HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/22/93 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 22, 1993
The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of
Bremerton was called to order in the City Council Chambers,
239 4th Street, Bremerton, Washington, Wednesday, September
22, 1993, at 5:30 P.M., with Council President Eileen Fitz
presiding. Council members present were Richard Neville, Lynn
Horton, C.R. "Tiny" Collins, Morrie Dawkins, Russ Johnson, Lon
Overson, and Al Colvin. Councilman Hank Waibel was absent.
Also present were City Attorney Ian Sievers and City Clerk
Kathleen McCluskey.
The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance led by
Council President Fitz and Invocation given by Talmadge Wilson
of Charleston Baptist Church.
CONSENT AGENDA
A. Minutes of Meeting -- September 15, 1993 #AB93-187
#0035
M/S/C/U(Horton/Colvin) to approve the Consent Agenda as
presented.
CLAIMS/WARRANT REGISTERS
Vouchers audited and certified by the auditing officer as
required by RCW 42.24.080, and those expense reimbursement
claims certified as required by RCW 42.24.090, have been
recorded on a listing that had been made available to the
Council.
#0051
M/S/C/U(Colvin/Neville) September 22, 1993, the Council does
approve for payment those vouchers included and further
described as follows: 169373 through 169377 and 169442 through
169678 in the total amount of $387,743.67; and Regular Payroll
for the period ending September 15, 1993, in the amount of
$546,277.96.
COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS - None
PUBLIC RECOGNITION
Mayor Louis Mentor announced the distribution of a new City
booklet to all City employees that is to be used to log in
locations of any graffiti, trash/garbage, shrubs/trees that
need trimming, potholes or any other problems of the City and
then turned into the Mayor's office. He reported on the
following events:
September 16 Kitsap Regional Library hosted an opening of a
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard history section at the Regional
Library on Sylvan Way.
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September 16 - the Navy League welcomed all Naval Ships,
Captains and officers.
September 16 - a fund raising event was held for Paul Goheen,
which drew a good crowd.
September 17 - Windrose Gallery held a Hands Off Washington
fund raising event to assure equal rights for all people in
the State of Washington.
September 17 - a fund raising event was held for the burned
out victims of a September 2nd apartment complex fire.
September 18 - State of Washington Square Dancers came to
Bremerton for their annual meeting.
September 18 - the Martin Luther King Scholarship Fund hosted
a Constitutions Day Luncheon with Governor Mike Lowry as the
guest speaker.
September 18 - U.S. Senator Slade Gorton visited the City's
Fire Department to learn how the City spends federal funding
for safety and view the demonstration trailer showing how
sprinklers and smoke alarms work to save lives.
September 18 - Amy Burnette held an "opening" for the Wine
Gallery she added to her business.
September 20 - several Japanese educators visited Bremerton.
Mayor Mentor announced the opening of a new business on 4th
Street - Mary Ann Huntington's western wear shop. He was
also pleased to report that Treasurer House is taking over the
old Pay N Pak building in east Bremerton. He referenced a
newspaper article announcing the arrival of Treasurer House
and their stating: "everything is positive about Bremerton, we
like it over here". He noted that was a far cry from when
Cornerstone pulled out a few years ago.
Coming up events include: September 24 the Bremerton Central
Lions Club will hold their annual Seafood Banquet/Auction.
This is a fund raising event for the Lions Club and tickets
can be obtained by contacting Council members Al Colvin and
Morrie Dawkins. Mayor Mentor announced Bremerton was losing
Captain Roe off the USS Sacramento.
Larry Stone, 1824 South Marine Drive, announced tickets for
the Bremerton Central Lions Club Seafood Banquet and Auction
are $20.00 per ticket. As Chairman of VOTE, he pointed out
the VOTE committee is developing an aggressive program to
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educate the voters on Proposition 1 on the November ballot.
This past week they learned that Article 8.2.5 of the rules
for Bremerton Community Access Television prevent their use of
public TV since they were unable to complete programming more
than 60 days prior to the election. That being the case, they
will be limited to news media, mailings and signage, all of
which costs money. Therefore, he announced VOTE's willingness
to appear in public forum with any member of the Council or
City Administration who disagrees with Proposition # 1. This
can be either in a debate format, a short statement of
response for such a debate or an extemporaneous question and
answer format. It was his impression that VOTE might be a
participant in Councilman Colvin's October District # 1
Coalition meeting and he hoped they would have the same
opportunity in other Council Districts. He emphasized the
shared concern about the urgency of informing the public on
this Proposition.
Don Larson, 135 Rainier Avenue, reported on a very success
clean up of Sinclair Inlet that took place on Saturday,
September 18. Approximately 60 volunteers turned out for this
event and they gathered about 12 cubic yards of debris. A 41
ft. Coast Guard cutter was open for tours from 11:00 AM to
2:00 P.M. at that event. During the clean up event, People For
Puget Sound handed out brochures advertising their event
coming up on October 16 - Kids Day. This week he met with TCI
Community Cable Access group and recorded a 10-minute show
called the Sacred Earth, which is about Coastweeks and will be
broadcast later this month.
Jack Lefcoski, 1700 Kitsap Lake Road NW, reported the City's
Engineering Department is in receipt of a petition signed by
64% of the lot owners in his neighborhood for extension of the
City's sewer line into their area. A recent news article
about a lawsuit between the City of Bremerton and the Alliance
Group stated that there is the possibility that sewer rates
will be increased to pay for the sewage problem at the
treatment plant. He is one voice speaking for 77 people in
their proposed sewage project and they do not think they
should have to pay the added 1/2 percent because those
residents on the west side of Kitsap Lake in no way, never has
and never will add any. surface water to the sewer treatment
plant. He emphasized his street cannot be expanded due to
location of a railroad track behind them that forbids any
westerly expansion and he believes their area will remain an
urban area forever due to the particular nature of that
street. The residents he represents are happy to pay the
going sewage rate under today's formula. He promised the
people he is representing that he would speak on their behalf
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to try and prevent them from having to pay any additional
costs. If other areas are annexed, such as Rocky Point, and
as an incentive to get areas to annex he suggested the City
not require them to pay any increase in sewage over the
current formula. He would like to see today's formula be used
for all newly annexed areas without any premium for the
problem of today.
Gordy Byrd, P.O. Box 930, announced he has tee shirts
available for a minimum of $10.00 donation for his shelter for
the homeless.
Floyd Kern, 320 White Pine Drive, stated there were a lot of
things happening in Bremerton that he did not like. He was
against the building of the boardwalk, however, City
government chose to go ahead and build it in spite of peoples'
objections. In regards to the construction project on Kitsap
Way, he was not pleased that Ace Paving was the contractor and
felt they were too slow in completing this and other projects
around the City.
Phil Olwell, 2455 N. Wycoff, stated he came again questioning
the City Administration's lack of action and/or direct
response to concerns that the committee made up of citizens
for a safe city have raised. They were the ones who took the
Drug and Task Force Levy out to the voters and got it passed.
