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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/18/1995, C-3 - PUBLIC, EDUCATION, AND GOVERNMENT (PEG) ACCESS COMMUNICATION PLAN MEETING DATE: MINE- city of San PIS OBISPO *1 ' iCI AGENDA REPOR MM NUMBER: Sligo COUNCIL FROM: Ken Hampian, Assistant City Administrative Office Prepared By: Deb Hossli, Administratio4� SUBJECT: Public, Education, and Government (PEG) Access Communication Plan CAO RECOMMENDATION: Approve and authorize-the Mayor to execute a Memorandum of Understanding with the County of San Luis Obispo to cooperatively prepare a countywide PEG Access Communication Plan. DISCUSSION: Background . Several months ago, the County began approaching representatives from the governmental and educational communities, as well as, the non-profit and private sector to determine if there was interest in cooperatively preparing a countywide PEG Access Communication Plan. As proposed, the plan would provide the county with a two to three year strategy for cooperatively addressing communication needs using cable television, Internet and telephone technologies. The need for a cooperative plan has become increasingly apparent over the last several years. Both the public and private sector alike are struggling independently to satisfy communication needs with limited budgets. By working cooperatively, we can pool our resources and take advantage of a variety of cost saving communication technologies that individually we could not afford. Based on the interest generated from the initial contacts, the County assembled a Task Force to develop a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperatively pursuing the plan. Task Force participants to date include, nearly all the Cities in the county, education representatives from throughout the county, public access group representatives, and a variety of other public and private groups. E=sed_MOU Under the terms of the proposed MOU, the Task Force, headed by the County, will be responsible for overseeing preparation the plan. The plan will be carried in two phases; a feasibility phase and an actual plan preparation phase. The first phase will cost approximately $18,000 (to cover the costs of consultant assistance) and will provide the Task Force with: 1) an inventory of the countywide resources available to support PEG access activities, 2) studies demonstrating what types of PEG access applications are feasible, and 3) an implementation plan for a pilot bulletin board project using the cable system. As proposed, funding,for the first phase of the plan will be shared by participating Cities and the County. The contributions are based on the number of cable subscribers in each participating community. Using this formula, the City's share for the first phase is $4,000. Assuming that the first phase of the process is successful, all Task Force participants will be asked to assist with funding the second phase of the plan. This will likely involve a combination -3- city of San Luis OBISpo COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT of financial and in-kind contributions. This phase of the plan is estimated to cost.approximately $44,000(again, for consultant assistance) and will result in the preparation of a two to three year communication plan that will incorporate the use of cable television, the Internet and phone system technologies to address PEG access needs throughout the County. In addition, the plan will provide a strategy for creating an ongoing organizational structure to oversee PEG access programs once the Task Force's efforts are complete (e.g., a private, non-profit consortium, etc.). The Task Force will also implement the pilot bulletin board project during this phase of the project. The City's share for this phase of the project will not be known until the first phase is completed and there is consensus to move forward with the second phase, but the maximum contribution is hot expected to exceed $10,000. City Particivation Under the terms of the City's new cable television franchise, Sonic is obligated to pay the City 1% of its gross revenues to support PEG access equipment and facilities. Before the City can access these monies (estimated to be$50,000 annually), we must first provide Sonic with a plan that, among other things, demonstrates the need for the monies and identifies how the monies will be spent. Therefore, by participating in the countywide plan, the City can satisfy this requirement and maximize the use of our PEG dollars. FISCAL EMPACT: By approving the MOU, the City is only committing to the initial contribution of$4,000 to carry out the feasibility portion of the plan. This contribution will not be due to the County until July 1, 1995. Costs for the second phase of the plan will not be known until the first phase is completed and there is consensus to move forward. Therefore, the MOU will need to be amended at that time to obtain Council approval for second phase funding. The City's contribution toward the second phase is not expected to exceed $10,000. If the Council approves the MOU, staff will include $14,000 in the 1995/97 Financial Plan to cover the City's maximum contribution toward preparation of the plan. The $14,000 figure assumes the City will participate in both phases of the plan. If we choose not to participate in the second phase, the$10,000 will be returned to fund balance. It is important to note that the City's PEG access monies can only be used for PEG facilities and equipment; the monies cannot be used to prepare the plan. ALTERNATIM: ■ Develop our own PEG Access Communication Plan. While this is feasible, staff does not recommend that the.Council pursue this approach unless the efforts of the Task Force are unsuccessful. Based on the benefits of participating in a countywide effort to plan for PEG access needs, there is no reason for the