants to hear from the applicant, and the applicant or their representative should try to be present at the public hearing on their item. Burnside said she was hesitant to try to incorporate it into the procedural rules, because then it appears that "by rule" the Board has a preference for an application that is presented in person. She said that may not always be the case. She said the Board may receive a case that is so clear and compelling that the Board may be inclined to act on it without requiring the applicant or a representative to be present. Rockwell noted that it is standard practice for staff to encourage applicants to attend the Board meetings; that it is in their best interest to be available to answer questions the Board may have on their application. iVIOTION: Eckhardt moved that the Board forward a recommendation to Council that the Board of Adjustment procedural rules dated 1-10-96, as amended by Board members on January 10, 1996, be approved by Council following review of these amended procedural rules by the Council Rules Committee. Brantit seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 4-0. OTHER DISCUSSION: Brandt asked about the error on the van der Woude decision. Rockwell explained that the number of feet that the front yard was to be reduced by (9.5 feet) had been substituted inadvertently for the number of feet the front yard was reduced to (5.5 feet). She noted that the affidavit correcting the decision was consistent with the site plan that was reviewed by the Board that showed the placement of the porch 5.5 feet back from the Brown Street right- of-way line. Board of Adjustment January 10, 1996 Page 5 Eckhardt noted the correspondence concerning the Strait application. She questioned the number of parking spaces the applicant wanted to reserve for staff parking. Brandt said he found the staff correspondence in response to the questions from Mr. Glasgow to be very helpful. He said it provided an excellent clarification of the situation. ADJOORNMENT: Haigh moved and Lehman seconded the motion to adjourn the Board meeting at 4:55 p.m. The motion was approved by a 4-0 vote. Patricia Eckhardt, Board Chairperson Melod~oO ,~-----~-----~ C~ _____Board Secretary Minutes submitted by Melody Rockwell ~INUTES IOWA CITY AIRPORT COmmISSION THURSDAY DECEMBER 14, 1995 ~ 5:45 P.M. IOWA CITY TRANSIT FACILITY MEMBERS PRESENT= Howard Horan, Rick Mascari, Pat Foster, Robert Hicks Richard Blum, STAFF PRESENT= Anne Burnside, Ron O'Neil CALL TO ORDER~ Chairperson Horan called the meeting to order at 5:47 p.m. quorum of the Commission was present. A APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the November 9, 1995, meeting were approved as submitted. AUTHORIZATION OF EXPENDITURES: Blum made a motion to approve the bills. Foster seconded the motion and it was approved 5-0 PUBLIC DISCUSSION - ITEMS NOT ON A~ENDA: No items were presented. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTIONs a. Iowa City/Coralville J. Co'S ~ Alex Alvarez said the Iowa City/Coralville J.C.'s were requesting permission to hold their annual fireworks display at the Airport. He said the J.C.'s would like to schedule several other events during the day° O'Neil suggested that the J.C.'s include their list of possible events with their application to use Airport property and the Commission could act on the application. He reminded the Commission that he will not available on the 4th of July to supervise and that one of the Commission members would have to be at the Airport the entire time of set up, during the events, and for clean up. Blum said he would be out of town. Mascari said he would supervise the event. The Commission will discuss the J.C.'s application at the next meeting. bo Master Plan Study - Jerry Searle, from McClure Engineering, presented a drawing of a potential facilities lay out that he would like to incorporate in the preliminary Airport Layout Plan. The concept would cluster the corporate hangars in one area, the T- hangars in another area, replace the United hangar, and expand the hard surfaced tie down area. Additional automobile parking would be constructed to accommodate the hangar tenants and their employees and customers. There would be space for two commercial lots, with frontage on Riverside Drive. Possible access to the lots was discussed, including a new driveway on Riverside Drive or an access road from the existing Airport entrance road. The Commission discussed possible locations for the hangar they purpose to build next summer. After much discussion, it was decided to site the hangar directly south of the Airport Terminal, with the main hangar door opening to the south. Searle discussed the new aerial photography for the Airport. He passed around a copy of a letter concerning the costs involved with using 2 foot verses 5 foot contours. Because of the cost, he suggested limiting the areas mapped with the 2 foot contours. The Commission discussed a name change for the Airport. This was