He questioned where is the second D.A.R.E. Officer and why
isn't he working in the capacity for which the taxpayers and
citizens of this City so intended. His committee co - chair
raised the question will the taxpayers of this City get a 7
month rebate due to the fact that this D.A.R.E. Officer was to
work 12 months in the D.A.R.E. program? He has not received
a satisfactory answer back from the Police Department
Administration or from any other administrative level of the
City. Given the fact they he was given a brief letter from
Chief McNeal stating that the Unit is fully staffed, he sees
no reason why that officer should not be in the D.A.R.E.
capacity as he was intended by the voters and taxpayers of
this City. And, what great timing considering this letter and
the fact that schools have just opened. He also had the
opportunity to review the City's internal audit conducted in
regards to the Bremerton Housing Authority (BHA) Contract with
the City's Police Department. A lot of questions surround
this audit and from information he was given, there appears to
be two audits, one which will be released soon and another one
that was the original audit. He questioned the fact of a
massaged and/or sanitized second audit in regards to the BHA
contract. He believes the citizens and taxpayers of this city
deserve an answer...they don't need sanitized versions of an
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audit. He looks forward to someone getting back to the
citizens as to what went on in this audit in regards to the
Housing contract. He quoted from the audit document: "That the
City was not in compliance with the agreement for law
enforcement out there, however, BHA was only charged the
actual hours worked". He questioned why aren't the citizens
allowed to see where the problem was, why it was there and go
about ways to fix it. He questioned how can we identify and
fix a problem if we aren't told what about the problem. He
again quoted: "the leadership commitment, as stated by the
audit, by the Bremerton Police Department and Bremerton
Housing Authority could have been better to insure that the
program would survive". He emphasized the BHA contract was
dead and he questioned what leadership, where was it, and how
can it be improved on in the future so that we don't have
these types of problems within our form of government. He
hoped that through something, be it freedom of the press or
other concerned citizens, someone could get to the bottom of
some of these city issues in terms of internal policies and
procedures.
Robert Ackerman, 3607 Arsenal Way, stated he did not support
the City annexing new areas into the City since they could not
keep up with needed street maintenance that currently exists.
Captain Joe Hatfield, Commander Special Operations Group of
Bremerton Police Department, stated he wished to respond to
some of Mr. Olwell's comments due to there being misleading.
He was greatly concerned when someone made allegations of some
type of "cover up" going on in the Police Department. He
emphasized the problem is Mr. Olwell is not satisfied with the
answers that he has received from Capt. Hatfield and others in
the City Administration as it relates to the D.A.R.E. Officer.
A D.A.R.E. Officer was funded through the Task Force Levy,
that is where that person is suppose to be and he does work
there. The Police Department does not set the schedule for
D.A.R.E. in the schools...that is done by the School District.
It is not a 12 month position but rather a nine month
position. When the D.A.R.E. Officer is not actively teaching
in the schools he works within the Task Force, which they
believe is most appropriate. Anything that comes along with
Crime Prevention or D.A.R.E. that he can work on when he is
not assigned full time to D.A.R.E. duties in the schools is
pursued. Come January when the D.A.R.E. Officer's classes
start he will be moved full time back to that program. As
always, the Police Department has responded quickly to Mr.
Olwell and others who have questions about the Drug and Gang
Task Force. He emphasized their "books" are open for anyone
to look at. In reference to the Bremerton Housing Authority
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(BHA)/West Park Program audit, if someone has questions about
that audit then they should be directed to the City Auditor.
He emphasized the Police Department did not conduct that
audit.
Phil Olwell stated he was not just one voice against the
Police Department and his questions about BHA contract and/or
audit were not directed at the Police Department.
6A - INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOR DRUG TASK FORCE, #AB93-188
This is a new Interlocal Agreement with the Kitsap County
Sheriff's Office and the other agencies involved. Beginning
1993, Kitsap County Sheriff's Office moved to the lead agency
of the WESTNET Program of the Interlocal Drug Task Force which
the City of Bremerton has been operating for the previous
three years. This will be an ongoing joint effort throughout
the County, and in future years, there will be an update to
this Interlocal Agreement.
Mr. Overson stated the agreement talks of things like
centralized supervision, formal organization and it appears to
some that we are turning our assets over to some outside
agency to use them as they see fit as opposed to what the
citizens of this City have sought. He asked Captain Hatfield
to clarify those issues. Captain Joe Hatfield explained all
of the equipment and supplies provided for use of the officers
from various agencies was bought on a shared basis (75%-25%
between various law enforcement agencies involved and the
State). All of that equipment stays with the unit regardless
of where the unit may be operating from. For the previous
three years that equipment has been located in Bremerton and
now it is located in the County. At the time the City was
putting together its new Gang and Drug Task Force, it was
decided not to have someone from Bremerton assigned to the
WESTNET unit for several months. That time frame stretched a
little longer than anticipated and the Police Department is in
the process of assigning an individual full time to that Unit.
He emphasized that person is assigned to that unit to not only
protect the interest of the City of Bremerton and what has
been invested in it, but to be a part of the on going effort
in drug interdiction in our area. Mr. Overson stated he had
hoped Captain Hatfield would have pointed out that the City
has membership in the management as well as membership in the
team and the City has the opportunity for input along with the
board of directors.
Mr. Colvin stated his overall concern is cooperation between
the law enforcement agencies within the County and he felt it
would provide a better plan for the whole County. Captain
Hatfield stated Mr. Colvin was correct, that is the entire
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purpose for having this Task Force.
Public comment - none.
Mr. Johnson questioned why are we changing the leadership from
the City to the County? Captain Hatfield explained the Task
Force is set up so that any agency involved in this
cooperative effort can take the lead. There is a lot of
additional work involved in being the lead agency and it was
felt that since Bremerton was the largest municipality within
the jurisdictional area of the Task Force the City would start
out as lead agency. This program was basically started out
with City funds and Police Department personnel and at this
point they felt they had filled their obligation for front
line management and that it was time to allow another agency
to take that responsibility and the Sheriff's Department
elected to accept that opportunity. Mr. Johnson questioned if
all of the equipment/property been turned over to
WESTNET/County? Captain Hatfield stated yes, except for two
items, one is a 486 computer and the City is still looking at
the possible accusation of some automatic weapons that belong
to the Task Force.
Mrs. Horton questioned for clarification a statement made by
Captain Hatfield that in the earlier years when this unit was
formed the City used its own funds and people to start the
unit? She pointed out a grant was applied for and was
received for the early years and was not the City reimbursed
out of those grant funds for manning the program? Captain
Hatfield stated all of the original equipment used in the
start up operation belonged to the City and there were
purchases made later on with Task Force monies. When the
program was first started, there was not mutual participation
by the other agencies that are currently involved and it
started off with all Bremerton Police officers.
#1002
M/S/C(Collins/Colvin) to approve the Interlocal Drug Task
Force Agreement to enable implementation of the program.
Vote on motion: In Favor: Overson, Neville, Fitz, Collins,
Dawkins, Colvin, Johnson
Abstain: Horton
Motion carried.
6B - APPROVED CONSENT DECREE IN PUGET SOUND ALLIANCE V.
BREMERTON, #AB93-189
The parties have negotiated a settlement embodied in the
Proposed Consent Decree. The Decree has been approved by
Plaintiffs and must be approved by Council for programs
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extending beyond current budget year appropriations. The
agreement details a CSO reduction schedule within the time
frame of the Ecologyconsent Order executed earlier this year.
Goals are set for the City's stormwater management program
including testing for CSO impacts, stormwater source control,
and public education.
