The 3-2 decision – with Council members Judy Thein and Curt Giambruno voting no – came at the council's meeting last Thursday, April 14.
The Board of Supervisors also approved a similar request from the Public Education Government (PEG) Channel, TV8, last month, as Lake County News has reported.
Interim City Administrator Steve Albright said the county had committed $5,000 to the station in the current budget with the understanding that the city of Clearlake also would demonstrate its commitment.
Albright said that the city has corresponded with County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox on the matter, and while the city doesn't write an “actual check,” the value of the space in Clearlake City Hall that it gives to the station along with utilities, and staff and in-kind services are valued at well beyond the $5,000 offered by the county.
That brought them to the issue of how to move forward in supporting the station. Albright referred to the supervisors' 4-1 vote to approve the concept of assessing a 1 percent fee on Mediacom television subscribers – not phone or Internet, he was careful to point out.
Albright said the Board of Supervisors' approval of the concept was predicated on the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport also taking similar action.
He said the pass-through will result in somewhat of a change to the franchise agreement, but it's allowed by state law.
Station board member Joel Moore read from California Public Utilities Code Section 5870, which provides the mechanism to put such a fee in place. The stipulation is that it cannot exceed 1 percent of the holder's gross revenues.
Thein said she's spoken to local seniors who aren't for it. Although it's supposed to be less than a dollar per subscriber according to information provided by PEG, Thein maintained that it should be optional, and there should be a choice.
Mayor Joyce Overton, who also sits on the PEG Board, said the concept is one that's been discussed for several years.
Overton said it does benefit seniors, and suggested there is choice – people can get Dish Network if they don't want to pay the extra Mediacom fees.
Council member Jeri Spittler maintained that the station is very important to the community and she didn't think the 1 percent pass-through was that much.
Thein said she wanted to see the proposal in writing – the city staff report was only one page and didn't include details or a breakdown of the fees or how they would be used – and also asked to see a copy of the city's franchise agreement with Mediacom.
Said Giambruno, “I've got a real issue with this.”
Giambruno said he'd had concerns over the past three years as he's seen how volunteers have operated the station. He said since the pass-through proposal was brought up he's been contacted by community members asking him not to support it, describing station content as “junk.”
Spittler said there is a lot of dumb stuff on television, but a lot of important things, too, such as that very meeting, and that sometimes the sweet has to be taken with the sour.
In addition, “Somebody's got to pay for it,” she said.
During public comment, the council heard from several station volunteers who argued for the value of the station to the community.
One of the volunteers and a board member, Vince Metzger, said the $17,000 the station currently survives on isn't enough to cover all of its expenses or needs.
He said Mediacom – which serves an estimated 10,000 households out of 40,000 countywide – pays an annual franchise fee of about $550,000 annually to the county and two cities. PEG has asked to have a portion of that and has been refused, he said.
“We had to do something,” said Metzger, adding that Mediacom and offered to put the pass-through fee in place.
Metzger argued that the service the station offers to the community, “is not available in any other venue,” and appealed to the council to “help us make this a better station.”
Giambruno questioned how the station would be run any better than it has been in the last three years. He said he's watched station volunteers ignore city rules about facility use and complained about programming, including shows dedicated solely to marijuana.
He added that he believed the station was run by people who have a personal agenda to harm the city.
Metzger said they can't ban anyone's personal viewpoint and there will be programs he doesn't like, either.
Spittler told her fellow council members, “Channel 8 is essential to this community,” noting that she gets Mediacom just to have access to TV8 so she can keep track of community events and meetings.
Retired Councilman Chuck Leonard questioned the arguments that people can't afford less than a dollar per bill to pay for the services. He said he felt it was worthwhile to support the station.
Vice Mayor Joey Luiz also offered his support to the PEG Channel.
“We hear a lot about what we don't have in Lake County,” said Luiz, noting that the station gives them what a bigger city like San Francisco has.
Thein said Luiz was supporting his generation, and she was going to serve hers. “My generation is telling me they're nickel and dimed to death,” she said, adding she wouldn't support the fee unless it was voluntary.
Overton, who said she's been on the PEG Board since joining the city council several years ago, explained that she used to get complaints about the station, but hasn't gotten a single one in the last year.
She said at one point it had gotten so bad that her opinion had been like Giambruno's, and that she was willing to shut it down.
But, she added, “We are not that station anymore,” explaining that volunteers have done “a fabulous job” of working together.
She said the volunteers deserve to be paid, and the station deserves to have good equipment. “We cannot do that if we don't get this money.”
Luiz moved to direct staff to proceed with drafting the necessary ordinance to enable the pass-through proposal, which Spittler seconded and led to the 3-2 vote.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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