an issue discussed at a previous meeting. After some discussion, it was decided the name would be changed to the Iowa City Industrial Air Park. This would reflect the change the Commission would like to promote in order to develop revenue for the Airport. The new name will be used on the working documents for the Master Plan Study. A final decision will be made at a later time. The next Resource Group meeting will be scheduled for January 18, 1995, at 4:00 p.m. A public meeting will follow at 7:00 p.m. Searle suggested that instead of additional newsletters, a brochure describing the Airport and the elements of the new Master Plan should be developed. The consensus of the Commission was to proceed with the brochure. o. Corporate hangar leases - The five year leases for the four corporate hangars in Hangar 1 end on February 29, 1996o O'Neil recommended negotiating five year leases again° O'Neil has contacted the current tenants and they have indicated they would like to negotiate leases. The Commission discussed the fact that the tenant in #32 was paying less per square foot than the other three tenants. Blum said all the tenants should pay equitable rent and reminded the Commission that grant assurances required them not to favor one tenant over another when leasing comparable facilities. Mascari said he thought they should all pay the same per cent increase and continue to allow the tenant in #32 to pay less per square foot than the other tenants° The Conmission voted 4 - 1, with Mascari dissenting, to equalize the rents. They directed 0'Neil to research what a fair market value increase should be. This will be discussed at the next Commission meeting. Blum made a motion for a resolution to set a public hearing on January 11, 1996, at 5:45 p.m. to discuss the corporate hangar leases. Foster seconded the motion and at roll call vote, the motion passed 5 - 0. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT~ Horan said there was some interest in a parcel of Airport property north of Highway 1, next to Ron Wade's property. O'Neil suggested that the Commission wait until after the Master Plan Study is completed to discuss this area° This property may be needed as part of the Runway Protection Zone for Runway 06. COMMISSION MEMBERS' REPORTS~ Blum said he would like to comment on the job Jerry Searle was doing. He thought it was very complete and he was doing an excellent job. The lack of controversy on such a complicated project indicates Searle's thoroughness in conducting the Study° The other Commission members agreed. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: O'Neil said the SEATS contract was completed and they would occupy the office space at 1701 South Riverside Drive beginning January 2, 1996. The contractor is scheduled to begin installation of the ADA requirements the first week of January. O'Neil said it will cost at least an additional $ 100.00 to install new panels on the wind tee. The Commission directed O'Neil to go ahead with the project. Dennis Gordon, from Gordon Aircraft, Inc., asked if he could do maintenance on aircraft he is selling for his customers. The Commission agreed that his business agreement does not allow him to do maintenance on any plane he does not own. O'Neil asked the Co~ission who canceled a NOTA/~ on December 1. No one was aware of who called FSSo O'Neil will investigate. O'Neil is working with the I.C. Fire Department, the National Guard, and 'Jeff Gauthier from the University of Iowa Emergency Transportation Services to develop an Airport Emergency Plan. There is interest in having an emergency plan practice when the plan is completed. SET NEXT MEETING: The next regular meeting is scheduled for January 11, 1996, at 5:45 ~JOVRNME~: Foster mo);ed to adjourn~t~e meeting. Mascari and ~/eeting/djour/n~/d/at 7:18 p.m. HoQard Horan, Chairperson seconded the motion MINUTES IOWA CITY CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION CIVIC CENTER, LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM DECEMBER 18, 1995 MEMBERS PRESENT: Lyra Dickerson, Sue Dulek, Michael Kennedy STAFF PRESENT: Sylvia Mejia, Andy Rocca, Machele Wiebel GUESTS PRESENT: None RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: Commissioners recommended that Council approve the certified promotional lists for Fire Battalion Chief, Fire Captain and Fire Lieutenant. RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY MANAGER AND STAFF: None. SUMMARY OF RELEVANT DISCUSSION: Chairperson Kennedy called the meeting to order at 8:40 AM. Mejia described the promotional process and assessment centers. Dulek asked how many openings were available and Rocca responded that there was one, potentially two, for Fire Battalion Chief. Fire Captain and Fire Lieutenant vacancies would be created by an internal promotion to Battalion Chief, but there are currently no pending retirements or resignations at these ranks. Dickerson moved and Dulek seconded the motion to certify the promotional list for Fire