INSIGHT: While the Administration and Council have done nothing to rebroadcast Council meetings or to video Council Committee meetings for broadcast on the government channel and the public access channel continues to be used as a bulletin board...the Administration is upset that the ATT's  operation will not provide free access to ATT's system so that the Administration can continue "programming as usual".

INSIGHT: Radio am 1640, the city emergency radio station continues to avoid providing recorded audio presentations of various Administration and Council meetings. 

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MR. ZUBEK'S REMARKS DURING THE "AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION" PORTION OF THE COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, 12/18/06, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT HASELEY'S COMMENTS TO MR. ZUBEK.

(The following is taken from the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting held on December 18, 2006)

Tony Zubek, 16689 Timberline Drive, Strongville--Mr. President, Mayor, members of Council, Department Heads: Good evening.
Seventy seven days ago, Monday, October 2, 2006, Tony Zubek came before this legislative body to review a citizen's request made now 190 days ago. 190 days of "no we won't, no we won't". We will not provide the citizens of Strongsville with the opportunity to view their government in action
through the video broadcast and rebroadcast of regularly scheduled meetings of Council, its committees, the Planning Committee, Board of Zoning Appeals, Recreation Board and any agency that the administration or Council may from time to time determine is of value to present to the community.

The Administration has seen the benefit of broadcasting certain events on the Commons; certainly, in September the Patriot's Day Program and this month a rebroadcast of the opening evening of the holiday display on the Commons.

Mr. Gallagher, as Chairman of the Finance Committee, saw the benefit to broadcast the budget hearings on the Government Channel. Someone said that many other cities do not broadcast committee or board meetings; therefore, Strongsville should not lead the way. This logic did not stop this legislative body and this administration from passing a credit reduction for city income taxes when other cities did not do the same.
Tony Zubek even suggested the process by which an ordinance, number 2006-225, sponsored by Mayor Perciak and all Members of Council, could be passed as an emergency measure on or before tonight's meeting so that as the election year of 2007 began our City government would be more transparent.
The answer from this legislative body was "No, No,  No."

As a facet of the multiple dollar ugrade of the City's electronic capablilities, we have gotten eight electronic signs alerting motorists to tune into Radio 1640 AM for emergency and traffic related information. Another facet of the upgrade is the ability for video conferences and activitation of that capability is slated for 2007 and will pretty much allow people in any department to see and talk to each other.

WHILE RETURNING T0 HIS SEAT MR. ZUBEK WAS CALLED BACK TO THE PODIUM BY MR. HASELEY.

 THE FOLLOWING IS TAKEN FROM THE MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 18,2006 COUNCIL MEETING AND IS PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONSIDERTION.

(n.b.-- STRONGSVILLE IN 2006 COLLECTED IN EXCESS OF $410,000.00 FROM THE CABLE PROVIDERS.)

Council meeting of 12/18/06 continued:

Mr. Haseley--Mr. Zubek, I want to make a comment to you. You've been up here several times.

Tony Zubek--Yes sir, Mr. President

Mr. Haseley--We are not hiding anything. All the agendas and the minutes of all these meetings are posted on our web site and kept current, so anybody that cares to be interested has a method of finding out what went on. If you televise Planning Committee meetings nobody would understand them because there's a great deal of work that goes into these well ahead of the meetings. We really make it  formal on the meeting nights. So I, for one, don't see any reason for televising it, quite frankly. The minutes are available to everybody as proof that nobody's hiding anything.

Tony Zubek--Mr. President, it's not my suggestion over the past one hundred ninety days that any organization within this City is hiding anything. Certainly, you can go to one of five places and see what's--you know, what may happen. I have spent hours since 2003 reading various minutes; I have bothered your Clerk of Council on so many occasions that it hurts. I have been reminded that if I wanted lots of paper it costs me twenty five cents a sheet, so I have sat and read hundreds of pages to cull out the few that I wanted. My suggestion is not, Mr. President, that anyone is hiding anything. My suggestion is that the Government Channel is there, that the citizens have a right to view it.