This suit, set for trial in October, will be dismissed, as
will the Alliance's appeal of Bremerton NPDES permit, if this
Decree is approved by the court.
Loren Johnson, 6109 Elaine Court, stated the only thing he
knows about this issue was what he read in the September 21
edition of The Sun. He has known for some time that there is
on going sewer problems in his area, however, he was bothered
about this agreement in that it puts the residents "over the
barrel" to agree to this. In reference to paying the Alliance
group's attorney fees, it has been his experience that usually
that happens in consumer complaints and not necessarily suits
of this kind. Also, he did not feel it was right to give the
Alliance group the police powers to prohibit additional sewer
connections to the City's system if deadlines are missed by
the City. He was concerned about the sum of money being
awarded and citizens having to lived with the sewer problems
and high sewer rates. He hopes that there are some parts of
the agreement that the citizens are not stuck with. He hopes
the $25,000 for education is to be spent in Bremerton and not
somewhere else. Ian Sievers, City Attorney, stated he did not
think the City was in a position of being "over a barrel" due
to the fact there are some issues here that were alleged as
far as violations of the Federal Clean Water Act and the City
did not admit any liability and there were concession in the
negotiation process by both sides. Typically, you will find
some concession in a settlement for Attorney's fees. In this
type of suit though, similar to some of the Consumer
Protection Act suits, are written into the act and are awarded
to plaintiffs not defendants. In reference to the question on
the education program, it is detailed in the agreement to take
place for the City's service area within Bremerton. The City
will have prior approval of the education program and they
will be put together with the City's Utility Department
coordination and cooperation.
Mr. Colvin questioned what are the options if Council does not
approve this item? Mr. Sievers stated if not approved, the
case would proceed to trial and would involve additional
discovery and preparation, there were summary judgements that
were stayed because it looked like there was good progress
being made toward a settlement. In addition, the Alliance has
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filed a timely appeal of the City NPDS Permit, which was
granted fairly recently and they are asking that parts of that
be revoked and modified which would make those permit
conditions more onerous on the City as well. This proposal
does fix the situation as far as CSO's at least during the
course of the next permit and as far as the Alliance is
concerned for the next 18 years. There. is some potential
liabilities for incurring additional costs and accelerating
the City's CSO construction schedule if they were successful
in their appeal of the permit or if they went to Court those
things might be awarded by the Judge if they could convince
him that the City could have done a better job in the past.
Mr. Colvin questioned if he was correct in his understanding
that the consequences could be much worse if the City didn't
agree? Mr. Sievers stated that was the motive for settling
most lawsuits.
Mr. Johnson stated he agreed with Mr. Loren Johnson's comment
that the City was put "over the barrel" and he believes more
and more municipalities were being put in that position,
particularly with some of the environmental groups. He has
been a strong advocate of environmental programs, but now the
way the laws are structured, the deck is stacked against
municipalities. What isn't taken into consideration is the
fact that there are older municipalities, like Bremerton, who
doesn't have a very large tax base and because of its age is
facing some problems due to the limited engineering standards
and principals that were in affect at the time those parts of
the City were build. He pointed out it does not count that a
municipality has done more than most of their neighboring
communities. He emphasized how much CSO separation Bremerton
has already done over the past few years...covering nearly the
whole east side and most of downtown with some major projects
coming up in the Park Avenue area and that doesn't count. He
finds this whole process "out of whack" and getting totally
out of control. He questioned what does a group like the
Alliance have to do with Annexation or how fast sewer rates
are raised and deciding for Bremerton how much can you afford
for a sewer and stormwater utility? He encouraged the
citizens of Bremerton to contact their legislators when
environmental issues come up that could adversely affect them
as City residents. He felt deciding how fast do you want to do
what should be up to the electorate. Because this proposal
was the cheaper option, he would support it as proposed.
Mr. Neville questioned if the proposed time schedule was
realistic and can the City actually meet it? Kathleen Cahall,
Public Works and Utilities, stated the time schedules were
originally set up in the CSO Plan that was adopted and
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approved in 1992. The Callow Avenue Basin and Warren Avenue
Basin projects are on track. There are ten projects
altogether so the rest of the other eight are dependent upon
funding available.
Mrs. Horton stated she agreed with comments made by Councilman
Johnson and Loren Johnson, and the only thing she feels is
palatable in this proposal is that we have already committed,
in the CSO Plan, to several other projects. The City has
recognized there are problems with CSO's and we need to do
what we can to correct the problem. She has no problem with
any of that or having them say we have to do what we said we
were going to do. What she does have a problem with is the
whole environmental issue where everyone is vying for the same
minute pot of funding, air quality, water quality, land
quality, etc. Every year when the State Legislature comes
down with mandates for clean air, clean water, landfills,
recycling, etc., the State and federal government do not
provide adequate funding for municipalities to take care of
all their mandates. Granted, many of those mandates may be
warranted, but until the Legislature and federal Congress get
the picture that the people are tired of funding all of the
requirements at their level and that we are not going to do it
any more, it will keep on occurring. Initiatives 601 and 602
are on the ballot because people are tired of seeing their
taxes being raised without seeing benefits for them.
Mr. Collins stated he agreed with everything that has been
stated so far, but there was one thing in the documentation
that concerned him, which had to do with paying the Alliance
group a fee if the City did not comply with this agreement and
they would give those funds to a charity of their choice. He
questioned if his understanding on that point was correct?
Mr. Sievers stated no. If the legislation in terms of desk
management practices for stormwater and a Utility rate system
that better reflects the people that are contributing toward
constructing stormwater improvements are not passed by the
Council by March 31, 1994, a penalty was built in. That money
would accrue in a trust fund and be spent on alternate
projects that would benefit water quality, such as leeching
hazardous waste site or environmentally sensitive lands and
the City would have the choice as to how those funds would be
spent. It would not be the Alliances' choice.
Mr. Overson questioned if the title "Consent Decree" means the
City is consenting to admit that we don't meet federal law so
far as CSO's are concerned and that we are consenting to a
program of now trying to meet federal requirements? Mr.
Sievers stated the City would be entering into a Consent
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Decree to settle the issue in this lawsuit. The Court must
still approve the Decree and it has to go back for comments to
Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) before it can be submitted to the Court for approval.
Mr. Overson stated the Alliance is saying the City does not
meet federal requirements. Mr. Sievers stated that was what
the Alliance was alleging but the Decree does recite that the
City does not admit any of those allegations or laying in
liability for violating the federal Clean Water Act.
Mr. Colvin questioned if he was correct in his understanding
that the City had 18 years to respond to the Decree? Mr.
Sievers stated the 18-year schedule was something the City has
already agreed to with the DOE. This agreement simply
provides some detail on when some of those construction
projects will be completed after the year 2000. As stated by
Ms. Cahall, they can be done in the order as agreed to here
without impracticality in the order in which they are done
from an engineering prospective and the Treasurer has also
stated they provide a fairly easy spread of cost over that
remaining 8-10 years. Mr. Colvin questioned if the City's
process will be monitored along the way? Mr. Sievers stated
yes.
1608
M/S/C/U(Collins/Colvin) to approve Proposed Consent Decree.
Councilman Horton left the Council Chambers at 6:50 P.M.
7A - PUBLIC HEARING: CABLE TELEVISION HEARING, #AB93-190
The purpose of this hearing is to present information
regarding the new Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
rules and to take public comment. This is the first in a
series of hearings which begin the refranchising process.