Battalion Chief. Dickerson moved and Kennedy seconded the motion to certify the promotional list for Fire Captain. Kennedy moved and Dickerson seconded the motion to certify the promotional list for Fire Lieutenant. Mejia explained the recruitment process for Fire Chief, indicating that the City Manager has reviewed all 72 applications that were received and has narrowed the pool of applicants to down to 20. Dale Helling and Sylvia Mejia will assist the City Manager in reviewing the remaining applications to screen further and anticipate interviewing in January. Mejia said that the interview team will consist of City Manager Steve Atkins, Assistant City Manager Dale Helling, Personnel Administrator Sylvia Mejia and possibly another Department head from the City. She asked if any of the Civil Service Commissioners would like to participate. Dickerson asked if any Commissioners had been involved in the past. Kennedy stated that he had participated when the City hired the current Police Chief. He said he would rather not be involved because he felt he didn't bring any relevant expertise to the process. Commissioners agreed they did not wish to be on the interview team. Dulek requested that the Commissioners be provided the opportunity to review the employment applications for 337 interview candidates and Mejia agreed. Mejia reported that the City Manager sent a letter to the President of the Fire Union offering the opportunity to meet and discuss the recruitment for Fire Chief. Atkins met with members of the Fire Union and discussed common themes. suggestions and comments regarding the recruitment process and Departmental leadership needs. Kennedy asked if the goal was to hire a Fire Chief by spring. Mejia answered that if the position was filled from within, it would be sooner, but if filled from outside the department, the process would more likely be concluded by spring. Dickerson moved and Dulek seconded the motion that the meeting adjourn. Motion passed unanimously (Kennedy, Dulek, Dickerson - aye). Meeting adjourned at 8:50 AM. Human Rights Commission Minutes of December 3, 1995 PRESENT: ABSENT: Staff Present: Public Present: Alison A. mes-Galstad, Mel Dautremont, Osha Davidson, Ken Gatlin, Joan Jehle, Ann Shires, Dorothy Paul Patricia Harvey, Diane Martin Heather Shank, Anne Burnside, Cynthia Riley Tom Dickerson Call to Order: Chairperson Galstad called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Minutes from the last meeting were approved. Chairperson galstad introduced Mr. Dickerson, who has been appointed to the Human Rights Commission and will begin in January, 1996. Recommendations to Council: The Commission recommended the amended by-laws to the City Council at the last meeting. Ms. Shank announced that the Council's Rules Committee approved the by-laws with the deletion of one sentence. The sentence stated that the Commission would meet on the fourth Monday of every month. That sentence has been deleted, Reports of Commissioners: Commissioner Jehle passed out a summary of changes she proposes for the Human Rights Awards Breakfast. She suggested the Commissioners read it and discuss the proposals at the next meeting. Commissioner Shires discussed her involvement with the Counsel on Disability Rights and Education (CDRE), She attends CDRE meetings, She announced four city buses have been converted for full accessibility. Commissioner Shires and Human Rights Coordinator Heather Shank attended a diversity Conference in Cedar Rapids sponsored by the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission. Four members of the Quad Cities Diversity Team gave a presentation on the Mayor's Diversity and Racial Equality Round Table and Targeted Response to Acts of Hatred Roundtable: She pointed out the mayor of Davenport was instrumental in forming the group as a response to junior high students' request to racial problems in the country. A student wrote to the mayor about her personal experiences with racism which also prompted him to form the diversity group. The Diversity Team began in 1992 and included police officers, a federal district judge, several business persons, students from every school in the district, religious leaders, and others. The roundtables include: media, cultural climate, education, health, conflict resolution, economic development, and political action. The Bi-State Hate Response team is also part of the same diversity movement. Commissioner Shires passed around a brochure or the Quad Cities Diversity Team. Heather Shank also spoke with Brenda Drew Peoples of the Davenport Civil Rights Commission about the Diversity Team. Ms. Shank indicated that she had a productive discussion with Ms. Peoples about recruiting individuals to volunteer their time for the team. Commissioner Shires talked about the overwhelming response of the religious community of the Quad Cities after a cross burning in the area several years ago. Commissioner Shires also passed around a brochure from the Cedar