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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/08/1982 Meeting (2) - ...-'... - -' - - e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council City Council Chamber March 8, 1982 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: D.W. Hamel, Eric Haws, Mark Lindberg, Gretchen Miller, Brian Obie, Emily Schue, Betty Smith, Cynthia Wooten. Regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Gus Keller. I. WOMEN'S COMMISSION RESOLUTION RE: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY (memo, resolution distributed) Councilor Wooten introduced Robin Casey, President of the Eugene Commission on the Rights of Women. Ms. Wooten thanked the members of the commission for tneir work. At Ms. Wooten's request, the members of the commission present in the chamber stood and were recognized. Ms. Casey expressed the appreciation of the commission for the council's support and especially for the council's work in creating the Affirmative Action Task Force and the council's ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Ms. Casey read a resolution in support and celebration of International Women's Day that had been adopted by the Women's Commission at its meeting of March 2, 1982. She said that the commission would continue to make periodic reports and updates to the council. Councilor Miller expressed the appreciation of the council for the efforts of the commi ss ion. Ms. Miller moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that, in recognition of the work of the Women's Commission and in support of International Women's Day, the council direct the Mayor to send a letter of appreciation to the Women's Commission, expressing the support of the council for the work of the commission and indicating that all the positions embodied in the commission's resolution are ones which the council is already on record as supporting. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. II. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Ordinance Amending the Teleprompter Franchise (memo distributed; information under separate cover; ordinance distributed previously) MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 1982 Page 1 ~ -- ::" , e e e Mr. Gleason introduced Kent Gorham of the City Manager's Office who has recently served as staff member for the Metropolitan Area Cable TV/Translator Commission. Mr. Gorham explained that the bill before the council represents amendments pursuant to an agreement reached on January 28, 1982, between Teleprompter of Oregon and the Cable Commission. He explained that the amendments were a part of a package negotiated with Teleprompter and that the package included granting of a rate increase to Teleprompter. Mr. Gorham stated that the public notice requirements of City Charter had been met by means of notices placed in the Eugene Register-Guard on February 15, February 22, and March 1, 1982. Mr. Gorham explained that the process of reviewing a rate increase submitted by Teleprompter, pursuant to conditions outlined in the cable franchise, and the process of reviewing Teleprompter's performance during the first three years of the 15-year franchise agreement had been carried on at the same time and that the amendments negotiated as part of these joint reviews were being presented to the council as a package. He noted, however, that while the council has authority to accept or reject the proposed franchise amendments, the decision on the rate increase request is solely within the purview of the Cable Commission. Mr. Gorham said that the commission had approved the requested increase on January 28, 1982. Mr. Gorham then summarized the highlights of the negotiated franchise amendments. He said that basic cable service would be enhanced by adding one channel and realigning signals to drop duplication and introduce new signals; that responsi- bility for public access and the access center would be turned over to the commission; that Teleprompter would be responsible for providing and maintaining the access center and channels and had, in addition, agreed to provide funding for public access in the amount of $410,000 over the next three years; that the definition of pay TV would be clarified; that the method of calculating Tele- prompter's rate of return would be clarified; and that Teleprompter would be required to charge for the installation of converters. Mr. Gorham said that there were additional minor changes to the franchise. He said that language had been added requiring Teleprompter to inform the Cable Commission of any plans to expand channel capacity. He said that Teleprompter would be obligated to continue providing existing opportunities and facilities for public access until the new access center is in operation. Mr. Gorham said that Keith Martin of the City Attorney's Office, who had served as negotiator for the commission, was present to answer any questions from councilors. Public hearing was opened. Brian Sullivan, General Manager of Teleprompter of Oregon, said that Teleprompter had negotiated in good faith with the Cable Commission. He noted that over a year ago, at the time of a previous rate increase request, Teleprompter had submitted a proposal for provision of public access facilities and opportunities. He said the dollar amount of the proposal