I don't believe that the Planning Commission is so complicated that, in a city where we have an excellent school system, that over a period of some weeks even Tony Zubek watching wouldn't get some grasp of what's going on, wouldn't understand that if there is debate with the Planning Commission over an issue and that issue fails on the part of whoever the property owner is that its for the benefit of the City. I just don't believe that we're all dumb enough not to understand over time, what it means.

Mr. Haseley--Whoa, whoa, whoa;  I'm going to stop you right now.

Tony Zubek--Sure.

Mr. Haseley--I did not indicate that the people were dumb.

Tony Zubek--My apology.

Mr. Haseley--But we have--(holding Codified Ordinance book)-Do you see this?

Mr. DeMio--Ray--You know, Ray...

Mr. Haseley--No, I'm...I want to bring this to a close.

Mr. DeMio--You know, you're right, but you know what...

Mr. Haseley--Do you see this?

Tony Zubek-- Yes, I see it.

Mr. Haseley--That's the Codified Ordinances of this City.

Tony Zubek--Yes.

Mr. Haseley--I have been working with these for 22 years and I don't know everything that's in there.

Tony  Zubek--(at this point the audio system malfunctioned) I'm not sug---My apology; and I will sit down in a moment so that (unintelligible). (audio system malfunction corrected) My purpose is only to offer the exposure to the citizens, which is their right under the rules of the FCC. That's all.  Thank you.

Mr. Haseley--They're accessible on the website. Period. And I don't want to hear any more about it. Anybody else wants to address City Council.

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MR. ZUBEK'S ABRIDGED REMARKS DURNING THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MONDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2006

"President of Council..Mayor, Council Members......16 weeks ago this Council meet on a warm evening in June...112 days....2688 hours have gone by that have seen this legislative body and this Administration take action on any number of resolutions and ordinances.....If we were lucky we heard about Council's June 15th Public Safety and Recreation Committee meeting.....This is the first monday in October...and still this legislative body....a Council that has been intact since at least January 1, 2002 still has not addressed the issue of providing the citizens of Strongsville access to view its'government bodies through the government Public Access channel. Certainly cost can not be an issue since the subscribers to cable pay a fee that is returned to the city in the form of a commission that in the 2005 budget was in execss of $400,000 dollars.....It is time for this legislative body to act to provide us with the ability that surrounding cities have...to be informed by being able to view government in action on the Government Channel...our channel 21.........

FOR A COMPLETE COPY OF THESE REMARKS TO COUNCIL...CONTACT THE CLERK OF COUNCIL.
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MR. ZUBEK'S REMARKS WERE PRESENTED DURING THE CITIZEN ARTICIPATION ORTION OF THE COUNCIL MEETING ON MONDAY, MAY 2, 2005.  (PRESENTATION TO COUNCIL ON JUNE 19, 2006 IS ATTACHED TO THIS INSIGHT)

"PUBLIC ACCESS (n.) Availability of television or radio broadcast facilities, as provided by law, for use by the public for presentation of programs, as those of community interest." WebsterII Dictionary *1984)

"Mr. President, Mayor, Department Directors, Council Members, Clerk of Council, with your understanding let me extend congratulations to John Bedford as Director of Communications and Technology for the City of Strongsville.

My first opportunity to have an extensive conversation with John happened a couple of years ago when I investigated the availability of the Public Access Channel in Strongsville, then and now being operated as the Adult Education Channel, in conjunction with the Government Channel and the Strongsville City School Channel. After some 20 minutes of phone conversation and after asking how, as a city of Strongsville resident, I could make use of the Public Access Channel, John, said that it was something that the City Council would have to determine.

The Administration's use of the Government Channel to run an  advertisement campaign in support of the successful Fire Levy, the redevelopment of the "old library" into a Communication Center and the appointment of a Director of Communication and Technology combined with the limited space available in local newspapers and the necessary but limited time afforded to citizens when speaking before Council has resulted in my remarks today.

Every user of cable service pays an access fee for PUBLIC, EDUCATIONAL, and GOVERNMENT access channels. I am a subscriber to WOW and the fee is 43 cents per month. While this is a small amount 43 cents times, as an example, 20,000 cable subscribers equals $ 8,600. per month and $103,200 thousand dollars per year.

