MINUTES
ACTV Board Meeting
Thursday, December 18, 7:30 pm
Call to Order: 7:40 pm, Isaac BenEzra presiding
Board Members present: Kathleen Anderson, Ruth Backes, Isaac BenEzra, Paulette Brooks, Anna Carter, Jeff Lee, Josna Rege, Alan Root, Eduardo Suarez.
Board Members absent: There were no Board members absent.
Quorum status: This constitutes a quorum of the Board.
Also present: Jill Dipilla (camera), Frank Gatti, James Lescault.
President’s Report
President BenEzra reported that:
—He has been meeting weekly with Executive Director Jim Lescault and is very pleased with his performance to date, mentioning in particular his management of staff and operations. He invited Board members to meet with the ED one on one.
—Documents for the Board’s 4-month review of the ED had been circulated and the process would be discussed further during the Executive Session.
—Board Committees will be convening in January 2008. Mr.
BenEzra has been in touch with Board members to convene the Personnel, By-Laws,
Technology, and Outreach & Membership Committees.
—Planning for the January Board
Retreat is underway. The Retreat is scheduled for January 26th, 11
am to 5 pm, including lunch. A questionnaire is being circulated for Board
input into goals and topics for the retreat. Subsequently, we plan to allocate
a slot at each regular board meeting to board development.
—The Executive Committee has
recommended that we broadcast the October Annual Meeting, subject to resolution
of any technical problems.
New Board Appointment
A bio for prospective Board appointee Frank Gatti had been
circulated to Board members prior to the meeting. Mr. Gatti was introduced and
invited to say a few words about himself.
MOTION
A
motion was made and seconded to:
Appoint Frank Gatti to the ACTV Board of
Directors.
The motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Gatti will serve for a 2-year
term.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer
Anna Carter presented the October budget report.
MOTION
A
motion was made and seconded to:
Accept the Treasurer’s Report, subject to
audit.
The motion passed unanimously.
Approval of Annual
Meeting and November Minutes
MOTION
A
motion was made and seconded to:
Approve the October 23rd Annual Meeting
Minutes.
The motion passed unanimously.
MOTION
A
motion was made and seconded to:
Approve the November 8th Minutes.
The motion passed unanimously.
Executive Director’s
Report
ED Jim Lescault had circulated a written report prior to the meeting, but covered the highlights and responded to questions from the Board. Topics included:
—Outreach has been a priority since Day One. In the past month, Mr. Lescault has met with many individuals and organizations in the Community and has organized two “Meet the ED” evenings for ACTV producers. He has met with key administrators and teachers at Amherst Regional High School, several people at UMass and the Five Colleges, the archivist at the Jones Library, the director of the Wilbraham public access center, among others, and attended two Chamber of Commerce Breakfasts.
—Workshops/screenings: Mr. Lescault is actively networking with Access Centers in the region. He attended a meeting with representatives of seven access centers at Wilbraham Monson to discuss future collaboration and the Verizon challenge. The group has agreed to meet every two months at a different public access center. Thirty people attended a screening of Bob Abrams’ new movie about mapmaker Arno Peters. The show will be cablecast early in the new year.
—Operations Report: Mr. Lescault reported on his resolution of numerous operations-related problems, including the absence of heat in the large studio, the quality of the video signal coming from Town Hall, the removal of the piano from the large studio, and the clean-up and reorganization of the working and common areas at the station.
—Personnel: Gretchen Saathoff’s hours have been changed to 10 am-6:00 pm, five days a week. A staff assistant will fill in during the 6:00-9:00 pm slot from Monday-Thursday.
—Office Equipment: The encoder server purchased from Crimson Tech. is now working. Software has been purchased to enable ACTV to digitize records such as program proposals.
—Town Meeting: The ED spent a great deal of time assessing ACTV coverage of Town Meeting and taking the necessary steps to resolve video and audio-related problems. Mr. Lescault thanked all the volunteers, interns, and staff for their hard work and determination to improve with each evening’s coverage of Fall Town Meeting.
Old Business
MOTION
A
motion was made and seconded to:
Broadcast the October 23rd Annual
Meeting.
The motion passed unanimously.
Adjournment: The public meeting was adjourned at 8:26 pm, prior to the Board’s Executive Session.