currently before the council was five times that offered a year ago. Mr. Sullivan said that the Cable Commission has met diligently over the past year, resulting in the recommendations being MINUTES--Eugene City Council Page 2 March 8, 1982 _ r. '" ~. e considered by the council. He urged the council to adopt these recommendations. He said that any delay in ratifying the recommended amendments would only hurt Teleprompter's subscribers and the councilors' constituents. Mr. Sullivan said that three years ago Teleprompter had committed itself to expanding the service area, expanding the channel capacity, and making technical changes to improve picture quality. He reported that the Cable Commission had reviewed Teleprompter's performance of these commitments and had found that all three areas had been fulfilled and in some cases exceeded. e Mr. Sullivan said that the negotiations between Teleprompter and the Cable Commission had been conducted in a charged atmosphere, but that both sides had negotiatied well. He said that neither party was completely satisfied with the results of the negotiations and that this indicated compromises had been made by both parties. He outlined some of the concessions made by Teleprompter: agreement to notify the commission in advance of intent to expand channel capacity; agreement to free up channel 2 for basic service, at an accelerated rate and therefore at greater expense than originally planned; agreement to provide at cost a mechanical switcher to allow subscribers to basic cable to receive the educational institutional channel; agreement on a definition of and formula for calculating rate of return that includes averaging of assets over a three-year period; and commitment to provide $410,000 in capital and operating expenses for the public access center, plus commitment of additional funds for the salary of a full-time technician for the center, insurance, taxes, and rehabilitation of the center, and in-kind contributions of personnel and equipment. Mr. Sullivan noted that these additional items would bring Teleprompter's total commitment of funds for public access to an amount in excess of $500,000. Mr. Sullivan noted that the City of Springfield had already approved the amendments. He offered to respond to questions from councilors. Duaine L. Hodsdon, 2053 Aldabra Street, urged that as a condition of approval of the franchise amendments, the council deny Teleprompter the right to charge subscribers for convenience outlets. He said that he was in favor of the rate increase. Mr. Hodsdon gave a variety of figures, documented by date and reference, to indicate that other utilities, such as EWEB and Pacific Northwest Bell, do not charge for convenience outlets. He presented information on contacts he had with Teleprompter of Oregon in his efforts to protest such charges. He felt that Teleprompter had deliberately stalled in its responses to his protests, in an effort to have him miss the opportunity to testify at previous cable-related hearings. He said that despite the fact that he had asked Mr. Sullivan to disconnect his service as of March 1, 1982, he still received bills and delinquency notices for service after that date. He said that Mr. Sullivan had refused to give him the name of the firm's chief executive but that he had obtained this information and had written to Westinghouse, the parent company, to complain about his treatment by Teleprompter of Oregon. Lucia McKelvey, 1036 Adams Street, said she is the co-producer of a public access televlsion show. She thanked the council for holding a public hearing on this matter and noted that the Springfield City Council had not done so. She urged that provisions for leased access not be eliminated from the franchise. She said that ability to make use of commercial support for productions was a basic economic issue for local producers and that leased access would not only e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 1982 Page 3 - ~ "- ' e enable this support but would also be a source of revenue for the public access center. Ms. McKelvey said that negotiations with Teleprompter had failEd to provide adequate funding for staff for the access center and that such staff was needed to make the center a success. She questioned whether Councilor Obie might not have a conflict of interest in this matter, since he is in the communications business. Martha Arango Lopez, Earl/Morton Hall, University of Oregon, said she agreed with the concerns expressed by Mr. Hodsdon. She requested clarification of the connection between Teleprompter and Westinghouse. Nancy Carlson, 2352 Onyx Street, said she had read about the proposed amendments in the Oregon Daily Emerald. She asked staff to explain in simple terms the purpose of the amendments. Fred Simmons, 312 South 52nd Place, Springfield, said that there were some beneflclal things included in the amendments before the council, particularly Teleprompter's commitment to funding for public access. He disagreed with Mr. Sullivan's earlier statement and said that Teleprompter's present offer of funds for public access was approximately twice, not five times that made a year ago. He said that Teleprompter was already in the process of obtaining the necessary permits from the City Building Division for remodeling the access center building. He therefore