NEWTON CABLE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
DATE: August 29, 2012
PLACE: Town Meeting Hall
TIME: 5:30p.m.
CALL TO ORDER: 5:42p.m.
Roll Call: Diane Morin, Chairman; Mary Winglass, Public Relations/Programmer, Sally Woodman, Secretary;
Donna Judge, Operator, Jim Paone, perspective operator
Minutes from Previous Meeting of June 27, 2012 and July 25, 2012:
Donna motioned to accept the June 27, 2012 meeting minutes as written. Diane seconded and the motion carried unanimously. Mary motioned to accept the July 25, 2012 meeting minutes as written. Diane seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
Mary motioned to go into nonpublic session under RSA 91a:3 II (a) Hiring a Cable Operator at 5:50p.m. This was seconded by Diane. Motion passed with a unanimous roll call vote.
At 6:04 Diane moved to close the non-public session. The motion was seconded by Sally and motion passed with a unanimously roll call vote.
After a brief discussion Diane motioned to release the minutes of the nonpublic meeting to the public. Mary seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Nonpublic Meeting minutes
The Board met with Jim Paone who is interested in the position of Cable Operator. Donna outlined the work an operator is expected to do and Diane briefly explained the system Jim would be working with. Jim responded that he is proficient in MS Office. It was then decided to recommend Jim to the BOS for the position of cable operator at Grade 9, Step1 at $11.14. Until he is officially hired Jim will shadow Donna to learn the system.
Budget:
The committee reviewed the budget and found that 4/5th of the yearly budget has already been expended. We then calculated the probable amount of monies needed to continue broadcasting and to keep the same quality of programming. Mary volunteered to create an excel spreadsheet designed to define our budget needs through the remainder of the year. The spreadsheet will be reviewed at our next meeting.
Correspondence and Communications:
The latest Franchise payment is $17,000 which is deposited into the town’s General Fund.
Review Programing Schedule:
Donna stated that the scheduling is now barebones. No extra programs have been scheduled due to budget constraints.
Upcoming Events:
The Newton Police Department is having a formal ribbon cutting event on Saturday, September 8, 2012. Donna will contact Chief and see if they would like cable to record the ceremony. Jim volunteered to help in any way he could.
Unfinished Business:
- The committee discussed the camera options for the Baptist church. It was decided that Donna would contact Reverend Jim to explain the situation and what might be possible.
- To make sure there is coverage for any event it was decided that all members of the committee are responsible for notifying others of their unavailability.
New Business:
- Donna stated that at this time there is no backup for the station manager.
- After a discussion concerning the problem of overheating in the cable room the committee decided that it would be wise to ask the building inspector for his opinion as to how to keep the room cool enough for the computers and the operators during the hot weather. Mary will send Diane the inspectors email and Diane will ask him for his advice.
- The committee feels that it is in the best interest of our broadcasting quality that all slides should be created by our Graphic Designer.
- Diane said she would send Donna a copy of the 2010 inventory list.
Other:
Next Cable Committee meeting: October 3, 2012
Adjournment: 7:40p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sally Woodman
Secretary
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