Both cable franchises (TCI Cablevision and Falcon Video)
expire in May 1995.
Kathleen McCluskey, City Clerk, stated the City's franchises
with TCI Cable and Falcon Cable will both expire in April of
1995. The FCC allowed a couple of preliminary steps, which
the City took, of sending a letter to the FCC asking authority
to regulate rates. The first day such a letter could be sent
was September 1, and the City's letter was sent that date and
the City will be authorized to regulate as of October 1, 1993.
Letters were also sent to the cable operators in August
relating to compliance with the Consumer Protection and
Customer Service Act of the FCC rules. That has a 90 day
waiting period and will be effective about November 18, 1993,
and the cable companies must comply with those new rules. Ms.
McCluskey introduced Lon Hurd, Consultant with 3H Cable
Consultants, who worked with the City about nine years ago
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when refranchising City cable contracts, and are now working
with Kitsap County on their refranchising process. Mr. Hurd
will give an overview of the FCC rules and talk about the
refranchising process. Following Mr. Hurd, a short
presentation will be made by Ed Bachmann, member of the Cable
Community Action Committee and past Chairman of that
committee. Short presentations will be made by Dan Clark, TCI
Cable Manager and Steve Snyder, Falcon TV Cable Manager,
followed by open comments from anyone wishing to speak on this
issue.
President Fitz reminded everyone that this hearing was just
fact finding and no decisions will be made by Council at this
time.
Lon Hurd, Cable Communications Consultants, 502 E. Main
Street, Auburn, Washington, stated prior to 1984 the federal
government had very little say about the local franchises and
operations of cable companies. In 1984 the federal government
passed the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, which
removed the cities' right to regulate rates and to discuss to
some extent lack of controlled datal programming content, etc.
Since that time, up until 1992, there has been a perceived
higher than needed increase in cable rates as well as possibly
a lack of improvement in customer service and technical
standards. Last year Congress and the federal government
passed a number of legislation, the main one being the Cable
Consumer Protection Act of 1992. There are five issues that
he wanted to discuss as well as the renewal process.
(1) Technical Standards - In the past he could almost
guarantee cable companies' were within the guidelines of the
FCC because thoseguidelines were very stringent. The FCC has
recently put a seven year program together where the cable
operators have to annually increase the quality of their
signal. A seven year period was stipulated due to the need
for converters and pieces of electronics on the system that
cannot be changed over night.
(2) Must Carry - this says that any television broadcast
station off air that wishes to make requests and require that
their signal be carried by the local cable company.
(3) Retransmission Consent - if the broadcasters wish to give
up their right to "must carry" they are allowed to negotiate
with the cable operator for some sort of payment of
reimbursement to have that signal carried over the cable
system. These two issues (#2 and #3) have been in the press
a lot and it is coming to light now that the broadcasters and
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cable operators have reached agreement.
(4) Customer Service - the FCC said that cities would have the
right to impose customer service standards that they have
established and that the City has unilateral right no matter
what is in the franchise to impose more stringent customer
service standards at any time during the period of the
franchise if they wish. Some of the standards include: cable
operators are required to provide toll free answering 24-hours
a day, seven days a week; to answer telephone calls within 30
seconds, to keep a ratio of busy signals at lower than 3%;
there must be bill payment location within the local area and
they must be open Monday through Friday during normal business
hours and there are mandated evening and weekends they must
also maintain. Standard installations will be required to be
completed within seven days and one of the bigger issues that
came up was the window for installation appointments.
previously, the cable operator would say service would be
available some time during a particular day. Now, the
operators are required to give the customer a four hour block
of time that they will reach that destination. Certain
penalties are imposed if those times are not met. The cable
operators are required to give 30 days notice for change of
rates, programming or channel alignments.
(5) Rate Regulation - the FCC, in 90 days, came up with a
document of 532 pages on how cities can regulate rates. He
emphasized this issue is very complex and he doubted if anyone
was ready to address it in a great amount of detail at this
time. He explained there are three processes:(1) rate
regulation certification; (2) rate regulation for basic tiers
that would come within the authority of the city/local
governments; (3) the regulation of expanded basic tier
(programming services) will be conducted by the FCC. There is
no form of rate regulation for "Pay-For-View" or Premium
Channels. It appears the City of Bremerton has filled out Form
328 and submitted it to the FCC for certification to regulate
rates, which is followed by a tacit approval that comes within
30 days if the FCC is not notified that there would be a
problem with such certification. If there is a problem within
the FCC and certification was disapproved, then the FCC would
take over the jurisdiction of regulation of basic rates. At
the point of certification of the cities to regulate rates,
operators are required to submit to the city their
justification for their rates. This submittal can come in
either of two forms: (1) bench mark or cost of service. The
cost of services is a very complicated accounting process that
would be similar to those used by the Utilities and
Transportation Commission. The cable operators in the Puget
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City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes
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Page 14 of 29
Sound area have overwhelmingly gone to "bench marks". The
bench marks were established by the FCC following a survey
from all across the country of cable systems that actually had
competition. Bench marks are based upon the number of
subscribers in the system compared with the number of offer
channels that are theoretically free verses the number of
satellite delivered programming, resulting with a cost per
channel that the local company can charge the subscribers.
Over and above that, there are additional external charges
that can be added and those would relate to franchise payments
as well as any services or goods the cities receive through
their franchise agreement. At this point, the City will
reviewing the proposed rates within the next 30-45 days. He
also believes the City submitted to the FCC a request for the
FCC to review their expanded basic rates. The FCC will use
the same bench marks to review those and respond back to the
City.
(6) Renewal Process - One thing the 1992 Cable Act did not
address was the renewal process and only changed a couple of
minor words that had very little meaning. This is the
procedure the FCC recommends that cities use for the renewal
process. Mr. Hurd highlighted the following: during the six
month period which begins the 36th month before the franchise
expiration, the franchising authority on its own, the City, or
shall upon the request of the operator or commence proceeding
on their own, to do: (1) identify the cable future related
community needs and interest; (2) to review the performance of
the cable operator under the current franchise agreement. The
first item is the most important issue and that was the
purpose for this hearing. The City has to justify anything
they request as part of their franchise agreement. If such
justification cannot be provided, then there are no grounds to
ask for any changes. He emphasized the "cards were stacked"
in favor of the cable operator because the City has automatic
renewal with the existing operator unless they can determine
one of the four following conditions: (1) the operator has not
substantially complied with the material terms of the existing
agreement; (2) quality of the operator's service has not been
reasonable in light of those community needs; (3) that the
operators financial, legal, technical ability to provide these
services is not there; (4) that the operators' new proposal is
not reasonable in this context to meet the future related
community needs and interest taking into account the cost of
providing those services. Therefore, it is the City's job
through the renewal process to determine what the community
needs and interest are, to compare them with the cost that it
would require the cable operator to provide them and to come
up with what is a fair package.