urged the council not to delay approval of the amendments, since Teleprompter will not begin construction until the amendments are adopted. e Mr. Simmons said that negotiations should not be held in secret. He said that public negotiations that had been conducted in Dubuque, Iowa, had produced the quality cable franchise agreement that Eugene/Springfield deserves. Mr. Simmons urged the council to support the 1981-plus funding concept to provide an adequate budget for the operation of the Cable Commission and for public access. He said that when the review of the fiscal commitment of the grantor and the grantee to public access is examined in September 1983, Teleprompter should be asked to make a larger financial contribution. He urged that Teleprompter voluntarily contribute more funds for staffing of the center. Lois Wadsworth, 1540 Wilson Street, thanked the council for holding a public hearing on this matter. She recognized that the issues were technical and complex and therefore difficult for councilors to grasp. She felt that the proposed amendments represented an erosion of the oversight capabilities of the Cable Commission, particularly in the regulation of pay TV, in which the commission would lose all ability to consider or regulate charges for future programming. She said that ground had also been lost in the area of leased access and in the reduction from the four public access channels Teleprompter had promised in September 1981 to the two channels now offered. Ms. Wadsworth regretted that Mr. Martin had felt it necessary to conduct major franchise negotiations in such haste, under what she believed to be the arti- ficial deadline of 90 days for consideration of the rate increase request. She said that as a result of adherence to this artificial deadline, the cable commissioners had to vote on the amendments without reading them. She was concerned that the commission had spent $20,000 for a financial report from e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 1982 Page 4 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 e quoted Mr. Starlin as having said that under the provlslons for public access in the proposed amendments, public access was doomed to fail, since without adequate staffing, the equipment purchased would not be used. Mr. Weiner felt that availability of 1981-plus funds for public access would improve this situation. Mr. Weiner was concerned that Carol Baker and other staff members of the Cable Commission were placed in the position of voting on policy and of voting on the recommendations and work of other staff members. He said cable television should be a key element in any local economic development plan and discussed the potentials of cable television for business communications and for video con- ferencing. He also felt that availability of leased access was important to the well-being of local small businesses. Mr. Weiner said he felt that councilors Obie and Smith should declare conflicts of interest and abstain from voting on this matter, since there will be competition for advertising dollars with telecommunications systems in which they have interests. He felt that the council had been trapped with no choice for action on this matter. He urged that the City of Eugene form a task force to study this issue. e Sharon Genasci, 980 East 19th Avenue, said that she is an independent film and video producer. She asked whether the failure of the council to take action on the amendments at this meeting would really hold up work on public access. She felt that it is important for all citizens to have access to television production, since viewing television is a dominant part of American life. She said that public access programming in Knoxville, Tennessee, includes live broadcast of all important City Council and County Commission meetings; ten percent religious programming; high school basketball games; and a local magazine-format news show. She said that the $50,000 per year allocated in the franchise amendments for operating expenses for the access center is totally inadequate. She said it was critical that adequate staff be available to work with community groups and to train them in the use of the center and equipment. She said that leased access would be a source of income for the center and that it is an important part of public access nationwide. Dave Sweet, 963 Jackson Street, said he is a member of the Earth of Love non-profit cable corporation but that he was speaking as a private citizen. He said he has attended meetings of the Public Access Advisory Committee and noted that the group had not had a quorum of members present at its last two meetings. He said that the councilors must protect the rights of the citizens of Eugene by providing for adequate public access. He said that the City of Skokie, Illinois, with a population of 64,000, had recently signed a franchise with Teleprompter that would provide subscribers with 90 channels at $6.95 per month. Mr. Sweet said that the studio that has been leased by Teleprompter for public access was inadequate and would not allow for any growth and suggested that the Lincoln School building be leased instead. He said that he would provide additional written testimony for the council. Bill Lioio, 2678 Sharon Way, said that he felt there is no need for public access, and he did