KLTV
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
April 20, 2009

President Mark McCrady called the meeting to order at 5:31 pm.

Secretary Arlen Hubble called the roll.   Board Members Present:  Position 1 – George Ford,  Post 2 - Mike Kayser, Post 3 – Brian Magnuson, Posit 4 - Joe Daggy,  Post 5 – Mark McCrady, Position 6 – Arlene Hubble, Post 7- Don MacDonald, Post 8 - Hal Phillips, Post 9 – James Johnston.  All Board Members were present. Mark also introduced incoming Board Member Keath Huff who was appointed to fill Mark’s position once the election process for position 6 is concluded.

Members present: Jane Still, Rick Still, Lorna Moon, Bob Metke, Jack Radique, Art Anderson, John Anderson, Don Anderson, Judy Jones, Ben Purvis, Ric King, Wendi Koslowski, and Eric Nyugen. Guests include Kris Gurrad and Elizabeth Evans. Staff included: Gary Hill, Linda Manning, Marilyn Freerks, Frank Huckstep, and Eric Anderson.

Mark asked if there were any changes or additions to the agenda. Mark had concern over Board Report section and wanted to lump all subjects together. Joe Daggy asked to address disclaimer notices also under Board Reports.

The Executive Session earlier scheduled to discuss Ron Gerne’s - Rent Request is tabled until Barry could be here. Plus as Mark understands it, new developments have occurred that may take us down a different path.

Mark said he would entertain a motion to approve the minutes of February 16, 2009. The motion to accept the minutes was made by Mike Kayser and seconded by Hal Phillips. The minutes were accepted as presented.  

Treasurer’s Report   Mark turned the floor over to Brian Magnuson. Brian immediately brought to everyone’s attention the format of the financial report is different than those provided by Chace & Spurgeon over the past two years. Knowing what the budget is and where we are in relation to that budget is extremely important. Gary took over paying the bills and will continue to provide us a  picture of our financial status including the balances of each of our bank accounts. His participation saves us roughly $10,000 per year. Gary also pointed out that Aloma would continue to provide us with their detailed reports but rather on a quarterly basis.

Gary addressed a question pertaining to a $6000 discrepancies noted at the bottom of the budget page. Gary pointed out that his Quick Book program has never been audited and the people who kept official records ahead of him would subtract certain deductions that our department knew nothing about. So that discrepancy is a journal entry with the endeavor to more closely match that of the banks records. We’re with a few hundred dollars of being exact at this point.

Gary clarified that at some point after Tax Season - Aloma would be coming over to set up our budget codes to match more accurately with theirs and that of the bank. They assign certain line items with a Program Services Code while other entries are assigned with an Administrative Code. Whereas the bottom line will reflect the same number; for tax purposes and general accounting practices we’ll have to make the necessary adjustments.       

Operations Manager Report - Linda motioned to the ceiling of the studio pointing out that several   light fixtures have been added and plans are to obtain a few more. The hope would be to have enough lights to accommodate 3 separate set areas.

We have a broken 12 foot satellite dish up on the roof that we need to have removed. We haven’t been able to find anybody in town that is interested in removing that monstrous thing. Brian Manguson offered his lift truck if the dish is less than 40 feet high.

The Production Van has been taken to Stirling Motors for the leaky power steering unit. The mechanic suggest a possible $260 fix if the seals can be replaced. The worst case scenario costs are around $800 if the cheap fix doesn’t work and replacing the entire power steering unit becomes necessary.

Linda mentioned a Video Producers Club that Marilyn has been planning for months and months. Tonight after the board meeting, will the club’s first meeting. You’re all welcome to stay after if you wish to meet and mingle with other producers, and videographers. Kris Gurrad is the first featured speaker followed by Eric Nyugen.

Barry is still waiting to hear from LCC about NWAACC. Barry also spoke with Dave Andrew as a representative of the Babe Ruth Committee about partnering up to cover the World Series Tournament in August. Kris spoke with Dave Andrew recently to get a feel for what is expected. Kris said he has not yet spoken with Barry about the project so he didn’t want to overstep his bounds nor promise anything we could not deliver. Kris also had concerns about whether crew would be paid positions or not. He was thinking that NWAACC could be a training ground for the World Series crew.   

Brian Magnuson commented on a conversation with Dave Andrew about the World Series. Dave specifically wanted to know about streaming capabilities and how many viewers could be served.. Brian said he referred him to George Ford for that information. Brian recalled that last year at NWAACC they were able to accommodate 300 plus.

Linda clarified that at the last World Series Brian provided bandwidth that covered over a thousand people. Brian said we’re going to be discussing Web Streaming a little later on the Agenda – maybe George could address how many connection are capable at that time.

Executive Director Report   Barry Verrill is attending the NAB Convention in Las Vegas and therefore has no report.

Office Manager Gary Hill offered the results of a survey he circulated during the Annual Membership Meeting of March 20th.   Gary stipulated the need for a survey was necessitated because of philosophical differences between staff members on several issues. He felt the membership should have a say in matters that directly affect them.

He then pointed out that 96 people attended the Annual Meeting event. Of those 96 – 56 were eligible to vote members. Of those 56 members – 49 took the time to fill out the survey questionnaire distributed at the tables.

