03/08/1982 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

e Touche Ross and Co. and had then ignored the recommendations made in that report for calculating Teleprompter's rate of return. She also regretted that under the proposed amendments the commission would lose the right to ask Teleprompter to meet the standards of the industry. She urged the council to allot a portion of the franchise fee revenues to cable activities. Steve Christiansen, 840 West 22nd Avenue, said he is an independent television producer. He felt that the proposed amendments would enable Teleprompter to continue to use the Eugene/Springfield system as a "cash cow" to provide funds for other, not so profitable systems. He said that under the negotiated agreement, the Cable Commission would give up its regulatory power and make Teleprompter the leader and "expert" in all matters. He felt that the minimal offering for public access might not make operation of the public access channels feasible. He felt that reference to leased access had been deleted from the franchise because leased access presents a threat to Teleprompter's advertising dollars. He emphasized that leased access could provide a great economic boost for the community. He urged the council to put 1981-plus revenues into public access and to consider restructuring the cable commission with members who are more interested in taking an active role in telecommunications issues. e Diana Abernathey, 2080 Riverview, urged councilors to spend some time considering the franchise amendments, since the members of the Cable Commission had voted on the amendments without even reading them. She said that most of the members of the Cable Commission were uninformed about developments in the rapidly changing field of telecommunications and were not receptive to offered information on what is going on in other communities. She said that in Dubuque, Iowa, which has a population of 45,000, Teleprompter had negotiated a franchise that included funding of $660,000 for public access, as well as an institutional network that will encourage economic development. Ms. Abernathey said that the ability to judge the performance of Teleprompter of Oregon in relation to standards in the industry had been a major leverage point for the commission. She regretted that the commission was now recommending giving up that ability. Ms. Abernathey gave some background on her own interest in public access and indicated that those who have worked on public access issues and who were testifying before the council were not all representatives of a special interest group, but that many were there because of their interest in communications opportunities for citizens. Joe Weiner, 875 West Hilliard Lane, regretted that two of the City of Eugene's representatives to the Cable Commission had voted in favor of the amendments and the rate increase package, thereby supporting Teleprompter's use of this community as a "cash cow" for its operations elsewhere. He did not feel that these representatives had represented the best interests of the people of Eugene or the sentiments of the majority of the council. He said that he is a television producer and a member of the National Federation of Local Cable Programmers. He urged that the Cable Commission be disbanded, that the three jurisdictions end their franchise agreement with Teleprompter, and that cable offerings be left to open market competition. Mr. Weiner objected to the negotiations being held in secret. He said that four members of the commission had protested that they did not have time to read the amendments before voting on them. He urged that the City of Eugene's representa- tives on the commission be replaced, with the exception of Glenn Starlin. He e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 1982 Page 5