Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-11-29 - Board of Trustees Special Meeting Minutes November 29, 2001 VILLAGE OF RYE BROOK BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING VILLAGE HALL, 938 KING STREET THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2001 7:30 p.m. AGENDA DISCUSSION: PUBLIC ACCESS GUIDELINES CONVENE: The joint meeting of the Board of Trustees and the Telecommunications Commission was called to order at 7:40 p.m. by Mayor Francis Filipowski. The roundtable discussion, which was held in the Meeting Room, focused on the Village of Rye Brook Government Access Channel and the Public Access Guidelines. PRESENT: The Board of Trustees Mayor Francis Filipowski Trustee Jody Brackman Trustee Donald Degling Trustee Lawrence Rand Trustee Dean Santon Telecommunications Commission Members Peter Berman David Bromberg Marc Goldstein Lori Hecker Pamela Kaplow Pete Sgro Mark Klapper Mark Guffey It was noted that Ed Howe, Telecommunications Commission Chair, was unable to attend the meeting. 1 Board of Trustee Meeting i November 29, 2001 Village Staff Christopher Bradbury, Village Administrator Ingrid Richards, Assist. to the Village Administrator Paula Patafio, Meeting Secretary Mayor Filipowski noted that the members of the Board of Trustees have reviewed the document presented to them by the Telecommunications Commission. He asked if the opinion of the Board was that it wished to accept the document as a whole. The Board, unanimously, felt that it should be accepted as a whole. He asked if there was any area that should be discussed. Trustee Degling stated that the document should be reviewed page-by-page in order to make the necessary corrections. The Board agreed. It was noted that the Telecommunications Commission is an advisory Commission, and this document has been presented to the Board of Trustees for its review and approval. Ms. Ingrid Richards was asked by Mr. Christopher Bradbury, Village Administrator, to keep a master copy of all changes that would be proposed. The Board began its review of the document. Lori Hecker pointed that on page two of the document the guidelines for use of Village equipment, which will be installed, are set forth. A review of the definitions on page three resulted in a request from Trustee Lawrence Rand. He noted that currently Cablevision of Southern Westchester is the provider, but that may not always be the case. Mayor Filipowski read the correction: "Time on the signal path currently provided by Cablevision of Southern Westchester, or its successor, to the Village of Rye-Brook for use Access Users." Trustee Dean Santon noted that the original intention was to have a government channel, a public access channel, and an education channel. Lori Hecker noted that originally the two school districts did share a channel, the second channel was for public access and the third was the government channel. Unfortunately this set-up didn't work. The two school districts were alternating every other week, but this meant that if there was something going on in a district and it wasn't its week, it had to wait until the next week. Therefore, a decision was made to split one channel between government access and public access, and one channel was dedicated to each school district. There is a possibility, in the future, that Rye Brook could possibly receive a fourth channel, but it would need to demonstrate the need. 2 Board of Trustee Meeting November 29, 2001 Trustee Santon asked if the two educational channels were run by the districts or by the Board of Trustees. Lori Hecker noted that technically the channels are run under the discretion of the Board, but never has the government been involved in running the two channels. It was also noted that the licensing has been made to the Village and not the school districts. Pete Sgro noted that the Commission has worked hard to make the public access and the government channel rules very clear. He stated that there will be dedicated time frames for government access to run. Trustee Rand began a discussion regarding the Public Access Coordinator position. It was noted that this is a very critical position. Pete Sgro stated that this individual will be responsible for scheduling the programming on the channels and for dealing with the public. This person will be hired by the Village Administrator, with the approval of the Board of Trustees. The Telecommunication Commission noted that Section 4 (Rules Governing the Public Access Channel) was written to explain the requirements for the ability to use this channel. It was noted that service area is a boilerplate definition, and that Rye Brook is the service area. The next area for discussion was the Community Billboard. It was noted that the Billboard may not be used for political messages. Trustee Santon read a portion of Section 6.11 "....Messages submitted shall be cablecast at the discretion of the PAC. The community billboard may not be used for political messages." He then asked who would be determining what was and what was not political. The response was that this would be the responsibility of the Public Access Coordinators (PAC). Trustee Jody Brackman noted that the Billboard would be used to announce activities. Trustee Santon felt that the wording of this Section was an attempt to regulate the content on a public access billboard. Trustee Degling suggested a wording change that could clarify this issue. In addition, Trustee Brackman suggested that the Village Attorney be asked to review the wording in this Section. Pete Sgro noted that in Section 8.1.3 the issue of not promoting political advocacy is addressed. This section addresses not allowing political advocacy. The Community Billboard was intended for use by the community to announce community events. Trustee Santon suggested limiting the shelf-space, or wording, on these types of announcements. A suggestion was made to make a form available on the website, to be downloaded, and used by individuals wishing to place an event notification on the Billboard. The decision was made that in order to have a message appear on the billboard a form must be completed. The number maximum number of words will be 3 Board of Trustee Meeting November 29, 2001 indicated on the form. Community billboard will be required to complete and submit a community billboard use application form. A clause was added noting that all forms must be submitted no less than three days prior to the date that the event will be listed on the Billboard. Throughout the review, Trustee Degling edited the document grammatically. These suggestions were accepted by both the Board of Trustees and the Telecommunications Commission. Trustee Santon questioned the Section regarding release forms. He felt that if someone were to videotape a basketball game at one of the schools, and