Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutD-4 Staff Report - Discussion Item Re Use of Facilities by AUSDSCHEDULED ITEM D-4 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL VIA: STEPHAN E. HUNT, CHIEF OF POLICE/ACTING CITY MANAGER FROM: MARTIN QUIROZ, NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT COORDINATOR DATE: AUGUST 21, 2017 SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR DIRECTION REGARDING THE USE OF THE AZUSA CIVIC AUDITORIUM BY THE AZUSA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR MONTHLY BOARD MEETINGS SUMMARY: On June 8, 2017, Staff met with Marvin Creech, Director of Technology and Mario Vensor, Technology Supervisor to provide the Azusa Unified School district with a comprehensive overview of the City’s TV, Video Recording, Internet streaming and re-broadcasting capabilities. The meeting was productive and demonstrated the Azusa civic auditorium’s capacity and the capability of the on-board broadcasting equipment to successfully accomplish the goal of broadcasting “live,” recording for re -broadcast and streaming the AUSD School Board meetings. The information that was assembled during our June 8, 2017 meeting was presented to the AUSD Board Members who are interested in using City facilities, as well as the TV video equipment if the following condition could be accommodated: 1. The Azusa Unified School District Board of Directors would like to use the City’s Civic Auditorium a maximum of 34 times a year. During 2016, the AUSD Board met 34 times and it is expecting to do the same in 2018. During 2018, they may not use the auditorium on all 34 occasions, but still want to show the use as an upper limit of the number of times that they may want to reserve the facility. The City Clerk’s Office maintains a yearly calendar for the purpose of scheduling all activ ities in the civic auditorium. AUSD would provide the City Clerk’s office with several weeks advance notice of any possible meeting cancelations. APPROVED CITY COUNCIL 8/21/2017 Use of the Azusa Civic Auditorium July 24, 2017 Page 2 2. The AUSD would like to both live stream and broadcast over Frontier FiOS and Spectrum Cable all of its board meetings. The District would use the City’s contracted video production services for both live streaming and broadcasting the meeting. It’s the Board’s understanding that the cost for the contracted video production services would be incurred by the City through its PEG fund. The District will pay for the custodial services utilized by the City at a cost of $40 each hour for each meeting. 3. AUSD would like to use the same live streaming service (Granicus) that the City currently used for the live streaming of the City Council and Planning Commission meetings. The AUSD will contact Granicus to create their own account and contract for the purpose of developing a streaming portal on their AUSD website to stream the board meetings. This will not be at any cost to the City. 4. AUSD would like to re-broadcast its “live” meeting on the City’s local fiber optic and cable channels. 5. AUSD is would like to record its remote board meetings for the purpose of re-broadcasting them at a later date. AUSD would contract with a vendor who will provide remote recording services and deliver the edited meetings to the City on the format preferable for re-broadcasting. This will not be at any cost to the City. 6. AUSD board meetings are on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. As the primary users of the facility the Azusa City Council can reserve the use of the auditorium for a meeting that falls on a Tuesday after a Monday holiday. It’s agreed that the AUSD meetings would either relocate the board meeting to another facility, or change the date of the board meeting to a date when the facility is not being utilized by the City. 7. The AUSD is proposing a comprehensive agreement in the form of an MOU between them and the City for the purpose of obtaining a potential cost analysis and any restrictions on the use of the civic auditorium. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the City Council take the following action: 1) Discuss the conditions presented by the Azusa Unified School District for the use of the City of Azusa Civic Auditorium and provide Staff with direction on whether to negotiate an MOU with the AUSD regarding the use of the civic auditorium. DISCUSSION: All expenses incurred for the production of the City Council and Planning Commission meetings are billed to and paid from the PEG fund account. Presently, the City has a temporary contract to provide production services for the City Council and Planning Commission meetings at a cost of $65.00 an hour and approximately $45.00 for mileage. An RFP for all City related video production service was circulated and a contractor who meets all of the professional production requirements has been selected from the voluminous list of applicants. The contract approval for the new TV production company is Use of the Azusa Civic Auditorium July 24, 2017 Page 3 being considered by the City Council this evening within the consent calendar. Staff was successful in negotiating the terms of the contract to fall in-line with all professional meeting expectation at below current market rates. The proposed contractor has agreed to perform all professional production duties for a flat fee of $250 each meeting. At an estimated 34 meetings each year at two-hours a meeting, the cost to the City’s PEG fund would be approximately $8,500. It’s estimated by the Azusa Unified School District that their meetings run between two to three hours in length, but can on occasion run up to four hours. The District will pay for the custodial services utilized by the City at a cost of $40 each hour for each meeting. This would not be an unusual use of a City facility as several other municipalities in Southern California allow their respective school districts to use their Council Chambers for their school board meetings. These cities include: Hermosa Beach, Simi Valley and Ventura. Some of these same cities also televise the school district meetings on their government access channels. As part of the California Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006 (“DIVCA”), the City receives PEG (public, educational, or governmental) fees from local cable TV franchise holders. The revenue from this fee can be used to cover the costs associated with the PEG access. On average, the City receives approximately $45,000 per year in PEG fee revenue from the City’s franchise holders. If the intent is to televise school board meetings to be aired on the City’s Government Access Channel, the City Council could justify the use of PEG funds to offset the costs associated with the school district ’s use of the Auditorium. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact to the General Fund associated with the recommended action. Prepared by: Reviewed and Approved: Martin Quiroz Louie F. Lacasella Neighborhood Improvement Coordinator Senior Management Analyst Reviewed and Approved: Stephan E. Hunt Chief of Police/Acting City Manager