Rapids Commission with information about housing, employment, etc. for complainants and others. She also handed out the 'Diversity and Racial Equality Conflict Resolution Resources' created by the Quad Cities Team. Heather Shank reported that she talked to the Chamber of Commerce Human Resource Committee about gender identity. She believes it went well and one person in the audience provided information about the experiences her business had with gender identity issues. This helped to allay the fears of some people with limited experience with transsexual issues. She also indicated some people have expressed concern about public rest rooms use by transsexuals (whether someone in a male to female transition should use the men's or women's rest room). Commissioner Davidson is collecting information for employers about transsexuals. Ms. Shank ordered a documentary called "What Sex Am 17" which details the lives of people in gender transition. The Commission then discussed showing the film on the government channel. Ms. Burnside expressed concerns about copyright infringement. Ms. Shank indicated she would check to learn if rebroadcast of the documentary is possible. Ms. Shank will show the documentary at the next meeting (in January). The film will also be made available to the Chamber of Commerce for those that expressed an interest in seeing it during Ms. Shank's presentation. Commissioner Dautremont announced that Julian Bond will be at the iowa Memorial Union on January 15th at 7:30. Commissioners Davidson and Paul believe there will not be a charge for the event. Status of Cases: There was a successful mediation and another scheduled. Two cases are almost ready for team review. There is a case that is being handled in an expedited manner. It will reach the legal departineRt and then be reviewed by the Commissioners shortly. Team C will receive the next case. Old Business: Anne Burnside discussed the matter of by-law language which would prevent the Commission from accepting evidence of a victim's prior sexual activity in making a determination of a complaint. Commissioner Davidson had indicated an interest in this language, which is used by Dubuque. Ms. Burnside explained the usual evidentiary test which is a matter's relevance versus it's potential to prejudice the decision maker. As an example, she explained that criminal cases do not usually allow evidence of prior convictions because the decision makers may then presume guilt, She researched the issue and learned that there are two subsections of the Iowa Code. The first section precludes evidence of a victim's prior sexual history will not be admitted without weighing it for relevance greater than its prejudicial value. The second section says there will be no evidence admitted in a sexual assault or harassment matter in determining damages. Ms. Burnside indicated that Iowa Courts will follow the code language although the commission, such as Dubuque did can adopt their own evidentiary rule. She explained, however, that the case may then have varying standards of admitting evidence and create problems in the evidentiary record on appeal. Ms. Shank explained she makes a record with broad information, not all of which is used in determining a finding of discrimination. She also said respondents in sexual harassment cases are entitled to a defense that calls attention to the victim's sexual history at times. Commissioner Davidson questioned why the Iowa Code would explicitly require weighing prejudice and relevance if it is a generally accepted rule of evidence. Ms. Burnside said safety nets are built into the system to require this weighing of evidence. She does not believe there is a problem with reiterating the language in the by-laws. The by-laws committee will take up the question and address it at the next meeting. Chairperson Galstad said the financial subcommittee met earlier in the week and is creating a proposal for the Council. Commissioners Davidson and Shires created a chart comparing funding to local human rights departments across the state. Commissioner Shires gathered information and Commissioner Davidson put the information into chart form. Commissioner Galstad said the proposal will include a request for a full-time support person and a full-time support staff person. The financial committee will summarize the work load of the office and compare it to the work load and budget of like departments in other cities in Iowa. The Commission voted and unanimously approved the proposal mentioned above. Commissioner Davidson asked about source of funding as a pro. tected classification in housing cases. Commissioner Shires indicated ~he category is not enforced. Heather Shank indicated a complainant who alleges such discrimination would. be able to file. Anne Burnside indicated the same. Anne Burnside indicated in the past, discussions have indicated an ADC recipient, discriminated against because of their status as an ADC recipient would be protected by