TAPE #1136
City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes
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The franchise agreements, maps and ordinances ultimately
enacted will cover customer service, construction in the City
right-of-ways, tree trimmings, bond insurance, transfer
clauses, etc.. There are 3-4 things of interest to the City
as a part of their new franchise that were not technologically
around in the past and things they would want to get into and
other things such as the access program they may wish to
enhance. Mr. Hurd explained the standard being discussed at
this time is a combination of fiber through the trunk where it
connects with the distribution and then distribution will go
to small groups of homes and then to the individual drop
lines. The design of that standard as well as compression
will allow for an incredible number of programs and channels
that will be allowed to be put on the air. Looking at all the
technology, it is realistic to expect the City's system in the
future would have 250-500 channels that will be able.to carry
not only voice/video but also data as well as other
technologies as they come along. The other thing that this
really does that is important to the subscribers is it will
improve the quality of the picture and improve reliability of
the system.
The City already uses some form of PEG (Public Educational and
Governmental Access). He explained the three different areas
of access that the federal government dictates separately,
that can be done on one channel or multiple channels, but in
each case it is important to note that those services are
being received throughout the subscriber network. The City
will probably want to expand upon what they are currently
doing in the area of public access, whether it be new updated
equipment or financial resources to continue progress or to
expand upon current levels. The City will need to talk to the
education community to find out their needs as well as the
general public to see what their needs are for public access.
In regard to Institutional Networks, they are starting to
become much more visible...King County is involved in some
negotiations that are talking extensive I-Nets. The concept
here is that the system is not a part of the subscriber
network. It is used to connect either schools or government
buildings, which could be used for video classrooms at the
schools where one teacher could present a presentation to four
or five classrooms throughout the school district.
Theoretically, with the equipment available, they could also
be interactive and they would also be able to use these lines
for data communications and other forms of communications.
The Public Safety I-Net usually connects fire stations, police
stations, City Hall and are used extensively for training.
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The I-Nets are generally fiber optic and are rather costly.
The City will probably look at a number of other methods to
collect community needs information such as mailers,
additional public meetings, interviews with community groups,
schools, etc.
Ed Bachmann, member of the Cable Communication Advisory
Committee (CCAC), made a point of clarification that he is a
member of the CCAC, not the Bremerton Community Access
Television (BCAT). He brought that point up on behalf of the
committee and their sensitivity to being addressed as BCAT,
which is another viable and valuable entity to cable, but they
did not want anyone to be confused that CCAC was not directly
responsible for BCAT.
The CCAC is an advisory group made up Of community members who
volunteer their time along with City Council and City
Administration representation, who discuss issues related to
the cable franchises in Bremerton. He noted this committee
was created through adoption of Ordinance #4030 in 1986. The
duties of the committee are listed in that ordinance, which
include: advising the Mayor and City Council regarding the
general policy questions that come up, recommended services to
cable operators through the Mayor and City Council that may
have been suggested by citizens, recommend to the cable users
things that are available through the community channels and
services available on the two cable systems, advise the Mayor
as to relative franchise performance, review plans that the
cable operators submit for new services or new development,
submit annual report to the Mayor and City Council for review
of what they have done over the course of a year, submit
budget request to City Council to fund help support the kinds
of things happening primarily at the BCAT program, and
developing funding proposals, and other duties as requested.
Mr. Bachmann noted the committee meets once a month, the
second Monday of each month, 5:00 P.M., in the City Council
Conference Room. He emphasized the committee meetings are
open to the public.
Mr. Bachmann outlined some of the things CCAC has been
involved in the recent past: participated in the process that
TCI initiated for hiring a new Access Manager; annually review
franchises; following what has been going on with
refranchising within Kitsap County, which has created lots of
interest due to like developments in the area of community
access and the linking of services across the County; funding
issues are developed; contributed to the community access
handbook with the Access Manager, studied some of the fallout
from the Cable Act of 1992; keeping in touch with the
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Page.17 of 29
refranchising processes and participating in this public
hearing; and they deal with technical problems or technical
questions like image quality and audio system backup on the
access channel.
Russ Johnson stated with Mr. Bachmann's input from the
education side, public input from citizen volunteers on the
CCAC and technical expertise from committee member Jack Riggs
has benefited the cable service for the residents of
Bremerton. He extended "congratulations" to all of the CCAC
committee members for a job well done.
Mr. Overson added under Councilman Johnson's leadership in the
area of access television, this City has become one of the
leaders in the Sound area in the use of community access
television and complimented he and Councilman Neville's
participation on the CCAC.
Dan Clark, TCI Manager, introduced fellow TCI members Plant
Manager Dennis Quinlin, Trina Jarman, Office Manager and
Patrick Hirsch, Access Manager. He emphasized as a
representative of an industry that is going through tough
times, it is his job to reinforce the value of cable
television and communicate customer service performance. For
about what one would pay for a medium cup of coffee cable
customers receive daily outstanding coverage from CNN,
unmatched coverage in the world of sports through ESPN, and
phenomena of nature from the Discovery Channel, cable
customers can dance to music on the National network or be
perpetually confused at comedies on MTV. The strength of
cable's programming was evidenced on Monday evening when HBO
won 17 Emmys, more than any other broadcast network. In the
last 10 years the cable industry has successfully build a new
telecommunications infrastructure to provide news, information
and entertainment to their customers. Sixty million Americans
subscribe to cable TV. Since this public hearing is the first
in refranchising process, he needed to answer an obvious
question "have we been a good franchisee"? His answer to that
question would be yes, due to their excellent customer
service. For the last two years the Bremerton system has been
awarded the National Cable Television Associations Seal of
Good Customer Service. The criteria used for evaluation
basically parallel those enacted by the Cable Act. What this
means is that when the phone rings they answer it, and when a
customer has a cable related problem they respond to it with
a sense of urgency. Over the last year TCI's phones were busy
1/2 of 1%. All elements of customer service are dependent
upon one group...TCI staff, and he is proud of their
performance. He is also proud of TCI's community involvement
TAPE #1136
City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes
September 22, 1993
Page 18 of 29
that includes sponsoring the Armed Forces Pageant, donation of
thousands of dollars to Muscular Dystrophy Association on a
national level and donation of approximately 2-tons of food to
local food banks. Additionally, TCI's commitment to the
education of youth is evident through the TCI Education
project. They have now successfully wired every school in the
City of Bremerton as well as their service area, at no cost.
They also provide cable programming to those schools at no
cost. As an industry, in 1992, cable invested 81 million
dollars in education with TCI being the largest contributor.
The third reason he believes TCI has been a good franchisee is
Access Television. Through a unique partnership with the City
of Bremerton, they have helped manage and finance a way for
citizens to express their opinions. Over the years TCI has
contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to this program.
Without this partnership this meeting would not be televised
thus cutting off the dissemination of information from City
leaders to the citizens. With theguidance of Patrick Hirsch,
access television will continue to be a readily available
conduit of information. TCI has made great strides as a
customer oriented company, with that he acknowledged they had
made mistakes, but the good news is when they discover their
mistakes that do their best to fix them. He believes the City
would agree over the term of the contract, considering how
many customer TCI serves, very few complaints have been lodged
against TCI. While he feels they have complied with and
exceeded the elements of their current franchise, such as
their payment of franchise fees and City Utility taxes to the
General Fund has totaled approximately $220,000 per year, he
is confident TCI can meet the demands of their customers in
the future. With the technological explosion on the horizon,
TCI is prepared to offer its customers many new exciting
services. From fiber optics to interactive television, the
cable landscape will soon be bound only by our imagination.
