With financial support from the city of Cupertino and the Foothill­De Anza Community College District, the media center, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary on March 1, has been serving residents of Cupertino, Los Altos and other cities in the Bay Area since 1983.

But a recent letter from Cupertino's city government terminating the agreement between the city and the community college district on or about May 19 has led media center staff to believe that the facility as well as public access television in Cupertino is being shut down.

"At this point, I don't know what's going to happen," said Robert Haber, director of the public access station. "I am hoping for the best and planning for the worst."

The public access facility—which broadcasts a variety of local programming produced by community members and nonprofit agencies on cable television channel 15 "is a valuable public asset and needs to be preserved," said Haber.

"We allow community members and students here at De Anza to learn about local programming and, more importantly, to have a voice," Haber said. "I think the benefits of supporting the center outweigh the costs by far because the channel doesn't just reach Cupertino—it goes everywhere. It's a great public relations source for the city and college."

Currently the city of Cupertino allocates $105,000 annually to cover the ongoing expenses of one full-time employee while De Anza College pays for the other operational costs of the center, such as part-time staff.

But in tough economic times such as the upcoming fiscal year, when Cupertino is facing a budget cut of approximately $4 million, the city has no choice but to evaluate and reduce some services.

"The letter was submitted to preserve the city's ability to not have the agreement," said Cupertino City Manager David Knapp. "With a $4 million hole in our $30 million budget, I have to preserve my options. The city council has to make the final decision. But if I didn't submit the letter, we wouldn't have the opportunity to not have the agreement."

Under the current contract, the agreement would be automatically extended for three years unless either party provides written notice of non-renewal to the other party no later than 60 days prior to the end of the current agreement, which expires on May 19.

Although city officials have no intention of axing public access television service in Cupertino, they are exploring possible significant changes to the service.

According to Rick Kitson, the city's public information officer, the city hopes to take advantage of the new technologies available and cut down the costs of the service.

"The nature of technology has changed enormously since we first signed the agreement with the college to provide public access to our residents," Kitson explained. "We want to keep public access open, as it is an important service to us, but we want to do it in a different way by maintaining the broadcast and playback abilities and eliminating other operational features."

The features that face possible elimination include production staff, equipment and the studio, which Kitson said make up the most expensive areas of the service.

"We would certainly like to maintain the studio and the staff, but during difficult budget times, we have to make difficult decisions. We have to look at what services are essential to residents and need to be protected and what can be cut."

City Manager Knapp said, "It won't be a complete loss of service. People can still produce and broadcast shows. ... It's never easy to make decisions like this. The state is going to take away a big chunk of the money. I think this is a reasonable compromise."

Public Access Director Haber, who is unsure of the city's plans, intends to do everything possible to save the media center. Haber and many supporters of the center will lobby members of the city council at their April 17 meeting.

"We'll talk about our concerns with the city council and hopefully that will help us overturn the city manager's decision. We'll lobby everyone we need to save the program," said Haber, who has been working at the center for almost 10 years.

The media center broadcasts local, regional and national programs on cable channel 15 every day between the hours of 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. Haber estimated the channel's rating to be around 600 households, which translates into 5 percent of the 12,000 cable-subscribing households in the area.

Although its major coverage areas are Cupertino and Los Altos, the media center impacts a larger geographic area, as it broadcasts programs created by organizations in the greater Bay Area and even other states, such as Rif Exchange, a children's show created by Reading is Fundamental Inc. in Washington, D.C.

With such a busy schedule and vital role in the community, the center's three-person crew and many community members were surprised and saddened when they received the letter from the city government to terminate its agreement with the college district.

"The center doesn't just benefit residents in Cupertino—our programs reach people throughout the Bay Area and other parts of the country. We'll do whatever it takes to save the program," Haber said.