not want to pay for it. He suggested that Teleprompter1s subscribers be polled to see if they are willing to support public access e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 1982 Page 6 e e e through their monthly payments. He endorsed the suggestion of Mr. Weiner that provision of cable services be left to open market competition. Mr. Lioio felt that local producers should be responsible for raising funds for their own productions and should not have their work subsidized through public access. Public hearing was closed. Mr. Martin responded to questions raised during public testimony. Regarding the suggestion that Mr. Obie or Ms. Smith might have a conflict of interest on this matter, Mr. Martin said that as the franchise and the proposed amendments are currently worded, neither Mr. Obie or Ms. Smith had a direct pecuniary interest that would require their disqualification from voting on this matter. He said that if public access facilities were competing for private advertising dollars, then a conflict could exist, but that the proposal before the council did not include opportunties for such competition. Mr. Martin said that the transfer of Teleprompter's stock to Westinghouse had been approved by the three jurisdictions involved in the franchise, and that Teleprompter in turn holds the stock for Teleprompter of Oregon. Mr. Martin noted that the information packet submitted to the council did not reproduce any but the amended portions of the franchise. He felt that confusion over this fact might have led to some of the concern regarding leased access. He said that the amended franchise would provide opportunity for governmental, educational, or public programming. He said that the intent of establishment of the access center was to provide programming for the community. He said that production of this programming could be sponsored by the private sector, but that there could be no advertising on the public access channel--the sponsorship information could, however, be presented at the beginning and end of the program, as is done with many public television programs. Mr. Martin discussed the purpose of the amendments. He said that they were the result of the Cable Commission's review of Teleprompter's performance, desire to change and expand available programming, and desire to clarify items in the original franchise. Mr. Martin personally felt that none of the powers of the commission was reduced by the proposed amendments. He said that the commission had never had authority in the area of pay TV beyond that in the franchise. He said that the proposed change in the definition of pay TV would prevent Tele- prompter from charging a fee for signals already broadcast elsewhere. Mr. Martin said that the four public access channels previously promised by Teleprompter would still be available, as they are needed, and that the proposed realignment of the channels included provisions for an A-B switch to allow subscribers to basic cable to receive a second public access channel by purchasing the switch from Teleprompter at cost. Mr. Martin emphasized that under the provisions proposed in the amendments, the Cable Commission would assume all responsibility for public access. He said that commissioners agreed that more funding would be needed, but he pointed out that the proposed funding represents a major increase over the offerings made at the time of franchise adoption and at the time of the rate increase request discussions of one year ago. MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 1982 Page 7 e Mr. Martin reiterated that two processes, the triennial franchise review and the response to Teleprompter's rate increase request, were being conducted at the same time. He noted that the commission had no control over Teleprompter's submittal of rate increase requests. He said that no one was happy with the process that had to be used or with the necessity for haste. Mr. Martin noted that the financial evaluation prepared for the commission by Touche Ross had mentioned use of asset figures as one alternative for calculating rate of return. He noted that under the proposed amendments, the commission retains the right to determine what the rate of return will be. Mr. Martin said that the commission had a great deal of trouble dealing with evaluation of "reasonable standards in the industry." He said that there did not seem to be universal or even nationwide standards, since each community's needs and circumstances are unique. He said that this language had therefore been clarified in the proposed amendments. Regarding the references to the Dubuque franchise, Mr. Martin noted that there are major differences in bargaining power for new cable systems. The council took a brief recess. e Councilor Wooten asked Mr. Martin what would happen if the Eugene City Council or the Lane County Board of Commissioners fails to ratify the amendments. Mr. Martin responded that if the Cable Commission is unable to obtain approval for the amendments from all three of the jurisdictions, the matter will go into factfinding, then mediation, and finally binding arbitration. This arbitration would require that amendments be binding on all three jurisdictions. Ms. Wooten asked if the scope of the arbitration could be limited to the issues of dis- crepancy, or whether the entire franchise