Based on my research, some years ago the city determined to turn over day to day physical operation for the School, Government, and Public Service channels to the school system. Except for scrolling messages, the Government channel is used periodically to present live broadcast of Council meetings and on rare occassion other things that the administration or council believe to be significant.

Some 20 years ago the city to our immediate south, Brunswick, made the decision to separate the Public access and Government access channels from the Brunswick School System and operate a separate program. The benefit of this decision is that now the citizens of Brunswick are able to view both live and recorded meetings of City  Council and all committies and boards on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. The department, including a complete studio operation, employs a cable coordinator, two full time access specialists and two part time production assistants. This system allows 24 hour availablity of video as well as bulletin information.

I am not suggesting that Strongsville, at this time, create a complete studio operation; however, John's relationship with the School Administration might provide us with a temporary way to make the Public Access channel available, while the Administration and Council determine the longer term use of the Communication Center as a service to our Citizens.

With the hiring of the Director of Communications and the creation of a Communication Center the time has arrived for the re-introduction of the Public Access Channel and the greater use of the Government channel in Strongsville to be able to present either live or recorded the actions of our Boards, Committees, and our Council.

The Administration showed the value of using the Government channel when it rebroadcast several times the well developed program on "Why the citizens should support the Fire Levy."

This and future Administrations should show the same enthusiasm in presenting the activities of our committees and boards on the same Government Channel.

As importantly, at a time and place when the good work of our Civic Groups are difficult to promote, and when newspaper space is limited to present comments and concerns, and when because even Council must limit the time its members and the public can speak on an issue, the creation of a Communication Center provided this administration and this Council the challenge and opportunity to re-introduce the Public Access Channel to our interested citizens and community groups to promote the communication so necessary in a city soon to exceed 50,000 citizens.

Thank You"

Anthony P. Zubek, May 2, 2005

Background information:

The following are excerpts from"Public Policy and Community-Related Uses of Cable Television" originally published in Urban Affairs Quarterly Vol. 20, No. 2/December 1984.

"From a community perspective, cable systems....can create opportunities for enhancing public dialogue among citizens and between citizens and officials, directing citizen participation in public proceedings, and improving the effieiency of municipal services...

.......cities and towns can determine the technical characteristics of the cable system...installed within their boundaries and impose....channel allocation and service requirements. Thus such things as public access, government and educational channels...could be required.

Local origination programming is essential if a system is to provide opportunities for community-related communication.

Allocating specific channels for government, educational, and public access is on to the most frequently mentioned methods for utilizing cable for community purposes....."

CURRENT STATUS:

• We live in a city of over 45,000 citizens.
• We live in a city with a superior school system
• We live in a sophisticated community
• We live in a city where it is very difficult to review our local city government decision making activity.

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However, on a daily bases, the Strongsville School System continues to provide the broadcast and rebroadcast of School Board meetings and in school and sports activites.

The Perciak administration and City Council (Haselsy, Daymuth, Gallagher, Coyne DeMio, Kaminski, Roth) have spent in excess of $1 million to refurbish the "Communications Center" and hire a director at an annual salary of over $90,000. We are allowed to see (rebroadcasts) of the annual Holiday party on the Commons, the election year candidates night sponsored by the Strongsville Women's League, and whatever "fun" event the Administration wants us to see...EVEN WITH ALL OF THE TAX DOLLARS YOU HAVE GIVEN TO HAVE A COMMUNICATIONS CENTER...EVEN THOUGH YOUR CABLE BILL INCLUDES A CHARGE, FOR THE GOVERNMENT CHANNEL (21), THAT GIVES THE ADMINISTRATION IN EXCES OF $400,000 IN ANNUAL REVENUE, EXCLUDING  THE LIVE BROADCAST OF THE REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING ON THE FIRST AND THIRD MONDAY OF THE MONTH, YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO SEE THE REBROADCAST OF ANY COUNCIL MEETING OR THE REBROADCAST OF ANY ADMINISTRATION OR CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE MEETING.

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During the 11/19/2007 City Council meeting, while in discussion with Mr. Roth, Mayor Perciak talked of moving the city's communications into the 21st century. Now will the Mayor and this City Council bring us more then the Sun News review of "what happened last week in city government" by discovering that you do watch your TV for more then sports.