the Ordinance. The category of public source of income, however, does not apply to Section 8 certificates or vouchers. The federal and state anti-discrimination agencies have held that a landlord may refuse to rent to a Section 8 recipient because it is considered a bona fide business decision, given the onerous procedures required. It is more than a matter of who pays the bill, it is a separate administrative process. HUD does not require landlords to take Section Eight. Commissioner Davidson asked if it is a greater burden than making apartments accessible. Anne Burnside indicated it is in that it effects every aspect of the landlord tenant relationship. Discussion on the matter will be deferred until a later time. New Business: Discussion of the City's Affirmative Action policy will be postponed until the January 22nd meeting. It will be held in the City Manager's Conference Room. Commissioner Gatlin submitted his resignation. He indicated his schedule did not permit him dedicate as much time to the Commission as he had previously. The Commission gave their thanks to Commissioners Gatlin and Paul for their years of service, The Commission and staff will miss their service and presence. Meeting adjourned 8:07 p.m. MINUTES BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1995 - 5:30 P.M. CIVIC CENTER LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Roger Christian, Cordell Jeppsen, Eric Rothenbuhler, Steve Hoch, Betty McKra¥ MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Shaffer, Brau, Helling, Hardy OTHERS PRESENT: Rene Paine, Derek Maurer, Beth Fisher, John Jennowein, Steve Wurtzler, Bill Blough LIST OF MATTERS PENDING COMMISSION/COUNCIL DISPOSITION Negotiations with PATV, all access channels, and the Senior Center. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION Blough reported the new franchise has been sent to TCI division office for review and signatures. The CSPAN bus will be in Iowa City January 8. IPTV has been moved to Channel 12 to reduce interference. Fisher reported the library now has 110 CD-ROM multi-media packages for public checkout. Paine reported PATV will be closed January 8-10 to overhaul and tune up equipment. Special workshops were provided for the Neighborhood Centers and MECCA and one is planned for the Girl Scouts. Shaffer reported he and Helling have met with Coralville officials to help coordinate their refranchising. The definition and goals of community programming, community programming needs and current community program- ming were discussed. The Commission recommended to TCl that the pass-through funds be named "local programming" on subscribers' bills. CALLTO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 5:35 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was moved by McKray, seconded by Hoch, to approve the November 27, 1995, BTC minutes. The minutes were unanimously approved. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS McKray said she had been attending the PATV Board meetings but has not reported back to the BTC because PATV always has a report. Jeppsen said the Commission appreciates her attending for the BTC. Broadband Telecommunications Commission December 18, 1995 Page 2 SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. TCI REPORT Blough reported the franchise and ordinance are at TCI's division office for review and signatures. The letter of credit and the construction bonds will be forthcoming. The side letter agreement should not be a problem. The CSPAN bus will be in Iowa City January 8 promoting CSPAN and the Cable in the Classroom project. Tours will be available and the schools will be invited to send media specialists or others for more involved tours. The bus will be parked in the lot adjacent to the public library. IPTV has been moved to Channel 12 to reduce interference. Because IPTV's signal is so strong, it can be phase-locked, while the Fox affiliate can not. There are no immediate programming changes anticipated. In response to questions about commercial rates complaints, he said they are priced to reflect demand and value. Service is worth more to businesses. The service to offices not viewable by the public is roughly $10 higher than residential rates. Shaffer asked about businesses which want to drop service before the end of a three or five-year contract. Blough said TCI will negotiate it out. Rothenbuhler asked if all businesses are treated the same. Blough said businesses of the same type and size are treated the same. LIBRARY REPORT Beth Fisher reported a software package intended to automate the library channel did not work as the vendor had claimed. After a large amount of staff time was spent trying to get the software to work, it was learned the hardware was not designed to work with that software package. Various other software p~ckages are now being reviewed. Beginning January 16 and every other Tuesday night thereafter the Winter Book Series discussions will be held. This year the series is entitled "Not for Children Only" and will discuss classic children's literature which is fun for adults to read. The program will be cablecast live. The library now has 110 CD-ROM multi-media packages for public check out. PATV REPORT Paine reported PATV has given special workshops to the Neighborhood Centers and MECCA and is planning one for the Girl Scouts. Return cards from a non-profit mailing are still coming in. PATV will be closed January 8-10 to overhaul and tune up equipment. LEGAL REPORT Anne Burnside is on vacation. Shaffer reported he, Burnside, Bob Hardy and Don Wood are continuing to work on updating the government channel's guidelines. ECC REPORT None, Broadband Telecommunications Commission December 18, 1995 Page 3 CABLE TELEVISION ADMINISTRATOR REPORT Shaffer reported receiving seven complaints - one about a billing problem, one about trouble finding the channel guide, one about too much advertising on all the channels, one about ham radio interference, one about an inabdity to get the service, one about the PBS signal changes, and one about poor quality signals. Jeppsen asked if Shaffer receives many complaints on ham radio interference and noted he has received several. Shaffer said he hasn't had any for some time. Shaffer reported he and Helling have met with Coralville officials to help coordinate their refranchising effort. Coralville City Administrator Kelly Hayworth will provide a list of items and services they are interested in to Iowa City. Hardy reported January looks to be quite busy for the Media Unit. The League of Women Voters Legislative Forums will be starting again. A video promoting the special census has been completed and will receive heavy playback. Shaffer reported the Community Networking Group is still working a business plan. COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING Jeppsen said the Commission has the responsibility to come up with a recommendation to Council on how to deal with community programming and public access. The issues need to be clarified and defined so the City can enter into a contract with a provider. Hoch asked who currently provides community programming. Shaffer said that depending on the definition used, the City, PATV, the Library, the Senior Center, and possibly the schools at various times all provide community programming. Hoch asked how these entities are funded. Shaffer said the government channel is funded by the franchise fee, PATV is funded directly by TCl, the Senior Center is funded by grants and other fundraising efforts, the Library recaives some franchise fee money and provides some of their own funds, and the schools provide their own funds. Jeppsen said he doesn't think community programming funds should be used to fund things already funded. There are other things which haven't been funded at all. The City needs to determine the cost of providing these things and how they could be provided. McKray said the proposals developed by PATV and the Government Channel in early 1995 indicated a need for staff to create programming for and with community agencies. The proposals wanted to expand staff to provide much greater service to local non-profit agencies than is available now. Neither the government channel nor PATV is able to go out and provide a program for all local non-profits. The Buske and Rice, Williams surveys indicate this has been a consistent need and interest of local agencies. Jeppsen said the difference, as identified over the past year, between a community programming need and a public access need is that identified by McKray. There has been a feeling expressed by PATV that they do provide some community programming and perhaps enough; however, there has been some disagreement if the public access provider should reach out and provide those services. Paine said that training is PATV's strong point. If an organization wishes to produce a program as part of their outreach, they can send someone through PATV's workshops. This is the most efficient use of PATV's resources. PATV is unable to support program production for local agencies because it diminishes the public access function due to the time and resources it takes. PATV wants to separate efforts and resources for public access and community programming. Hoch asked if it was PATV's position that without additional funds from the City, there would be no reallocation of PATV resources to provide more programming. Steve Wurtzler said their community programming proposal sums up their position that public access Broadband Telecommumcations Commission December 18, 1995 Page 4 and community programming should be separate functions. Rothenbuhler asked to be refreshed on how it was determined there was a need for commun,ty programming. Shaffer said surveys were completed by Rice, Williams and Sue Buske as part of the information gathering process for the refranchising process. Those surveys indicated there were a number of local, non-profit organizations wishing to utilize