.

Hopefully here somewhere.

Good afternoon everybody.

I am calling to order this meeting of the Sacramento

Metropolitan Cable Television Commission on June 13,

2025 at 2.33 p.m.

Madam Clerk, could you please call the roll?

Absolutely.

Member Munoz?

Here.

Riley?

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Present.

Gruneisen?

Here.

Sandhu?

Here.

Gatewood?

Yes.

Gill?

Here.

Sorry.

And Brown?

Here.

And Hackett Little?

Here.

And with those members present, we have a quorum.

Thank you so much, Clerk.

Let us proceed to the Pledge of Allegiance.

May I ask my Vice Chair, Garrett Gatewood, to lead us in the

pledge, which I'm sure he's thrilled.

All right.

Another volunteer.

All right.

Salute.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for

which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

That's very exciting.

Okay.

Thank you so much.

Before we get into our agenda, Madam Clerk, could you please read our Metro replay statement

and our meeting announcement?

This meeting of the Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission is cablecast live

on Metro 14, the local government affairs channel on the Comcast and direct TV U-verse cable

systems.

This meeting is closed captioned and live streamed at Metro14live.saccounty.gov and will replay

on Tuesday, June 17th at 6 p.m. on Metro Cable on Channel 14.

This meeting can also be viewed at youtube.com slash MetroCable14.

The meeting announcement.

This commission fosters public engagement during the meeting and encourages public participation,

civility, and use of courteous language.

To make a public comment, please fill out a speaker request form and hand it to the clerk

staff.

The chairperson will open public comments for each agenda off-agenda item and direct the

clerk to call the name of each speaker.

When the clerk calls your name, please come to the podium and make your comment.

You may send written comments by email to boardclerk at sacccounty.gov and your comment will be

routed to the board and filed on the record.

And that concludes the statement and announcement.

Thank you so much, Madam Clerk.

Good afternoon, everybody.

Hoping you're having a wonderful Friday thus far and you are excited for what I can only

call an action-packed meeting of the Metro Cable Commission.

And before we get into our consent agenda, I do want to take a moment and recognize that

we have two brand new members of our commission here with us today.

The first being Alma Munoz here on behalf of Supervisor Phil Serna.

And do you want to quickly say hi and introduce yourself to the commission in case you haven't

had a chance to?

I think I know most of the members.

My name is Alma Munoz.

I am the Chief of Staff for Supervisor Phil Serna.

I have worked for the Sacramento County for 24 years.

And previously I was the Assistant Clerk of the Board.

Awesome.

Welcome, Alma.

And then we also have Thomas Grenason, which I'm hoping I pronounced right, joining us today.

On spot.

Thank you.

Glad to be here.

I am the Folsom Public Library Director representing Councilmember Barbara Leary from the City of Folsom.

Thank you.

Awesome.

Thrilled to have you.

Thank you so much.

We will now move to matters that are not on the post agenda.

Madam Clerk, do we have any public comments relating to the matters on not on said posted agenda?

I have not received any public comments.

Thank you so much.

In that case, we will move to consent matters, specifically item two, adopting the resolution

approving the 15th amendment to the license and operations agreements pertaining to the use

of community programming channels.

Madam Clerk, do we have any public comments on the consent matters?

We do not.

Thank you.

Do any members of the commission have any comments or questions?

Going once, going twice.

I'd like to request a motion to pass the items on the consent calendar.

So moved.

Motion Garrett.

Seconded.

Seconded by Alma.

Any discussion before proceeding to a vote?

Nope.

Hearing none, are the buttons going to pop up?

Is it time for the vote?

Not at this time, but I would like to make sure that I announce that member Middleton has

joined us.

Welcome.

In that case, we have a motion and a second.

We'll proceed to a vote.

Is that going to be a voice vote or?

That is going to be a voice vote.

Wonderful.

Please, if you are in favor of passing the consent agenda, please indicate by saying aye now.

Aye.

All those opposed?

Any abstentions?

The motion carries and we have passed the consent agenda.

Thank you all so very much.

And then we're going to move into our discussion matters, which I believe begins with item three.

That first item is receiving and filing updates from the Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television

Commission Community Grant Program recipients.

Do we have a presentation?

We have four presentations.

These are recipients that were previously awarded scholarships or grants.

I'd like to call Keir Stoza first.

Is he here?

And he's with Sacktown Movie Buffs and his grant amount was previously awarded at $10,000.

Amazing.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

So, yeah, I just wanted to touch a little bit on what the grant program, kind of what we

do.

So we are Sacktown Movie Buffs and essentially what we have is a television show that we actually

shoot at Access Sacramento.