City to pursue our own plan. ATTACHMENTS: 1- MOU ��-� MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING Consortium for Community Media 1995-1997 HISTORY Cable TV access channels typically provide community-oriented programming, such as local news, public announcements, distance education and government meetings.. They are usually programmed by individuals or local organizations, on either public, education or government channels (PEG). Under the 1984 Cable.Act, local franchising authorities could require that cable operators set aside channels for PEG use. In addition, franchising authorities could require cable operators to provide services, facilities and equipment to support the use of these channels. For the most part, cable franchises within San Luis Obispo County have not contained PEG provisions until recently. Over the years, there has been interest in PEG, but there was no sustained, coordinated effort to put PEG into place for the San Luis Obispo County community. The County of San Luis Obispo recently signed two cable franchise renewals with PEG provisions, and is interested in helping to coordinate a joint effort of all the County communities around this issue. Since cable TV is only one means of solving some of the communication issues shared by County communities, other communication technologies, such as phone, Internet access, wireless and others would also be examined as part of a joint effort. We often read about the "convergence of technologies" and about the wonders the future will bring. As we each prepare our organization for the future, being able to take advantage of these technological opportunities quickly will benefit all our citizenry. A joint effort of the govemmental and educational institutions in the County, as well as the public and private sectors, opens new opportunities for us. Collectively, we can take advantage of the emerging technologies that are not available to individual institutions and harness the power of the technology in cost-effective ways. Such an effort will also strengthen coordinated, Country-wide communications to address challenges that do not recognize jurisdictional and organizational boundaries. In November 1994, the County initiated an investigation of what our resources and options might be. Three meetings were convened with representatives from the governmental and educational communities, as well as the public and private sectors, to identify resources in the County and to discuss shared communications needs and the potential benefits of creating joint solutions. A variety of communication tools including cable TV, satellite and microwave communications, Internet access and video conferencing were discussed as potential vehicles to address unmet information needs of the San Luis Obispo County citizenry. There was a strong interest in forming a task force to pursue a Country-wide communications plan to address these common needs. Of particular interest were the enhancement of: ATTACHMENT 1 C'-3 3 1. Distance learning for continuing education, staff development and expanded use of existing facilities 2. Coverage of governmentleducation meetings and community events 3. General public information which includes everything from meeting agendas, pet adoptions to tourism All cities and the County were contacted to participate in the Consortium. Pismo Beach declined to be involved at this time. PURPOSE To form a task force comprised of members of the governmental and educational communities as well as the public and private sectors entrusted with planning for a San Luis Obispo County Consortium for Community Media. TERM The term of this agreement is from May 15, 1995 through June 30, 1997, to allow for adequate time to create a planning document, pilot activities, establish a long-term infrastructure, if necessary, and to seek State and Federal grant opportunities. This term is broken down into the Initial Planning Phase which will last approximately six to eight months. Financial commitments for this phase is made by this memorandum. Future financial and phase designations will be determined. PARTICIPANTS Members of the task force will enter into this agreement at different levels and are listed in the table on the next page: Contributing Members are those organizations that are making a financial commitment to the effort at least for the initial planning phase of six to eight months, as outlined under the section titled Financial Considerations. Contributing members have control of the end product since they have made a financial contribution, though there is the understanding that the Consortium will attempt to do the best job possible with the resources available. These members may or may not choose to be actively involved in the task force itself, but will be kept informed of its activities. Task Force Members are those individuals who will actively participate in the workings of _ the group during the two year period. This is the core group who will ensure that the objectives of the task force are met and report back to their organizations as well as to the Contributing Members. 