Title
Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Access Corporation Contract
Action
Action:
A. Approve an amendment to the contract with Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Access Corporation for the provision of Public Access Facilities and Support,
B. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an amendment to the contract with Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Access Corporation to increase the percentage of state-provided video and telecom revenues paid to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Access Corporation from 6.6 percent to eight percent, and
C. Authorize the City Manager to amend the contract consistent with the purpose for which the contract and this amendment were approved.
Body
Staff Resource(s):
Jason Schneider, Charlotte Communication and Marketing
Explanation
* Pursuant to Section 611 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, local franchising authorities may require cable operators to set aside channels for public, educational, or governmental ("PEG") use.
* The Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Access Corporation (CMPAC) is a private, non-profit corporation that was incorporated in May of 2000 for the purpose of operating the public access channel (Access 21) on the Spectrum cable system serving Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte.
* The city has an agreement with CMPAC to provide public access services including but not limited to:
* Administering program production and management of the public access channel(s) for the City of Charlotte.
* Providing residents within the City of Charlotte - on a nondiscriminatory basis - the necessary resources to produce public access programming, including channel time, equipment, and production facilities free of charge.
* Providing training to residents of the City of Charlotte in the use of production facilities and equipment.
* After the state ended local franchising authority for cable television, the state began distributing a portion of state sales taxes on video programming to municipal governments, inc...
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