MINUTES of Special
Meeting, ACTV Board of Directors
Date: June 28, 2006
Call to Order:
This special meeting of the ACTV Board of
Directors was held in the ACTV Conference Room on June 28, 2006. The meeting
convened at 7:52 PM, Isaac BenEzra presiding.
Board Members present:
Isaac BenEzra, Paulette Brooks, Anna Carter,
Mary Paris, Josna Rege
Members absent: Ernie Urvater,
Jim McAllister, Rev. Bobby Wallace
Quorum status: This
constitutes a quorum of the Board.
Others Present: Bruce Arbour
President’s
Report (Isaac BenEzra)
—ACM Conference:
Isaac BenEzra will be attending the
annual Alliance for Community Media (ACM) conference, which will be held in
Boston, July 5-8. He will be taking a flyer with him with a preliminary
announcement of a Fall Executive Director Search, and will have informal
discussions with any interested people who are potential candidates. Josna Rege
and/or Anna Carter will prepare the flyer, and Isaac will also arrange to have
the wording posted on the ACM’s website. Bruce Arbour said that he would
arrange for Isaac to have business cards to take to the conference. Funds have
been approved for Isaac and any other interested board members to attend, and
for one or more staff members to attend PEG access technology workshops for a
day.
—Media Giraffe Project
Conference: Mr. BenEzra additionally reported on his attendance at the
Media Giraffe Project conference at UMass Amherst, “Sharing News and Politics in a
Connected World," June 29-July 1, 2006. He has arranged with the project
to air their conference videotape on ACTV.
—COPE Telecom Bill: President BenEzra also
circulated a June 9, 2006 transcript of a Democracy Now! Segment on the House
approval of the COPE Telecom Bill that has serious implications for the future
of the Internet and public access television in this country.
—New Board and Committee
Members: The Executive Committee is looking for good candidates for new
board members, as well as new committee members. The Outreach/Membership
committee would like more community members, as would several other board
committees.
PSA
Policy: Bruce Arbour circulated a copy of the proposed
policy for Public Service Announcements (attached). Paulette Brooks recommended
that a disclaimer be added to each PSA, that it does not reflect the views of
ACTV. It was also recommended that PSAs run for a maximum of 60 days, and then
be subject to review by Program Manager Ken Carroll.
MOTION:
A motion was made and seconded to:
Approve the PSA Policy as amended.
The motion passed
unanimously.
July 3rd
holiday:
MOTION:
A motion was made and seconded to:
Give the ACTV Staff a paid holiday
on Monday, July 3rd, 2006.
The motion passed
unanimously.
Report/discussion
of CAC’s Draft License w/ Town of Amherst
This agenda item is the
primary reason for calling this special Board meeting. The Amherst Select Board
has received a copy of the Cable Advisory Committee’s Draft License with the
Town, and CAC liaison Anne Awad has asked ACTV to review the document and give
the Select Board input on any implications for ACTV as the Access Provider
before a projected meeting with the CAC on Friday am, June 30th.
Accordingly, Paulette Brooks, in consultation with ACTV’s contract attorney
August has prepared a 2-page document, “Preliminary comments on Comcast-Amherst
Draft Contract (see attached). In addition, at the request of Board President
BenEzra, Bruce Arbour has prepared a
4-page document, “Capital Budget Position Summary” (also attached). Ms.
Brooks and Mr. Arbour presented the respective documents, and a board review
and discussion followed.
Satellite
Problems
The board discussed
with Bruce Arbour the persistent satellite problems that continue to disrupt
ACTV’s Direct TV programming, particularly the 8 am cablecast of Democracy
Now! Mr. Arbour explained some of
the technical and logistical difficulties that have prevented the problem being
solved thus far, and the board urged him to redouble his efforts to find a
resolution.
Reminder/Announcement
of Board Pre-retreat
Mary Paris reminded the
board of the Board “Pretreat” and Potluck at Isaac’s house on Thursday, June 29th.
Extension
of Part-time Production Assistant’s position
The board discussed
and approved the extension of temporary part-time Production Assistant James
O’Connor’s position, due to be terminated on June 30, 2006, for an additional
two months (until August 31, 2006). Besides expanding ACTV’s government
coverage, James will cover special shoots and events of importance to the ACTV
community, such as the Fourth of July.
The board requested that James’ assignments be listed as part of the IED’s
weekly report, so that it would have a track record by which to evaluate the
position.
Plans
for ACTV Float and Coverage, Amherst July 4th Parade
Ernie Urvater has arranged for the float. For all of those who can participate, the staging area is the driveway by Amherst College’s Orr Rink at 2:00 pm. Contact Ernie if you can help decorate the float over the weekend.
Respectfully submitted,
Josna Rege
Clerk, ACTV Board of Directors