2 C 3'� Friends of the Task Force are individuals and organizations that are willing to assist the task force on a limited basis. This may occasionally take one of many forms including, but not limited to in-kind services, labor or financial resources. MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS Arroyo Grande Paso Robles Atascadero San Luis Obispo Grover Beach San Luis Obispo County Morro Bay TASK FORCE Arroyo Grande Atascadero State Hospital Atascadero Atascadero Unified School District Grover Beach California Polytechnic University Morro Bay California Specialized Training Institute Paso Robles County Office of Education San Luis Obispo Cuesta College San Luis Obispo County Lucia Mar Unified School District —Library San Luis Coastal Unified School District —Information Services SLONET —Franchise Administration Templeton Unified School District Association of Directors, Artists, Producers and Technicians (ADAPT) FRIENDS Arroyo Grande Community Hospital Pacific Bell California Men's Colony Pacific Coast Wireless Falcon,Cable Paso Robles Public Schools General Hospital SLOCOG KCET Sonic Cable Television Please note: The list may change due during the life of the Consortium and even prior to the signing of the MOU. OBJECTIVES 1. To create an integrated two to three year video communication plan that will incorporate the use of technology now available, including: I �V V a. Cable TV: A textual interactive bulletin board system Selected coverage of meetings and events Distance education and training b. SLONET/Internet: Increase community access and create opportunities for information providers C. Phone: Video conferencing, distance learning and other applications d. Instructional Fixed Television Service: Private channels owned by educational institutions for distance learning, video conferencing, etc. 2. To conduct an inventory of resources available in the County to help establish short term applications 3. To determine the best way of implementing cable TV public access in addition to its educational and govemmental applications 4. To pilot one or more short term activities to demonstrate the potential of the technology 5. To determine the structure of organization of the task force and, if found necessary, the organization that is formed beyond the life of the task force FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS As part of the planning process, the task force will explore a variety of ways to fund activities including grants, partnerships and others. Meetings will be held in public facilities at little or no cost. The only cost presently proposed is the expense to support a community access consultant/facilitator to assist the task force. The consultant will be supported through the initial planning phase through funds provided by the Cities and the County based on the number of cable TV subscribers in each community. Schuler & Associates, the consulting firm that worked with the group in November, estimates this additional work for the initial planning stage to cost approximately $18,000. The deliverables for the initial planning phase are as follows: 1. Inventory tool 2. Report on telecommunications resources in the County 3. Report: Recommendations for Implementation of County-wide Interactive Bulletin Board System 4. Draft: Distance Learning Background Paper 5. Draft: Governmental Applications Background Paper 4 6j If we chose to continue through the two year period, an additional $44,000 will be needed for consulting fees. It is the intention of the task force to look for this additional financial support from grants, private partners and task force members in addition to the cities and County. Future contributions will be brought to the table in the form of monetary contributions as well as in-kind services. The following chart lists each jurisdiction's financial commitment for consulting services for the initial planning phasse. The financial commitment jurisdictions are making now is only to the initial planning phase and not for the entire two year project and does not include any equipment expenditures or other implementation costs. # CABLE % OF TOTAL COST PER JURISDICTION SUBSCRIBERS (To nearest JURISDICTION (To nearest 500) whole number Initial Planning without Pismo) Phase Arroyo Grande 4,500 8 $1,440 Atascadero 5,500 10 $1,800 Grover Beach 3,500 7 $1,260 Morro Bay 4,000 8 $1,440 Paso Robles 5,500 10 $1,800 San Luis Obispo 12,000 22 $3,960 San Luis Obispo 18,500 35 $6,300 County Future expenditures will be proposed by the task force and brought to the appropriate decision making bodies for approval. For the financial agreements made under this MOU, the County of San Luis Obispo will take the responsibility to contract for services and/or equipment. The County will bill parties for their individual contributions. Payment is due to the County within 30 days of the date of the invoice. Late payments will be assessed a ten percent late charge on the outstanding balance and also pay to the County interest on the outstanding balance at a rate of one and one-half percent per month. The first phase payment, as specified in this MOU, will be invoiced after July 1, 1995. Future phase payments schedules will be determined during the initial planning phase. EXIT CLAUSE Any member of the Consort_ium can discontinue their involvement at any time by submitting a request in writing to: Community Access Consortium, San Luis Obispo County 0-3-7 Engineering Department, County Government Center Room 207, San Luis Obispo, CA 93408. Those members committed financially can exit with the understanding that the financial commitments they have made need to be fulfilled on the agreed to payment schedule. LATE ENTRY It is in the best interest of the Consortium to have as many financial participants as possible for the success of the project. Therefore, if a jurisdiction or other entity chooses not to enter into the Consortium at the beginning, but decides to join later in the process, a method of compensating the Consortium for prior work will be a condition of entry if the type of organization has counterparts in the Consortium that have made contributions, financial and otherwise. These additional funds will be applied to future Consortium activities. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING The undersigned hereby agrees to become a participant in the Consortium for Community Media and to join with other participants in accomplishing the purposes and objectives of the Consortium as set forth herein. PARTICIPANT: By Title Organization Attest: File: Community Access m\common\cablety\mou6.wpd(cmc) APPROVED AS TO FORM: J Q c Atm �'-3$