would be subject to arbitration. Mr. Martin responded that the scope could only be limited if the commission and Teleprompter agree on stipulation of issues to be arbitrated. He felt that since the proposal is a package, any issue could be raised. Ms. Wooten said she was concerned about testimony protesting limits to leased access opportunites for commercially sponsored productions. She agreed that additional sources of revenue are needed for the access center. She asked how the $50,000 amount of Teleprompter's contribution to the operating expenses of the center had been derived. Mr. Martin responded that commissioners recognize that more than $50,000 will be needed for operating expenses for the center, but that this had been a compromise figure both among commission members and in negotiations between the commission and Teleprompter. Mr. Martin said that some members of the commission believe that cable rate payers should pay a portion of the costs of public access and some believe that this should not happen. Mr. Martin said that there will be additional sources of revenue for the access center, such as making charges to public bodies that use the facilities. Responding to further questions from Ms. Wooten, Mr. Martin said that the commission had not had time to research information on the budgets of other public access facilities. The commission did recognize that hiring a full-time coordinator for the center was important and felt that the $50,000 amount would permit this. Mr. Martin noted that language had been included in the proposed e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 1982 Page 8 e amendments that would require evaluation of funding for public access in September 1983 and that the adequacy of the operating budget could be reviewed at that time. Ms. Wooten said she understood that Teleprompter's subscribers had been surveyed for their views on public access and that the majority of subscribers had expressed interest in public access. Mr. Martin said that this was the case, but noted that the survey had not included questions on whether the subscribers would be willing to pay for public access. Councilor Lindberg was concerned with elimination of meeting industry standards as a tool for evaluating Teleprompter's performance. He was also concerned with the proposed method for calculating rate of return. He asked if there were any way to bring the Eugene system up to the level of more recent franchises. Mr. Martin responded that the commission retains the right to determine what is a fair rate of return. He said that under the terms of the franchise, the commission cannot be arbitrary in its evaluation of Teleprompter's meeting of industry standards, but that it can compare Teleprompter's offerings with new developments and new technologies being offered in other areas. He added that the commission has the right to evaluate Teleprompter's performance at any time, not just during required triennial review periods. Mr. Lindberg asked whether location of the access center was already determined. Mr. Martin responded that provision of the access facility is up to Teleprompter, that Teleprompter had already signed a lease for a facility, and that he did not know if the lease could be broken. e Mr. Lindberg asked about implementation of the 1981-plus funding for cable activities. Mr. Martin responded that this would have to be addressed through the jurisdictions' local budget committees. He said that the franchise revenues currently go into the general funds of the three jurisdictions. He said that if all three jurisdictions agreed to the 1981-plus concept, funding of $18,000 to $20,000 would be available for cable activities in FY1982-83. He noted that the commission had discussed the possibility of raising the franchise fee amount from 3 percent to 5 percent, but that if this is done, the full amount would have to be used for cable regulation activites, and none of the fees could be used for general fund purposes. Responding to a further question from Mr. Lindberg, Mr. Martin said that Eugene's portion of the distributed franchise fee revenues is approximately 55 percent. Councilor Smith noted that she had previously requested an oplnlon from the City Attorney as to whether she might have a conflict of interest in this matter and had been advised that no conflict existed. She asked if the Cable Commission had discussed the possibility of having the public access facility be self-supporting. Mr. Martin responded that the commission had considered a number of possible budgets for the access center. He noted that the Public Access Advisory Committee had submitted a recommended budget, but that the commission had not adopted this budget. He reiterated that the amount of funding for public access was a matter of compromise among members of the commission. He said that the commission had made the decision not to involve the center in commercial leased access. He said that the Public Access Advisory Committee was now working to come up with a budget for operations within the negotiated funding amount. He noted that under e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 1982 Page 9 ; e the negotiated agreement with Teleprompter, funds for the access center would be delivered to the commission as soon as the franchise amendments are approved by all