REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL May 12, 2016 FROM: MARK STANDRIFF, Director of Communications Office of the Mayor and City Manager SUBJECT ..Title Update on Fresno/Clovis Media Authority and Community Media Access Collaborative (CMAC) ..Body RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the Council accept the update on the Fresno/Clovis Community Media Authority and Community Media Access Collaborative (CMAC). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Fresno/Clovis Community Media Authority, a Joint Powers Authority of the Community Media Access Collaborative, (JPA) is the designated Public, Education and Government (PEG) access channel provider. The purpose of the JPA is to provide PEG access programming, delivery and related administrative and fiscal duties. In April of 2008, Council approved the formation of the Fresno/Clovis Community Media Authority (FCCMA) to facilitate local Public Education and Government (PEG) programming. Funding for PEG is established under the State of California's Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act (DIVCA) as a 1% PEG fee on the customer billing for their basic cable service. Only Comcast and AT&T U-verse fall under DIVCA regulations. DISH and other satellite services do not. Since PEG funds are not taxes, they can only be applied for the purpose of PEG programming and cannot be re-allocated for other General Fund purposes. Since May of 2010, CMAC has received $6,334,441.88 in DIVCA funding, passed through the City of Fresno. On December 17, 2009, FCCMA approved a contract with the Community Media Access Collaborative, a 501(c)3, to act as the third-party provider of PEG programming. The CMAC board is comprised of various Fresno and Clovis community stakeholders and subject matter experts in public programming. This report provides Council an overview of the success the JPA and CMAC have had since operations began. BACKGROUND On April 15 and May 12, 2008, the City of Fresno and the City of Clovis respectively approved the formation of the Fresno/Clovis Community Media Authority JPA to act as a jointly designated PEG channel provider. The JPA Board consists of five members with three members representing the City of Fresno and two members representing the City of Clovis. Funding for PEG programming is provided through the Digital Infrastructure Video Competition Act (DIVCA) as a 1% PEG fee on the customer billing for their basic cable service. The JPA Board governs the use of the DIVCA and has contracted with the Community Media Access Collaborative, a non-profit corporation, for the purpose developing, programming, and administering PEG access channels, and operating a Community Media Center. In 2007, the Fresno City Council adopted Ordinance 2007-94 in accordance with the requirements outlined in DIVCA. This ordinance included a provision that enables funding for PEG programming. In the interest of maximizing programming and efficiency of operations, the Fresno City Council authorized the formation of a joint powers authority with the City of Clovis. FCCMA entered into a contract with CMAC to secure and activate PEG channels and production resources on behalf of the communities of Fresno and Clovis. CMAC entered into a lease with the City of Fresno for the use of the 2nd floor of the former MET building and has since built a complete production/broadcast facility and space to conduct training. Last fall, because of its acceptance in the community, CMAC leased and made significant improvements to the third floor of the former MET building to meet growing demand for editing space and courses. Since May of 2010, CMAC has paid the City $1,537,988 to lease the 2nd and eventually the 3rd floor. In that time span, they have spent $1,042,820 in tenant improvements on the City owned historic Bee building. In addition facilities have been improved at CART and at California State University Fresno that provide opportunities for students and residents to access the high-level equipment and broadcasting abilities CMAC has come to offer. A mobile production van has also allowed CMAC to record live events such as parades, concerts and athletic events for broadcasting for the community to enjoy. While CMAC currently operates out of three physical locations, a majority of the video equipment available use through these locations is portable so members have the needed flexibility for shooting at remote locations throughout the community, then conveniently editing and uploading their work to CMAC for on-air play and any additional non-commercial use/distribution they choose. CMAC began operations on April 1, 2012. Since then, CMAC has served 1,553 individual members from Fresno along with 83 non-profit organization members headquartered in Fresno. These individual and non-profit members have allowed for high levels of collaboration that is producing professional quality public access content for the community that is well above traditional expectations for public programming. Member training is a critical component of what CMAC does because most members join with little knowledge of video production. In the 2013-2014 year (October through September,) CMAC provided training classes to more than 2,000 individuals. In addition, groups have been trained from the City of Clovis and Fresno on the use of state-of-the-art video production equipment. The excellent production facilities, in-depth training, and the highly engaged membership community has resulted in 3,115 original programs being aired through CMAC channels on Comcast, AT&T U-verse, and internet based platforms such as ROKU and any browser. There are three channels, each with a different focus: * CMAC 1: (Comcast Ch 93 & AT&T Ch 99) airs programing created by CMAC members. * CMAC 2: (Comcast Ch 94 & AT&T Ch 99) airs education based programming from the local education community. * CMAC 3: (Comcast Ch 96 & AT&T Ch 99) airs governmental programing such as City of Fresno Council Meetings. In order to ensure CMAC continues offering the most relevant public programming training, facilities and equipment, CMAC has engaged with similar facilities nationwide. As per its agreement with the JPA, CMAC has recently conducted its first audit since becoming operational. Lautze and Lautze, a CPA firm with special expertise in DIVCA, was the auditor. Their report was a very positive one while, as expected, as CMAC has been in a start-up phase, it also provides constructive approaches to improvements - a number of which have already been or are currently being implemented. All others are being reviewed and scheduled for implementation (Attachment 2). The CMAC Board held a strategic planning retreat in January 2016. Because of continuing changes in digital communication, mobile technology and entertainment delivery systems, funding through DIVCA regulations is expected to shrink. So, sustainability of this public access resource is a major strategic planning issue for PEG operations and locally, for the CMAC board. The FCCMA has been meeting on a quarterly basis to review community access progress and ensure that CMAC is meeting its contractual obligations to the cities. The FCCMA Board is pleased with its selection of CMAC as the operating entity and comfortable that CMAC's Board of Directors, management and staff are working diligently to provide the best in public access for the residents and institutions of our communities. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS N/A LOCAL PREFERENCE N/A FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact. Attachments: CMAC Annual Report CMAC Audit