Palmdale considers televising council meetings

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press December 9, 2000

By BOB WILSON
Valley Press Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Palmdale residents could sit in front of their televisions and, on the second Wednesday of each month, watch live meetings of their City Council under a proposal to be discussed next week.

About 29,300 of the approximately 35,500 occupied homes in Palmdale are connected to Jones Intercable, according to statistics provided by the cable company and the city.

How many of those households would tune to Channel 37 for the council's meetings is unknown, said Janet Spatz, general manager of the local cable franchise.

As is the case with national news feeds, like CSPAN, "It depends on the issue," Spatz said.

Putting those meetings at the fingertips of Palmdale's residents is the goal of Trisha Corrigan, who has been visiting municipal officials and even other cities in an effort to win support for local government coverage.

In her previous home, Thousand Oaks, "We were able to watch live feed of the issues being discussed in the council chambers - issues we were concerned about," Corrigan said. "It was so wonderful, and it was so enriching. I saw how it drew the community together."

She desires the same for her new home, Palmdale, she said. "And I am sure I'm not the only one."

"It's an idea whose time has come," Corrigan said. "I like Palmdale; I like living here. But I want to know what's going on, and I can't always attend council and school board meetings."

Neither can senior citizens, the handicapped or commuters, many of whom are cut off from local government by a lack of mobility or work schedules, she said.

"I feel in my gut this would be really good for the community," Corrigan said.

Spatz agreed, but with reservations.

Broadcasting local government meetings typically leads to a certain amount of grandstanding by politicians and audience members alike, Spatz said. And when controversial matters are up for a vote, proponents on both sides can become emotionally volatile.

To counteract that, a public board should enact rules of participation, and those rules need to be applied firmly and evenhandedly, she said.

In the past, cable companies have come under fire by viewers incensed with the loss of their pictures during controversial meetings, even when the loss was caused by outside forces, Spatz said.

"Aside from that, I don't see any negatives," she said. "One of the positives is that it can really take the perception of 'back-door politics' out of the mix because everything is being done in the open."

Overall, such programming can educate residents on how local government functions, "and perhaps, in turn, increase public participation on agenda items of interest," Spatz said.

That is why cable companies throughout the state have joined forces to fund the California Channel, which airs sessions of the state Legislature on Channel 37 between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each weekday, she said.

"We think the citizens of the state have a right to know what is happening in their government if they want to," Spatz said. The same holds true at the local level.

She cautioned, however, that the airing of city council meetings is not the same as public-access television.

In the past, some agreements stipulated that cable companies must provide studios and equipment for residents who want to create and air their own shows, Spatz said.

But problems with people who generated shows that were offensive to some viewers spurred cities - including Palmdale - to agree to the removal of public-access stipulations, she said.

Retained by most communities were the education- and government-access provisions of most franchise agreements, she said.

The Palmdale council meetings would be aired under the government-access provisions of the city's agreement with Jones, Spatz said.

The company already provides Channel 37 for that purpose, but the channel is shared by Lancaster and Palmdale because neither has enough programming to span the entire day, she said. Those cities also have agreed to give up the time needed to air the California Channel.

Jones - which may come under the ownership of the Adelphia cable company in a trade being arranged this month with Jones' current owner, Comcast cable - would have to run a return line to its studios in order to air the council's meetings, Spatz said.

The city would have to hire an operator to sit at a switchboard and control the cameras in the council's chambers, sending the feed to Jones' studio, she said. "On our end, it requires someone being here to take the live feed and send it out. And if a council meeting runs long, the hours of that individual at the studios will be lengthened, too."

The company's agreement with the city includes a grant that could help pay for a portion of the cost of the council chamber's equipment, Spatz noted.

Because Channel 37 is sent to all Jones' subscribers, all would receive the Palmdale council cablecasts, she said.

Those cablecasts would be an excellent opportunity for broadcasting students to obtain handson experience, Corrigan said.

Many other municipalities have worked through the initial problems and developed the means of delivering live local government meetings, she said, naming Thousand Oaks, Santa Clarita, California City, Ridgecrest and Bakersfield as examples.

It is her goal to see local school board meetings on Antelope Valley televisions as well, she said.

"The good outweighs the bad," Corrigan said.

Now is the time for residents to weigh in on the matter because the council is about to begin construction of a new chambers that could be built to include everything necessary to air meetings, she said.

"I see this as an opportunity to improve our schools and our community, and for people who have concerns to have a forum," Corrigan said.

The council will discuss the pros and cons of televising its meetings when its members gather at 7 p.m. Wednesday at 708 East Palmdale Blvd.