three jurisdictibns. Ms. Smith asked if the Cable Commission would retain sole authority for disbursement of those funds. Mr. Martin responded that the budget committees might wish to address this issue when they consider cable-related fund requests. Councilor Miller asked whether the Cable Commission itself had voted to drop provisions for leased access. Mr. Martin said that reference to leased access is made in the original franchise, but that such access is under the domain of Teleprompter. He said that the commission had voted not to allow leased access through the public access center. Mr. Martin added that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) did not permit leased access, but that if leased access provisions are made a part of a contract between a cable provider and a local government, the FCC will not intervene. Ms. Miller asked when the Cable Commission had made this decision regarding leased access. Mr. Martin said he believed that the decision was made in November or December 1981, during the commission's goal-setting discussions. e Councilor Schue asked why a City staff member was a voting member of the com- mission. Mr. Martin responded that the structure of the commission had been decided on by the County Commissioners and the Eugene and Springfield City Councilors at the time that the franchise was adopted three years ago. He said that staff members recently had expressed great discomfort with this arrangement and that the commission would soon be addressing the issue of its composition. He said that the current composition calls for each of the three jurisdictions to be represented by one elected official, one staff member, and one citizen- at-large. Councilor Wooten asked if the majority of other communities extend their authority to regulation of such pay TV offerings as Home Box Office and Showtime. Mr. Martin responded that regulation of pay TV rates is only done by agreement with the cable company, since the policy of the FCC is that there will be no local regulation of rates. He added that the Eugene/Springfield franchise agreement calls for such regulation to occur in the event that the FCC drops this policy. Mr. Gleason added that there was considerable national debate as to whether the provisions of existing local franchises were pre-empted by the FCC, and that the FCC had said that it would not intervene in matters in which both parties agree. Ms. Wooten asked if this meant there is no way for the commission to regulate rates other than the basic rate. Mr. Martin said that all four public access channels will be regulated by the commission; that Teleprompter must file all its rates with the commission; that the community receives franchise revenues based on all sources of Teleprompter's earnings; and that the commission retains some leverage on this matter through its ability to regulate rate of return. He added that the commission found that to some extent pay TV is currently subsidizing basic service. Ms. Wooten asked how other cities measure the extent to which cable operators meet the standards of the industry. Mr. Martin responded that this is usually done through comparison with similar situations. Ms. Wooten asked what was done in other communities with older franchises and systems. Mr. Martin said that most of these communities do not have provisions in their franchise agreements - MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 1982 Page 10 e for reviews, such as the Eugene/Springfield franchise's triennial reviews, and that these communities are therefore unable to make franchise changes until expiration of the current agreements. Councilor Lindberg said he felt the timing of the community's entry into the cable market seemed to playa major role in what is offered through the cable system. He said that Eugene and Springfield are going to have to strive to catch up with offerings in other systems. He did not want to risk losing the gains that had been made by going into binding arbitration and was therefore inclined to accept the current proposal. Mr. Lindberg asked that the Cable Commission address the following concerns: 1) improvement of public access opportunities, especially for low-income people; 2) creation and protection of markets for non-profit groups and small enterprises that cannot work through commercial television; 3) support of the area's economic development efforts, particularly as they relate to the arts, through creation of local arts-related business enterprises; 4) support for 1981-plus funding for public access--Mr. Lindberg felt that City of Eugene could afford to give up its share of revenues to benefit public access; 5) improvement of the review and regulation processes used by the commission, to provide openness and to allow early identification of and public comment on the issues to be negotiated. e Councilor Miller felt that the existing franchise had some real shortcomings, and that the council was trapped by circumstances into dealing with compromises that had already been made. She felt that the nature and quality of thE representation of the City of Eugene on the Cable Commission were the responsi- bility of the council and that this matter needed to be addressed. She said that the council needed to ask for more frequent reports on cable issues and perhaps to give direction to its