local programming but lacked the staff time or money to undertake such projects. Rothenbuhler asked how that need was assessed, and voted that depending on the wording of the question there may be a greater need for interest in community programming among the non-profits because the difficulty of the test was not high enough. If it is too easy to respond affirmatively, a higher level of need may have been indicated. If more commitment is required by the organization to respond affirmatively, actual interest may be lower. Shaffer said answers to those questions could be concluded by reviewing the surveys. Hoch said it needs to be determined if the community wants to have an organization that is working to produce programming which, in its best judgment, is of interest to the community. This is something Hoch is interested in. Hardy said all access channels receive requests for assistance from various organizations. There is a large demand for community programming, but many non-profits are understaffed and unable to follow through with the public access process. Their needs are often for a single program rather than a long-term commitment. Paine said often the response and success of a single program will generate a desire for more programs by or for that organization. Maurer said it would be h~lpful to determine what each of the access channels are currently doing which might be called community programming. Jeppsen said one approach would be to review the reports from the Buske reports and the Rice, Williams surveys and determine what kind of needs were represented which fit into the category Hardy defined - those who want to make use of the community television resources but are unable. The access channel providers could determine what types of community programming needs are currently being met and the disparity could be ascertained. Fisher said it would be constructive to review the non-profit mailing conducted by PATV. Christian said the amount of channel time currently being used and available will need t~ be considered. Allocation of channel time may need to be shifted to various access channels. Fisher said that the library channel mission statement states that the channel is to support the library. The library channel has time available, but is intended to support the library. McKray said that information on commercial service providers available to be hired out by local organizations is also needed. Some community programming needs can be met by other means than through the local access channel providers. The goal for the next BTC meeting should be to consider the material sent to them concerning community programming and then to begin to define what the Commission and the City expect to accomplish with community programming. Rothenbuhler said several distinctions might help clarify future discussions. First, there is a difference between producing and programming. As for resources, producing has to do with personnel, skills and equipment; programming deals with channel capacity. In terms of the community, producing refers to the ability of community groups to create programs; community-related programming refers to the community having programming of interest to the community. Also, there are several areas of interest. At times there is an orientation towards producers and providing access to the communications system by those who don't own it. Other times the audience is of concern- the communications system should be used m the interest of the audience in some way. Sometimes the subject of the program is of concern. The communications system should serve the people the programming is about ~n some way. Broadband Telecommunications Commission December 18, 1995 Page 5 Some part of community programming is about what programs we want that are about the community. Sometimes we mean we want programs of interest to the community. Sometimes we mean we want the community to come in and create programming. Each of these three distinctions has different outcomes and means something different in terms of allocation of resources. PASS-THROUGH FEE NAME Shaffer said the cable company is permitting the City to name the line item on subscribers' bills for the pass-through fee, which could amount to 50¢ per month per subscription. Blough suggested "local programming." Blough has also suggested a common script for the City and TCI's customer service representatives to use when explaining this item on subscribers' bills. Blough suggested "it is money that stays in iowa City for all local programming functions." Rothenbuhler moved that the Commission recommend to TCI that the pass-through funds be called "local programming" on subscribers' bills. Seconded by Christian. The motion passed unanimously. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Rothenbuhler, seconded by Christian, to adjourn. Unanimously approved. Adjournment at 7:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, C !bl'e~r~nf~f (A d m i nist rat o~