MINUTES of SPECIAL MEETING
ACTV Board of Directors
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Call to Order:
Aspecial meeting of the ACTV Board of Directors was held in the ACTV ConferenceRoom on January 26 2006. The meeting convened at
BoardMembers present:
IsaacBen Ezra (President) Geraldine Vatan (Vice-President), Anna Carter (Treasurer),Josna Rege (Clerk), Mary Paris, Ernest Urvater.
Members absent:Paulette Brooks,, JeanHaggerty, Rusty Rowell, Rev. Bobby Wallace.
Quorumstatus:
Thisconstitutes a quorum of the Board.
OthersPresent:
BruceArbour (Interim ED)
UPDATEFROM AD HOC COMMITTEE TO RENEW
BoardPresident Isaac BenEzra reported on the status of ACTVÕs preparations forcontract negotiations with the Town of Amherst. He made the following points:
—ACTVhas made its goals clear from the start, and intends to stay the course.
—ACTVhas listened to all the concerns of the Cable Advisory Committee and thetownspeople.
—Basedon these recommendations ACTV has been preparing a budget and will
—Drawup its own contract proposal.
—Sofar we have identified 10 areas of concern that we will cover in our proposal.
—Theletters from the townspeople have made it clear that they want high-qualitytelevision coverage from ACTV, with
—Expandedcoverage in the areas of Education and Government.
—ACTVhas been keeping the Amherst Select Board in the loop throughout the process.
Adiscussion ensued in which the following points were raised:
—Inthe CACÕs proposed new contract, they are likely to propose that the Town ofAmherst control the capital funds. How will these funds be allocated andauthorized, and how can ACTV be sure that it will get the capital funds itneeds to fulfill its mandate from the town and its mission as a PEG accessstation?
—ACTVneeds to list the capital equipment it will need in order to carry out its ownproposed agenda for the coming contract period.
—Weare mapping out what we need in a new contract, and will then send our proposalto our attorney.
—Weneed an electronic copy of the current contract.
EXECUTIVESESSION
Themain purpose of this special Board Meeting was to consider how ACTV ought toproceed in its Executive Director Search, given that the candidate to whom weoffered the position has declined. The Board, along with the Interim ExecutiveDirector, went into Executive Session to discuss ACTVÕs options.
Afterthe Board emerged from Executive Session,
TheMotion passed 5-1.
TheBoard then agreed to write a statement and send it to the membership explainingACTVÕs decision not to move ahead with an Executive Director hire at this time.
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 PM.
Respectfullysubmitted,
JosnaRege
Clerk
Follow-up
Dear ACTV members and members of the Amherst/Pelhamcommunity,
After completing the search process for anew Executive Director, the ACTV Board of Directors offered the position to ourtop finalist last week. The candidate declined, making the statement that thiswas not the right time to make a change. The uncertainty of ACTV funding atthis time, and the questions about a future contract, we believe, played a rolein his decision. New circumstances regarding the Cable Advisory Committee'snegotiating process with Comcast brought the board to the realization that weneed to put our search on hold at this time. We will continue with an InterimExecutive Director until it is appropriate to reopen the search for a fulltime,longterm Executive Director for Amherst Community Television.
Isaac Ben Ezra, the president of the ACTVboard, has informed the Amherst Select Board of our decision to put our futureED search on hold. At Monday night's Select Board meeting, Isaac expressedappreciation for the many letters in support of ACTV written to the CableAdvisory Committee. We will, in a proactive way, be responsive to all the greatideas to expand quality television at ACTV as we prepare for our new contractwith the Town.
Thank you for your trust and yourcontinued support!
The ACTV Board of Directors