representatives regarding voting on particular issues. Ms. Miller responded to the concerns raised by Mr. Hodsdon. She said that telephone and electrical utilities are able to monitor the extent of use of their product through convenience outlets but that Teleprompter is not. She hoped that under the direction of Westinghouse, Teleprompter would become more responsive to the needs of its subscribers. Ms. Miller said that public access television can provide an opportunity for exchange of information and ideas similar to opportunities provided by public schools and public libraries. She supported the 1981-plus funding formula for public access. She agreed that permanent staff must be provided for the Cable Commission. Ms. Miller hoped that secret negotiations could be avoided in the future. She hoped that the structure and funding of the Cable Commission would be addressed during the upcoming discussion of amending current intergovernmental agency arrangements. Councilor Schue agreed with the comments of Ms. Miller and Mr. Lindberg. She underscored the need for adequate staff, with expertise in the area of television, for the Cable Commission. She agreed that the council needed to be better educated on cable issues. She said that she would vote in favor of the current proposal, since she believed that rejecting it would create more problems than it would solve. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 1982 Page 11 e Councilor Wooten thanked the volunteers who have worked on the issue of public access broadcasting. She said that she had spent considerable time studying the proposed changes to the franchise and had the following concerns: 1) she wanted public access television to work and did not see how it could be a success on a budget of $50,000; 2) she felt that using leased access and other revenue- generating activities would be healthy for public access and would help public access become self-supporting; and 3) she felt that the area of pay TV is changing so rapidly that the commission needs to discuss when and how to request the next franchise evaluation. Councilor Haws said that he found the whole process extremely frustrating. He asked staff to work on improving the process. He said that Teleprompter was a poor utility and did not meet up to Eugene's standards or to the standards of other utilities serving the city. He said that he would vote against the proposed amendments as a protest against Teleprompter. He said that the citizens of Eugene deserve the same level of cable service as other cities. Mr. Lindberg said that providing good representation on the Cable Commission was the responsibility of the council. He said that on a number of occasions Mr. Hamel had asked councilors to give him direction and that councilors had not done so. He suggested that a small subcommittee of the council be formed to discuss the issues, formulate positions, and provide information for its representative. e Councilor Obie expressed surprise at the charges that he had a conflict of interest on this matter and noted that he is not involved in the television business. He said that the $410,000 expenditure for public access came ultimately from the rate payers, not from Teleprompter. He said the rate payers should be polled to determine whether they wish to pay for public access. He said that public access is available now on Eugene's commercial television statio~s and on statewide publicly owned stations. Mr. Obie said that he would vote against the franchise amendments, since cable subscribers have not been polled to determine whether they are willing to pay for public access television. Councilor Hamel said he had listened to the arguments of public access advocates for fifteen months. He said that he had attended cable information meetings sponsored by the National League of Cities. He said that there is no standard of the art in the cable industry and that the Eugene-Springfield area must create its own standard. He said that he had asked for input from councilors on this issue but had not received it. He said that he would vote in favor of the amendments. Mayor Keller said that the council had not studied cable issues, but had instead delegated cable-related decisions to the Cable Commission. He said the council could therefore only blame itself if it was unhappy with the process that had been used or the results of negotiations. He said it appeared that several councilors favor the 1981-plus funding formula and suggested that discussion of this matter be pursued through traditional budget channels and be considered by the full Budget Committee. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 1982 Page 12 .~ ~ e Councilor Smith said that she would vote in favor of the amendments, but she requested that the council be provided with information on the budgeting process of the Cable Commission. CB 2428--An ordinance amending Ordinance No. 18284 entitled "An Ordinance Granting to Teleprompter Corporation a Non- Exclusive Franchise for the Operation of a Cable Communications System;" and declaring an emergency. Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote; motion carried 5:3, with Councilors Miller, Schue, Lindberg, Hamel, and Smith voting in favor, and Councilors Obie, Haws, and Wooten voting in opposition. The bill was declared passed and numbered 18936. II, B. Ordinance Amending Chapter 5 (Traffic Section) of the City Code (memo distributed; ordinance distributed previously) Mr. Gleason introduced Parking Administrator Duane Bischoff and said Mr. Bischoff was present to respond to questions from councilors. Public hearing was opened. There being no members of the public who wished to speak, public hearing was closed. e Mr. Martin called the attention of councilors to Section 5.225 of the code and noted that the amendments to that section were needed to provide for emergency towing of vehicles. CB 2435--An ordinance concerning regulation of traffic and park- ing, removal of abandoned vehicles, impoundment of vehicles: re-enacting Section 5.005 of the Eugene Code, 1971; amending Sections 5.040, 5.055, 5.135, 5.220, 5.225, 5.255, 5.260, 5.270, 5.655, 5.670, 5.695, 5.700, 5.705, and 5.990 of that code; adding Sections 5.231, 5.290, 5.653, 5.675, 5.693, 5.697, 5.699, 5.980, and 5.995 to that Code; repealing Sections 5.210, 5.230, 5.235, 5.245, 5.250, 5.375, 5.660, and 5.710 of that code; and declaring an emergency. Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the bill be read the second time by council bill number only, with unanimous consent of the council, and that enactment be considered at this time. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. Council bill 2435 was read the second time by council bill number only. Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote. All councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed and numbered 18937. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 1982 Page 13 ~ e III. ORDINANCE FOR SECOND READING: REZONING FOR PROPERTY LOCATED ON THE WEST SIDE OF WASHINGTON BETWEEN 7TH AND 8TH AVENUES FROM R-3 MULTIPLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT TO MU DOWNTOWN WESTSIDE MIXED-USE DISTRICT (Helen Pease) (Z 81-19) (map distributed) Recommended approval by Planning Commission December 1, 1981. Vote: 7:0 Mr. Gleason noted that a representative of the Planning Department was present to answer any questions for councilors. CB 2431--An ordinance authorizing rezoning from R-3 Multiple- Family Residential District to MU Downtown Westside Mixed-Use District for property located on the west side of Washington between 7th and 8th avenues. Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote; motion carried 5:3, with councilors Smith, Obie, Hamel, Lindberg, and Schue voting in favor, and councilors Haws, Miller, and Wooten voting in opposition. The bill was declared passed and numbered 18938. IV. ORDINANCES FOR FIRST READING: LEVYING OF ASSESSMENTS--REFERRAL TO ASSESSMENT HEARING PANEL e Mr. Gleason noted that staff members were present to respond to questions from councilors. CB 2436--An ordinance levying assessments for paving, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and pedestrian way within and adja- cent to Treehouse PUD; sanitary sewer on Frederick Court from 35th Place to 450 feet west; and paving Dellwood Drive from 450 feet northwest of 38th Avenue to 650 feet northwest of 38th Avenue; and storm sewer between Dell- wood Drive and 38th Avenue to serve lot 10, block 2, Clayton Hill subdivision, and lots 53 and 54 of Treehouse subdivision (79-40). Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the bill be read the first time and referred to the Assessment Hearing Panel for hearing March 15, 1982, with panel recommendations to be brought back for council consideration April 12, 1982. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. CB 2437--An ordinance levying assessments for paving and con- structing storm sewer on Dillard Road from East Amazon Drive to East 43rd Avenue and paving and storm sewer on 43rd Avenue and North Shasta Loop from Dillard Road to existing paving on North Shasta Loop (79-41). e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 1982 Page 14 " .' e Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the bill be read the first time and referred to the Assessment Hearing Panel for hearing March 15, 1982, with panel recommendations to be brought back for council consideration April 12, 1982. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. v. DISCUSSION OF WORK TOWARD JOINT RESOLUTION OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL ISSUES Mr. Gleason said that at its March 10, 1982, meeting, the council would be discussing possible joint efforts involving work with Springfield and Lane County to resolve a number of intergovernmental issues. He said that approxi- mately one year ago, the elected officials of the three jurisdictions had asked that their staff members get together to develop recommendations for such joint efforts. He said that such a move seemed particularly appropriate in light of the revenue shortfalls being experienced by Eugene and Lane County. Mr. Gleason said that staff would be asking the council to consider the possibility of dealing with a number of intergovernmental issues as one unit rather thQn as three separate agencies. He noted that the County Commissioners and the Spring- field City Councilors were currently considering this suggestion. Meeting was adjourned to March 10, 1982. . ;.;?~-- Micheal D. Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Darcy Marentette) MDG:DCM:cm/CM7a3 - MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 1982 Page 15