Mr. Clark explained TCI's rate structure as a result of the
Cable Act of 1992. TCI interpreted the act to say that they
should offer a reasonably priced entry level service for
customers who: (1) only want the broadcast stations and
Bremerton Community Access television or if they are on a
limited budget. A basic package was broken out on March 29,
1993, at a cost of $10.00/month. On September 1 that basic
package was moved to $10.02 but added three channels to that
package. Additionally, their standard basic package changed
from $11.38 per month to $10.70 per month. Remote control
charges were reduced dramatically from $3.00/month to
$.09/month. Their standard converter when from $2.00/month to
$.64/month and their addressable converter, that allows a
customer to receive a premium service such as HBO or paid for
TAPE #1136
City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes
September 22, 1993
Page 19 of 29
view events, went from $2.00 to $1.12/month. Installations
rates are now regulated, were also changed and are based on
what is now called an "hourly service charge". That charge is
a unique system - in Bremerton the charge is $24.00 per hour,
which is then multiplied by the average time it takes to do a
particular job.
TCI has enjoyed an excellent working relationship with the
City of Bremerton over the term of the franchise and in the
new cable environment it is even more important to keep an
open, cooperative relationship. They look forward to
renegotiating a new franchise that will meet the demands of
the City, the needs of TCI and most importantly TCI customers.
TAPE #1137
Steve Snyder, Manager Falcon Cable TV, explained he is new to
this area and moved from Eugene, Oregon about 11/2 months ago
to serve as Manager for Falcon Cable TV. He introduced the
following staff members who were in the audience: Rick
Rumrill, Chief Engineer, Judy Morrison, Office Manager, as
well as several other Falcon employees. Falcon currently
serves approximately 80 subscribers in the City of Bremerton.
With 41 channels of programming, including two channels of
full time impulse pay for view, they currently offer the most
comprehensive services on the Olympic peninsula. Although
their service area is small, he wanted to point out that it is
important to them and they do not think of it as "small". He
assured Council that Falcon is absolutely committed to
providing their customer with the widest possible range of
services at the best possible price and with best possible
customer service. Falcon is looking forward to working with
the City on the new FCC Customer Service Standards and he
strongly supports providing proactive customer service. Not
only do they plan to comply with those standards, they plan to
exceed them wherever they can. He is also looking forward to
the refranchising process, which will give them the
opportunity to work together to both envision and make a
reality the cable television system of the 21st century.
Mr. Snyder stated that he wished there been more time for him
to build a relationship and establish a track record with the
City prior to implementation of the 1992 Cable Act. He noted
he has enjoyed very positive relationships with the
franchising authorities he has dealt with in other parts of
the country as a manager. He has done that by being very
honest and open and not playing a lot of games.
Although there is disagreement over a few points over the
Cable Act, he sincerely hopes a quick resolution can be made
TAPE #1137
City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes
September 22, 1993
Page 20 of 29
on those issues and move onward to a very positive and
mutually beneficial relationship. In reference to rates,
Falcon has realigned their basic service by dropping the price
on their basic service and adding several channels that were
formerly available on another tier. The reasoning behind that
action was to establish a bench mark rate to be in compliance
with the Cable Act. Originally, their lowest price for basic
service, which consisted of 10 channels, would have been the
only level of service subject to regulation by the City. They
opted to collapse that level of because no subscribers in
Bremerton took advantage of that level of service. They have
taken a little different approach to their rate structure than
other cable companies. They decided to put most of their
services on basic (includes 28 channels). A problem that they
faced was that their tier services had been subsidized by some
revenues that pretty much went away, the primary example of
that was "additional outlet" charge. They were charging $3.00
per month for additional outlets in the system and having
funds from that source enabled them to sell what used to be
their tier service at or below their cost of delivery...in the
area of 15 cents per channel. What they have now done is to
take that level of service, which is now down to eight
channels, and offered it two different ways: (1) option # 1 was
to take all of the services at a rate of $4.95, which is below
what they are charging for basic; (2) if the subscribers
decide they do not want all of the channels, they can purchase
them on an ala cart basis. The bottom line effect for
subscribers was that some subscribers' bills went up because
cumulative the old basic package and the new tier, which is no
longer being subsidized, increased by a small amount.
However, a preponderance of their subscribers saw a decrease
in their bill. He emphasized more than one half of
subscribers system - wide had additional outlets and were paying
for them and through this new configuration of costs those
charges have gone away. A final point he wanted to get across
was that all of the shuffling around they had to do to get in
compliance with the Cable Act was absolutely revenue neutral.
They do not take 10 cents more out of the system now than they
did when they started making the changes. As far as equipment
charges are concerned, he felt it was essentially a wash.
They did have a $2.00+ charge for a remote control, which was
reduced to 27 cents, but convertor boxes, which previously had
not been charged for, ended up having a charge of $2.32. Some
subscribers were being charged for convertors already, who did
not have any premium channels, and were paying $3.50 and now
dropped down to $2.50. People who use convertor boxes for TV
that have problem getting any channels above 13, the cost of
those went down from $2.50 to a little over $1.
TAPE #1137
City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes
September 22, 1993
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Robert Ackerman, Arsenal Way (TCI service), stated prior to
the new rates coming into affect he talked with the cable
company about what his rate might be after the change and was
told his bill should be reduced by $2.00. However, when he
received his first billing under the new rate it showed a 30
cent reduction. He went back to the cable company and
questioned their estimated reduction over what actually showed
up on his bill. They explained he was being charge $24.00+
for the number of channels he was receiving and added onto
that was a franchise tax (approx. $2.00). He did not feel it
was right that the customer had to pay for the City's
franchise tax - he felt it should be paid by the cable
company.
Jim Thurston, 6199 Silver Beach Drive (Falcon service), stated
he was thankful for Mr. Hurd's explanation of community access
television and public programs that might be coming up in the
future. With the change in regulations, the cable companies
have been scrambling to improve the quality of picture
transmission. what concerned him is that a number of years
had gone by when the quality of transmission was less than
what it should have been or that they were only providing the
minimum for that time. The service that his family has
received has not been good. He emphasized there has been very
little programming on the public access channel, nor does
Falcon have a studio or production system whatsoever. He was
pleased to hear what TCI has done in the way of community
projects and community development, however, Falcon has
provide very little for their subscribers. He is concerned
that Falcon's public access program will be phased out. He
hoped that as these franchises are being considered the public
access programming will be included and lease access
programming will be brought forward as a viable opportunity
for leased time that allows selling of items on an individual
basis, which is written in the Cable Act. He also felt there
may be other things in the Cable Act that are not talked about
by the cable operators.
Mr. Johnson suggested that the comments given by County
residents during this hearing be passed on to the Kitsap
County Commissioners for their review since they are currently
in the refranchising process.
Marvin Grande, Central Kitsap (Falcon service) stated he
subscribed to cable for picture quality because he could only
get poor station reception. His initial service included all
services that were available, however, after a period of time
he and his wife decided they were not TV watchers and came to
the conclusion they wanted less programming. When "basic
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City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes
September 22, 1993
Page 22 of 29
service" was offered, they took advantage of that at a cost of
$11.39 per month. He compiled a list of the channels he
received prior to switching to basic, however, when the new
changes came into affect he finds that now he is receiving the
same channels that they had under the "basic service", but was
now being charged $19.00/month. He did talk with the Falcon
manager and asked him how could TCI give their customers a
$10.02 basic service, and his response at that time was "I
don't know". According to the new line up, there are channels
marked "basic" that he does not receive and there are channel
not listed that he does receive. He is a confused customer
and he does not want to receive more channels than what they
really need. He questioned Mr. Snyder's remark that Falcon
did not have the subscribers to support keeping the less
costly "basic" service. He hopes Falcon will reconsider their
new schedule of rates and do something for those people who
are not inclined to sit by their television for hours.
