01/14/1987 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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e the Cable/Television Commission have been reduced. He said the commission has citizen and staff members as well as elected officials. He said the consolidation was intended to ensure that elected officials provide policy direction on cable issues. He said the franchise re-evaluation every three years, as well as several other issues, will be considered by the MPC. Mr. Gleason said each of the organizations to be consolidated must make recommendations to the governing bodies. Sometimes the coordination is awkward and work has to be duplicated. He said the staff support for the USPC was streamlined to replicate the policy system so that one staff position is presented to the elected officials on the committee. He said governing is done by the elected officials and coordination through one policy committee works very well. Therefore, he supports the consolidation. Ms. Bascom said she thought the council would discuss the PEG (Public, Education, Government) public access channels when it discussed the Cable/Television Commission. She said it might be better to form another organization to consider the PEG channels. She said some people who applied for positions on the Cable/Television Commission were interested in the PEG system. Mayor Obie said the council should decide if it wants meetings televised on a PEG channel. e Ms. Wooten said issues relating to the cable franchise, the PEG channels, the cable system, and telecommunications are complex and volatile enough that citizen representation on a separate body is necessary. She said she supports streamlining and coordination but she favors maintaining the Cable/Television Commission as a separate body. Ms. Schue said the remaining regulatory functions and franchise evaluation duties of the Cable/Television Commission could be consolidated into the MPC. She suggested that community television issues should be handled separately and should involve community participation. Mayor Obie agreed with Ms. Schue. He said another body could make recommendations about the franchise to the MPC. He said decisions about the cable franchise fee and levels of service are one issue and decisions about the allocation of the franchise fee are another issue. He said the Budget Committee should decide about allocating the franchise fee. Ms. Bascom said the U.S. Congress may change the legislation concerning cable systems and, if so, the council could change its position. She said she will support the consolidation as long as she knows the council will discuss the PEG channels later. Replying to questions from Mayor Obie, City Attorney Keith Martin said the MPC could consider television issues that affect the franchise and make recommendations to the elected bodies which will decide the scope of negotiations. Some ordinance changes will be required because the Cable/Television Commission is an intergovernmental organization. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 14, 1987 Page 4