there were crowd shots, it would be impossible to obtain release forms fiom everyone in the shot. The response was that the onus for obtaining the release forms was on the person submitting the video, not on the Village. It was also noted that anything out in the open is `fair game.' In other words, it is acceptable for an individual to take a video in a public place, where he/she was invited, and where video and picture taking is not prohibited. If the video/photograph was taken in a public place, then it will also be allowed. A concern regarding indemnification was raised. Pete Sgro stated that this issue was covered in Section 12.1. Although it is a Trustee who is named in lawsuits against the Village, it is the Village's responsibility and ultimately the Village that is being sued. In order to clarify this further, a note was added to Section 11.1, referring to Section 12.1. The next area discussed was the area surrounding the appeals process. The PAC is responsible for making all decisions. The PAC is supervised by the Village Administrator. Should a public request be denied, the Section on Appeals explains the process. Ultimately, the decision of the Village Administrator is final. Mr. Bradbury noted that he would be consulting the Village's Attorney on an as-needed basis. The discussion was then turned to Political Programming Policy. It was noted that all candidates, including Write-In Candidates, should be allowed access. The eligibility requirements for placement on the ballet for public office was clarified. Trustee Santon asked that the Board clarify the time period for a candidate to submit videos. He felt that it was important that there be a start date, playback period, and a final play date. It was noted that the PAC would not be waiting for all candidates to submit their videos prior to airing. The videos will be aired upon receipt, in a random order. They will be re-shuffled upon receipt of a new video from another candidate. The time between submission and play depends upon how fast the PAC can get the videos on. The PAC is allowed three business days to reshuffle the tapes and make sure that they are 4 Board of Trustee Meeting November 29, 2001 aired. This way if a candidate has prepared his/her video early he/she should not be penalized and made to wait for the rest of the candidates to make their submissions. It was reiterated that the sequence for running the videos is determined randomly. That sequence remains the same until a new tape is received— and then they are all reshuffled. The tapes will not run over and over again over a 24-hour period. They will only be run four times per day. It was also noted that the PAC has three working days to air a tape submitted by a candidate. Each candidate will be allowed one tape. A member of the public addressed the Board. Having come to the meeting late, he missed the majority of the discussion. He asked for clarification regarding what was being scheduled for each of the three channels that the Village holds the license for. Mayor Filipowski stated that there were two educational channels and the third channel was shared between public access and government access. It is important to note that the educational channels cannot air anything of a political nature. Mayor Filipowski stated that this document has been produced by a group of individuals who have worked very hard on it. Each member has a different background, and he noted that the Telecommunications Commission had accomplished an amazing job on the Guidelines. This document provides for additional information to be aired on a channel that is currently showing Board meetings, Planning Board meetings, etc. There is a limited amount of time to be shared on Channel 71. Public access will not be run around the clock during campaign times, The Board continued its discussion regarding campaign videos. Mr. Bradbury stated that the Board needed to consider vacation time, personal days and sick times of employees when setting timeframes for airing of videos. Keeping this in mind, the theory laid out in the Guidelines needs to be made manageable for Rye Brook employees. It was, therefore, specified that the PAC has up to three business days to place a video on the Public Access Channel. It was decided that the beginning period of playback needed to be narrowed down. This timeframe needed to consider what a reasonable amount of time would be following the nominating petition deadline. The result of the ensuing discussion was that realistically the Board was only talking about a four-week period. The first date on which candidates' videos will be aired is the Monday following the deadline for filing the Nominating Petition. The last date for airing of the videos will be the Monday before the elections. The same procedure will be followed for school board elections. The Telecommunications Commission stated that they have been reviewing these issues for many months. They have had the same back and forth on the issues that have taken 5 Board of Trustee Meeting November 29, 2001 place at this meeting. All election issues have been considered when creating these Guidelines. Now it is time for the theory to be put into practice to see if it will work. Trustee Santon questioned forms and debates. It was noted that only 501(C)3 organizations will be allowed to use the public access channel. These groups can also request assistance from the Village regarding viewing. Time slots are designated for public access. One example is a debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters. These sponsored debates are non-partisan, and it is a community service. There are designated blocks to be used for government access and designated blocks for public access. These debates will air during the public access time blocks. The 501(C)3 status makes it clear that it is a public event. There are a lot of gray areas regarding these debates that needs to be carefully reviewed. Trustee Santon felt that there was an unfairness. A member of the Telecommunication Commission stated that there was no unfairness. Whether or not the debate was sponsored by a 501(C)3 organization, or by a PUD within the Village, the debate would be aired. One during the public access block, and the other on the government channel block. Mayor Filipowski asked for final comments on the document that needed to be addressed. He felt that both Boards needed to continue reviewing the outstanding items, and come back for a second meeting. The Board of Trustees can make modifications to this document before the next scheduled Board meeting. If something does not work after the election, the Board has the ability to modify the document. There being no further business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Christopher J. B a7i ury Village Clerk 6 Board of Trustee Meeting