Pastor Bruce Brier, 26075 Pioneer Way NW, Poulsbo (TCI
service), stated at this time he is producing a program
through the local access on TCI, who have provided a great
deal of assistance. He emphasized the importance of having a
local voice in the medium because many of the radio and
television stations have become big business and do not offer
opportunities for local people to express their local
concerns, or focus on local programs. He suggested keeping as
many access channels open as possible for local people and
encourage them to use that service. He was please to hear
that there is some forming of a coalition of voices to be
heard from this area and not just the media centers in
Seattle.
Pastor Danny Allen, 317 Sheridan Road, stated his purpose for
being at this hearing was to commend the public access
channel. His church organization produces an access program
titled "Consider What I Say" and through that particular
program they have been able to train five individuals. They
also have an incubator program out of the Grace Pentecostal
Church that has done quite well in training these individuals.
He has a list of 17 other young people who have been
recommended to him to begin training, directing and floor
directing camera usage. He agreed with Pastor Stier that the
community be given every opportunity to use public access and
he is grateful to have that particular opportunity.
Jerry Braverman, 4760 82nd Street, Silverdale (Falcon
service), stated he realizes the new regulations do not cover
the premium channels, but to show what kind of company Falcon
is when they took over from Olympic he was paying $17.90 for
TAPE #1137
City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes
September 22, 1993
Page 23 of 29
Show Time and HBO. When Falcon took over, they raised their
rate for that same programming to $22.90. When he called and
questioned the increased cost, he was told that they put the
price of the remote control in with the package and that he
had to take their magazine. He told them he would return the
remote control, which he was paying $2.50/month and their
magazine that was costing him $.75. He was then told if he
returned those items his bill would be reduced by $.60, not
the $3.25. He did not feel such action was right and that it
was price gouging.
Sheldon Parr, Community Television, stated for the past five
years he has been producing community programming for what was
Olympic Cable Vision and what is now Falcon Cable TV. They
hope to continue and expand these types of programs and also
there is a beginning of a coalition of groups in this area.
One of the programs he is currently producing, The People's
Education Project Growth Management series, is being shown on
all three major cable systems in Kitsap County. This program
is supported by donations and contributions from private
individuals in the community who think this is important
information that the community needs to know. He agreed with
everyone that access to community programming is important and
will become more important in the future. Something that we
may want to consider is the expansion of interactive
television and fiber optics, which are technologically
possible, but it may be a few years before a lot of these
things get to the local level. He emphasized the need to
expand upon what is currently available and to look toward the
future for new inventive cable services. He believes part of
that will be providing public programming from the local area
to all the television sets in Kitsap County.
Bob Neal, Video Production Coordinator/City of Bremerton/BCAT,
stated he has been behind the scene and cameras for the past
five years. He was pleased to hear the positive comments
about the value of community access television. He made the
following analogy: "imagine if the telephone company suddenly
made this announcement - that they would listen to all
telephone calls and made sure that they were not obscene or
promoting unlawful activity. And, that further more all live
telephone calls and conversations would be stopped because the
content could not be controlled and from that point forward
all telephone communications would need to be recorded in
advance so that they could be prescreened before being placed.
The telephone company might also say they are taking these
actions because of new regulations imposed by the FCC to
protect consumers from telephone conversations that are
obscene or promoting unlawful activities and because they
TAPE #1137
City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes
September 22, 1993
Page 24 of 29
could be criminally or legally liable for any such
conversations that happened to slip by their sensors". Though
this analogy is a bit farfetched and does stretch the issue
because it is talking about private conversations verses
public communications, this could have been an outcome of
proposed FCC rules regarding government, education and public
access television and leased access television programming.
Another possible outcome of these rules could be the
elimination of access television altogether. One major cable
operator in another area has filed a lawsuit regarding these
rules stating if they are going to be liable for programming
on the access channel that they therefore should not be
required to continue carrying these access television and by
doing so it would be in violation of their First Amendment of
free speech. He was pleased to hear, during this hearing,
TCI's and other cable operators commitment to support local
community television programming.
Mr. Neal reviewed the adoption of the 1984 Cable Act and its
affect on cable operations and local jurisdictions as to local
access television programming. The 1984 Cable Act granted the
cable operators immunity from liability from content of
programming that appear on the access channels over which they
cannot exerciseeditorial control. Another protection for the
cable operators was by restricting PEG access usage to non-
commercial usage. That was the reason why BCAT does not allow
advertising and keeps them out of competition with the other
revenue generators of the cable operators. However, there
have been some changes through the Cable Consumer Protection
And Competition Act of 1992, which were tacked on at the end
of the proceedings that have removed the immunity provided by
the 1984 Cable Act and imposed some liability on the cable
operators for programming obscene or unlawful activities on
the access channel. This liability only applies to the lease
access channels or community channels, so the violence and
crime can continue on HBO, Show Time and other channels
without any liability. These rules have been drafted by the
FCC but not yet implemented and have been successfully
challenged through the court. He noted on September 14
arguments were heard in the U.S. Court Of Appeals D.C. Circuit
on these proposed rules and a ruling is expected within the
next three weeks.
As part of the refranchising process, there is the opportunity
to review and define community needs and interest, especially
as they regard PEG access programming. Local policy making
needs to be protected as well as local editing oversight and
local operational management without forcing editorial control
by the cable operators.
TAPE #1137
City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes
September 22, 1993
Page 25 of 29
Ms. McCluskey read into the record letters received from the
following individuals:
(1) Andrew C. Adams, 3440 Erlands Ct., Bremerton, stated the
idea of "universal rate structure" sucks. Cable operators are
lowering rates on people who can afford premium channels and
passing on the loss to people who can least afford the movie
channels. In his opinion he has received lousy service and
will refuse to pay any increase until Channel 41 is fixed so
that he can see and hear it.
(2) Jill. Marshall, 3238 View Drive, Bremerton (Falcon
service), stated radio portion of Channel 12 (KITZ) at best is
boring and tasteless.
(3) Margo E. McKiernan, 1412 NW Channa Road, Bremerton (Falcon
Service), listed her previous service/charges at $38.90 and
the new service/charges at $40.66. She could choose an option
to drop HBO plus converter boxes and reduce her cost to
$24.00. She believes there is no way a business will take a
monetary loss and will find a way to recoup that loss in
another service. She supports competition for these types of
services.
Ms. McCluskey stated the City did file a complaint on
September 15 with the FCC when Falcon rates were submitted,
both on the increase in some rates and also based on their ala
cart tier, which use to be their expanded basic.
Mr. Colvin commended Patrick Hirsch, Bob Neal and Nadine Price
and Jack Riggs for their work on the access channel. He also
requested that the City receive copies of any responses to
complaints made by the City.
Mr. Neville thanked Councilman Russ Johnson for his getting
the access channel program started. He noted by working with
TCI, Falcon, BCAT and CCAC we are going in the right
direction, but no one knows what's coming up in the future.