Office Manager – Continued     The first subject was the use of email as a viable means to communicate with the membership. 74% of those who responded preferred email as a primary method to relay information. 23% preferred phone calls as their preferred method. 3 % or 3 people would have expected US Mail as their preferred method of communication. Gary said that since people in this category provided no names there is no way he could accommodate their wishes. Gary noted that 79 % of our current membership, do have email capability. Gary said last Thursday he sent reminder notices of this particular meeting to those who has email. Marilyn and CAP employees made calls to the remaining 20 - 24 who do not have email on Friday afternoon, and that only took about an hour or so.

The second subject approached by the survey addressed the fact that KLTV provides the cost of meals to the membership and their guests. Whereas some employees believe that we owe it to our membership and their guests because they sustain us, other staff members believe, we need to be better stewards of the money provided by our franchising authorities and further that these franchising authorities may choose to scrutinize our spending especially during these economic times.  81% responded they would not object to paying for their meals. While 81% would be willing to pay for their guests’ meals.

Good news from feedback – several members agreed to serve on a committee to help plan the event next year. Comments shared with this newly formed committee includes: have a potluck, serve something less expensive like spaghetti, provide choices of entrees, provide meals free to members – charge half fare to guest, charge both member and guests 50 %, another option charge full price for members and guests. Another thought could be that we allow people to pay for meals with volunteer hours much like we do for membership and training fees. One last thought could be that anyone who has volunteered X number of hours would be eligible for a free meal while members who have not offered volunteer assistance would pay for their meals. This could be considered a true volunteer recognition dinner. Regardless, the results indicate a willingness to support KLTV in what ever manner is necessary. 

There was a question about what kind of information gets mailed and how often. Gary said the only information that may get sent out besides ballots during elections, would be membership renewal letters, or possible changes pertaining to the bylaws. President Mark declared mailing should be avoided whenever possible because of staff manpower requirements and affiliated costs. Mike Kaiser reiterated there was no reason to spend a penny on postage. If a person forks out $25 to be a member they ought to be able to mark on the calendar when these meetings are held, and if they are truly interested in what goes on here – they’ll be here. It was agreed that Email is simply more efficient and economical and would be continued..
 
Board Reports   President Mark McCrady  re-introduced Keath Huff  and shared a little bio from his resume. Mark felt Keath has two strong components that will make a good fit here at KLTV; his background in technology and his commitment to committee work. Keath again will fill Marks position on the Board starting next months meeting.

Mark then outlined the process the election will follow to place Board Members. He first named LeRoy Gerdlund, Don MacDonald, and Barry Verrill to join with Pat Davis of Davis and Associates – the CPA Firm who has agreed to oversee tabulating ballots. The agreed appointment is set for Tuesday April 28th at 10:00 am. Once Mark has received the results of the vote, he will make personal contact with both candidates before allowing Gary to send out email and make calls to the membership.

Board Reports  - Continued     During the May Board Meeting Mark will officiate over the election of the board president. At which time he will pass the gavel to the incoming president. The very same gavel he bought at a garage sale for a buck. Then the newly elected president will conduct the election of new vice president. The president will then appoint, with board concurrence, the secretary and the treasurer. At that point your new board will be seated.

George Ford had asked several months ago to share photos of tours he had taken of other Access operations. He encouraged the current and future board members to do the same. To find out what other facilities are like, and how they do things. Ask about their procedures and concerns. “To Learn the easy way, not they hard way of doing things.”

In addition George shared pictures of various Production Vans he had toured and provided an enthusiastic lets look at possible ways to achieve this as a goal. Brian suggested the revival of the Technology Committee to evaluate and prioritize future purchases.
 
Next George explained he started doing research on streaming at the NAB Convention in Las Vegas last year and how he began pricing the various necessary items which ranged from $20,000 to $45,000 depending on a ton of potential options. He continued his research months after the convention and happened into Mogulus.com, a streaming company that was just starting up and which offered FREE start up service. The answer to the earlier number of simultaneous connections question is – 44,000 !  We also have the ability to track visitors.

George continued on how he was able to streaming our Government Ch 29 for roughly $450, the cost of an inexpensive computer and a video capture card. George and Brian discussed how to proceed with then next phase – streaming Ch11. The cost would be roughly the same; approximately $500 per channel. The next hurdle will be to acquire permission to stream the various programs in which we cablecast, particularly the imported shows.

Joe Daggy brought to attention a conversation he had with a woman who took offence with a program in which we aired over channel 11. Joe feels he got her calmed down and willing to listen, then accept what public access television is about. Their discussion prompted the question of why isn’t our disclaimer more prevalently displayed. Further discussion ensued with local producers agreeing to add a stock disclaimer to the credits of their shows. Linda and Eric offered a potential solution with the technical capabilities of the Chyron. The Chyron provides messages that declare what program is currently playing followed by what program is coming up next. Their suggested would be to have the disclaimer programmed to pop up during every show.

Mark asked Joe if he would undertake the wordsmith of such a disclaimer. Joe agreed he would. Mark asked Gary to make sure this item is on May’s Meeting Agenda.

The Executive Session earlier scheduled to discuss Ron Gerne’s - Rent Request was tabled until Barry could be here. Plus as Mark understands it, new developments have occurred that may take us down a different path.

Good of the Order 

The meeting was ADJOURNED AT 6:39 PM  

Minutes Approved   ____/____/____ by KLTV Board ________________________________
                                          Date                                                       Secretary’s Signature