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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Statement 1987/07/14 Item 28 COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT Item 28 Meeting Date 7/14/87 ITEM TITLE: Resolution - Ljvr Approving an agreement with Simard Telecommunications Corporation for television production servic s. City BY: Deputy Ci y Mana er g Thomson J REVIEWED BY: City Manage (4/5th's Vote: Yes No X ) Included in the FY 1987-88 Non-Departmental Budget is $39, 300 for televising up to a year of regular Tuesday meetings of the City Council on the Cox Cable Government Access Channel . Council directed that staff negotiate a production agreement to televise the meetings. Near the end of a six-month trial period, the concept of televising meetings will be reviewed prior to continuing the production agreement. RECOMMENDATION: That Council : 1. Adopt the resolution; and 2 . Direct staff to provide a report to Council evaluating the 6-month trial period in December 1987 . BOARDS\COMMISSIONS RECOMMENDATION: Not applicable. DISCUSSION Staff evaluated eight proposals submitted by qualified production companies. Proposers were given certain minimum requirements that had to be met (i.e. , at least two cameras, character generator, gavel-to-gavel coverage, etc. ) Seven of the eight proposers satisfied the minimum requirements. From this group, staff negotiated a twelve-month agreement (Attachment A) with the lowest bidding firm with a 30-day termination clause after the first 60 days. Simard Telecommunications Corporation, doing business as Video Productions Company, will videotape every regular Tuesday meeting of the City Council for the term of the agreement beginning on July 28 . Redevelopment Agency meetings held immediately after or during the regular City Council meeting will also be televised. Cost per meeting is $625 for meetings under four hours and $700 for meetings over four hours, plus tape cost (about $1, 000 for one year) . Page 2, Item 28 Meeting Date 7-14-87 recorders and related equipment. High intensity lighting will be required during the meeting except when slides are used in presentations. (Utilizing cameras which do not require high intensity lighting would significantly increase the cost of production. ) Video Productions will deliver a completed program to Cox Cable for cablecasting the next night (Wednesday) on Government Access Channel 25. The company will include a 30- to 90-second produced open and close (one-time cost of this item is up to $400) . An agenda of major items of interest with approximate times when these items will be discussed in the meeting will be presented at the beginning of each televised meeting. The approved Non-Departmental Budget also includes $3,000 for advertising in the initial stages of production, $2, 000 for basic television training for Council and staff, and $3 , 500 for making needed alterations to the Council Chambers. Additional lighting will be added to ensure the staff area and public podium are lighted uniformly with the rest of the dias area. Three to four chairs will be removed at the rear of the Chambers to facilitate proper camera angle and to avoid placing a camera in the rear aisle. Alterations will be initiated as soon as possible after the _._ production agreement is approved. However, all alterations may not be completed prior to the first televised meeting. Staff will request the newspapers to highlight significant agenda items prior to televised meetings to encourage viewership. Limited advertising will be placed in area newspapers, and public service announcements will be distributed to local radio stations. Training for Council and staff will be initiated before televising begins. The meeting of July 28 will be taped as a dry-run and not actually televised. This will provide some actual experience that can be beneficial for subsequent training to be scheduled the week of August 3 . Should Council decide to continue televising meetings, the contract provides for two 1-year extension options with increases in charges tied to the CPI up to 6%. The contract also provides a 30-day termination clause after the first sixty days and penalty clauses for failure by the company to adequately perform. Evaluation Near the end of the 'six-month trial period, staff will prepare an evaluation of the production based on information obtained in the following ways: 1 %' Page 3, Item 28 Meeting Date 7-14-87 1. Monitoring anecdotal feedback. Council and staff are encouraged to report any feedback from the public to the Public Information Coordinator. This miscellaneous feedback will be organized and included in the evaluation report. 2 . During periodic meetings, messages will be displayed throughout the televised meetings announcing that the City is evaluating the concept of televising meetings, and that viewers should phone in to express their views on continuing televising meetings. Callers will also be asked about the number and frequency of their viewing of Council meetings. 3 . Each City Council agenda distributed to the public will include a written survey asking for persons ' viewing patterns relating to the televised meetings. Drop-boxes will be placed in the foyer area of the Public Services Building to collect completed surveys. 4 . Staff will attempt to increase the number and diversity of survey respondents by encouraging people through the newspapers to write or call in their views on televising meetings. Staff will present conclusions drawn from these methods of evaluation near the end of the six-month trial. It should be recognized, however, that the methods discussed above cannot present a scientific or reliable quantitative test of the effectiveness of televising Council meetings. A more formalized (and expensive) evaluation survey would be needed to more definitively test the effectiveness of televising meetings. The results from the above methods should, however, be useful for Council and staff when determining whether to continue the production. FISCAL IMPACT: A maximum of $25, 300 is required for the six-month trial period, which includes one-time costs totaling up to $8,900. $39, 300 is budgeted for one full year of televising meetings. Based on the recommended production agreement, adequate funds are available to continue televising meetings should Council decide to extend the program to the end of the current fiscal year. The General Fund will be reimbursed for 50% of the cost of this activity (40% Redevelopment Agency, 10% SCOOT) -e by ih City i of Chula Viata, C�In ria Dated .