We don't know how large a service we want to provide or can
provide so we are feeling our way along. He asked the public
to please be patient and he hoped more and broader ideas will
be shared at the next public hearing on this issue.
Mr. Dawkins stated when he travels around the State during the
summer months, he checks out the local access channels to see
wha t -the local broadcasters are doing. He has found
Bremerton's stations are doing a wonderful job of coverage and
some of the other areas are providing a very "average"
community access coverage.
TAPE #1137
City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes
September 22, 1993
Page 26 of 29
Mr. Johnson emphasized those comments received from
individuals in other jurisdictions will be forwarded onto
their jurisdiction. He stressed not letting elected officials
from other cities and the County Commissioners off the hook by
not sharing concerns about cable operations/community access
because they also need to do a "needs" assessment. What he
heard during this hearing was support for the interconnection
within Kitsap County/Olympic Peninsula. After the hearing is
closed but before Council adjourns, he did have one small
piece of cable business that he wished to bring before
Council.
President Fitz encouraged the municipalities and County to
really consider public access for their meetings, especially
Kitsap County due to their holding their meetings in the
morning and many people who work cannot attend those meetings.
She emphasized the value of getting feedback from the citizens
following their viewing of Bremerton City Council meetings.
Mr. Johnson stated at the time of the last major election the
use of public access television for political issues came up.
One of the things that must be watched is keeping the access
channel non - partisan and not used by local politicians, etc.
At that previous election, there were instances where people
came up at the last minute with just one side of an issue and
there was not time to get the other view point together so
that the cable access channel could air the discussion/issue.
Following that, the Cable Committee and City Council agreed
that there was a need for a 60 prior notice time limit for
political issues to be aired on access television. As a
result, a new policy was adopted requiring a 60 - day notice to
BCAT, however, he did not believe the public was aware of the
time limits and how that affected bringing the current
election issues before the public through access television.
So, here we sit inside the 60 day limit and no one has
requested access time, but, as we get closer to the November
election time the feeling is that some of the major issues on
the ballot need to be aired on public access television. He
was looking at the possibility of allowing a waiver of the 60
day ruling so that issues such as the Mayoral race/City
Council races/change in form of government and Initiatives 601
and 602 could be broadcast over the access channel. He felt
the loser in this, if a waiver did not happen, would be the
public, who loses the extended discussion that could happen on
pubic television.
#1817
M/S/C(Johnson/Collins) that we allow a maximum of three forums
to be held only inCity Council Chambers or TCI TV Studio: (1)
Mayor/Council races in Bremerton; (2) 601 and 602 issues; (3)
TAPE #1137
City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes
September 22, 1993
Page 27 of 29
change in form of government. These issues could be aired on
public access for 1993 and basically waives the 60 - day rule
only under these conditions and does include pre - recorded
programming. There would need to be a neutral group that comes
forward, such as the League Of Women Voters, and both sides of
issues would need to be represented on a panel. Deadline for
this programming is September 30, 1993.
Mr. Collins questioned for clarification if Council needed to
pass an ordinance or an amendment to an ordinance to a waive
the 60 - day rule? Ian Sievers, City Attorney, stated it was
addressing a rule of the committee that was adopted by Council
and he did not have a problem with the motion as stated.
Mr. Neville stated he had a problem with the motion. He
pointed out the problem did arise in 1992, and the Cable
Advisory Committee did address the issue. The Committee
reduced the time limit from 90 days to 60 days for this very
reason and now Council is wanting to open it up so that
someone could come in as late as November 1 as long as they
have both sides represented. It concerned him that BCAT staff
was not being given the proper time for their planning and
execution. Mr. Johnson stated he did not want to tie up the
BCAT crew nor did he like the last minute situation, however,
he would like to see the public informed on the issues before
them on the November ballot.
Patrick Hirsch, TCI Access Manager/BCAT, stated in the best of
all possible worlds access television would only be
constrained by a first - come - first - served rule and there would
be no time constraints of any kind. However, most of the
access centers who adopt that type of structure for operation
are not linked by the hip to a City government. Many of the
people on Council and/or Mayor may be affected by waiving such
rules at the last minute. As such, if it was an adverse
affect, someone could take it out on the access channel in
some way because they are funded. The access centers that
have a purely first - come - first - serve relationship with their
users are usually non - profit private standing entitles. He
felt it was very important for access centers to act as a
conduit for information and election materials and are among
the most important and have a great impact on local
communities. BCAT did provide updated copies of the rules and
regulations to everyone that filed for public office. BCAT
had planned to do interviews with all candidates for affected
Council, Mayoral and County races. If Mr. Johnson's motion is
passed, they will have their time filled trying to delineate
who fits the last minute criteria and who does not. He is
TAPE #1137
City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes
September 22, 1993
Page 28 of 29
happy to do it what ever way Council directs but it will come
downto when it is available and when staff is available. He
was concerned that they may "step on someone's toes" due to
the limited time between now and the November election. Mr.
Nevillequestioned who would have the final say on what should
be aired? Mr. Hirsch stated he was not sure. His concerns
are for the protection of the access center and its funding.
Mrs. McCluskey pointed out the motion included programming,
but it did not include the already tapped initiative debate
that was put on by the Bremerton Area Chamber Of Commerce.
She questioned if pre - tapped programs would be included in the
motion? Mr. Johnson stated yes, as long as it was a balanced
point of view. Mr. Johnson stated he understood what Mr.
Hirsch was saying and he did not want to tie up the cable
volunteers and that was why he specifically recommended
holding the forums in either the City Council Chambers or TCI
Studio. If he had a preference, as a viewer, he would rather
watch a forum where he had a journalist, citizen and someone
else with prepared questions. He did not prefer just a one
sided statement from a political candidate.
Mr. Colvin stated he felt Mr. Johnson was discriminating
against other political issues when his motion limited the
number of public forums to three. Mr. Johnson pointed out it
was either three with the waiver or zero under the current
rule.
Mr. Overson stated he believed people were looking forward to
viewing those kinds of discussions. He personally did not
realize there was a 60 day limit and he believed if other
organizations and individuals hew of the time limit they also
would have put in their application of air time.
Mr. Collins questioned if the County Commissioner race would
be included? Mr. Johnson stated no, he was only concerned
with Bremerton.
Mr. Hirsch questioned if wording could be added to the
criteria for those things to be aired and that someone other
than he be required to arbitrate whether or not an item is to
be broadcast? Mrs. McCluskey explained the forums would have
balanced representation. Mr. Overson stated he believed the
necessary criteria for Mr. Hirsch to follow is probably in the
existing policy.
Mr. Colvin wanted the record to show that his only objection
to this motion is restricting it to only those issues we think
are important and the citizens have the right to think what is
important to them also.
TAPE #1137
City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes
September 22, 1993
Page 29 of 29
Sheldon Parr stated as a point of clarification for those who
have Falcon Cable service, the presentation by the combined
Chambers Of Commerce on Initiative 601 and 602 is currently
playing on the Falcon system on Channel # 3.
Vote on motion: In Favor: Dawkins, Johnson, Overson, Fitz
Opposed: Colvin Neville, Collins
Motion carried.
With no further business meeting adjourned at 8:55 P.M.
KATHLEEN L. McCLUSKEY, City Clerk
EILEEN FITZ, Council President
City of Bremerton
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