By Sarah Lombardo
The Saratoga City Council is reconsidering actions taken in March with respect to a Cable Access Television Trust Fund and who should manage the money. By unanimous vote, the council agreed last week to set aside time at a future council meeting to discuss the matter.
The decision was made after the Saratoga Community Access Cable Television Foundation (KSAR) board asked that the council rethink its March 5 move to spend a portion of $61,000 in fund money to equip Senior Day Care to televise Tuesday night council meetings. The plan meant that the city would manage the account and the televising of all council meetings.
Instead, KSAR members would like to see the fund turned over to them, and in exchange they would commit to outfitting the Day Care, televising the meetings and providing staff.
In a letter to the council, KSAR board chairman Tom Moran said, "We propose instead going back to the original intent of having KSAR manage all Channel 6 public access, education and government programming, including both Tuesday and Wednesday Council meetings. ... It would be a great loss to divide Channel 6 into separate organizations with separate funding and management."
Although the council seemed to respond favorably in theory to the proposal to turn responsibility for the meetings and the fund over to KSAR, some council members said they wanted to see the proposal, with details, in writing.
"This seems to be very cost-effective, and the people who would be taking care of the matter would be willing to do so in a way that wouldn't cost the city any extra money and would be more expeditious," said Councilman Don Wolfe.
Councilman Stan Bogosian said he wanted to see some guarantees and a plan that outlined how the money would be spent before the council handed over the funds to KSAR.
"I think we have a duty to ensure that it's being done effectively," Bogosian said. "I really don't feel that we have had it laid out for us what kind of guarantees we will have that these operating costs are going to be covered."
Bogosian said that with the city's budgetary restraints, it was tempting to pass responsibility for the future of televised meetings off to someone else, but he wanted to make sure, in writing, that KSAR was willing to accept all future responsibility for the equipment and staff.
Councilman Paul Jacobs agreed.
"We ought to have something more concrete. I'm not opposed to the concept at all, because my understanding of what they are saying is 'When the money runs out, we're going continue to provide these services,' " he said. "But I also agree that we need an agreement prepared."
The money for the Senior Day Care project would not come from the city's budget, but from a refund trust account into which cable subscribers pay and to which the city is entitled. The funds must be used for television-oriented activities.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, April 23, 1997.
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