And we are goal and our mission is basically to highlight local filmmakers as well as television,

people that are interested in television or film.

And so we basically record a couple times a week over at Access Sacramento and we then air those

shows on Access Sacramento's platform on Channel 17.

And then we also repurpose our show as well on a Sacklife TV as well.

And the grant program has been just instrumental for us as growing a local community television

show because it's very difficult on a volunteer basis to get people to actually show up to help

with the actual production, if you will.

And so for us, it's helped tremendously.

We've been able to record essentially we were awarded the grant funding back in February.

And since then we've had 12 episodes air to date on those local platforms.

We've been able to make sure we have a full staff of crew every single time we recorded

because now we're also able to provide them with a little bit of compensation, incentivize

them to show up and actually help out with camera work or whatever case may be.

I also use the funding to actually pay for all of the people that are on our team to actually

take courses so they can learn about camera work, photography, things of this nature because

we record not only at Access Sacramento, we also do a lot of shows out in the community as well,

covering local events, usually film or television related, doing interviews.

And I actually do have a video that I've presented that we can actually queue up and I'll

kind of just walk you through a little bit of kind of what we do.

Yeah.

So this is kind of just like an interview that we did initially.

This bug about that big.

That's stunning.

They're huge.

They're huge.

Even their spiders are huge.

She's a local makeup artist.

Just kind of a funny tidbit that she was sharing a story with us essentially.

So it starts walking towards, so I keep going toward the door and it keeps going and then

all of a sudden it starts doing its wings and I'm like going, oh my God, does that mean

it's going to go inside of me?

Like what's going on?

I'm trying to open up the door and then all of a sudden I let out this huge scream.

And so she's essentially telling us a funny story, an antidote that she did on a film

set where there was like cicadas down in Florida that were actually like attacking her.

So it was kind of just like a funny little tidbit that we got when we drew in there just

to kind of kick things off.

It was like we need to hire her for that.

Local filmmakers here.

And then this is people that are actually on my crew.

There's Bunny Stewart and Kelda Music.

This is at another local film festival which I actually run as well here locally in Sacramento

at the IMAX.

And they're basically just interviewing participants at the film festival as well.

And then this is actually during the film festival we actually invited pretty much all of the

major players in the film market including Donna Garreau who actually is ED for Access Sacramento.

We had the local film commissioners there as well.

Jennifer West, the executive director of the CFAA.

And then local casting agents.

And basically we were just covering.

We invited them all as a panel.

And this is kind of us basically just getting coverage of different things that are going on within the community.

They're talking about different types of programs, other types of grants and things of this nature that they offer

to kind of help people.

This is me at an actual Sinister CreatureCon event where we were there and just interviewing one of the local individuals that runs the event there.

Which gets like thousands of people every single year that they have Sinister CreatureCon.

They invite people in from the community.

Also people come in from Hollywood and facilitate there as well.

And this is a team that puts it together.

All I got to do is talk to people.

But hey, that's all I do, man.

So we're kind of in the right.

You know.

Right, right.

I don't make film.

I don't star in films.

I just love talking to people.

I talk to the people who do.

That way I know.

Exactly.

Yes, Miss Robin Lively.

And this is me doing an interview with Robin Lively who is actually the star of Teen Witch,

if you guys remember from the 80s.

She's also the star of the Karate Kid 3 as well.

So the funding has just been like instrumental for us for being able to get out in the community and attend these events.

It's very expensive to get a crew to come out with you.

The equipment that we need in order to go out there and basically do our jobs and engage with the community.

And that's kind of what we've used the funding for.

To pay for day rates and make sure we have adequate staff that can show up and actually help facilitate all of these different events that we cover,

both in studio and also in the field as well.

Again, like I said, we've also used it for the training as well because at Access Sacramento,

anyone that uses the equipment must be trained.

And so a lot of people usually take it upon themselves just to pay for the training.

But for me, using the funding, I've been able to incentivize individuals to say,

hey, we'll actually pay for the training for you.

That way you can get trained.

You can come in.

You can be programming manager.

You can do editing, things of this nature.

And so we've been just great.

And then it also helps us with the editing service as well to do the editing for after the interviews.

And then we've also been able to enhance and upgrade our equipment and we'll continue to do so moving forward.

So it's kind of the nutshell of kind of what we do.

Amazing.

Thank you so much for sharing that with us.

Thank you.

Any members of the commission have any thoughts, feedback, questions, comments?

Awesome.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

Well, thank you.

Have a great day.

Thank you.

Thanks for having us.

Of course.

Our next presenter is a teacher from San Juan Unified School District.

Rebecca Batzianas, is she here?

Yes.

And she and her students were awarded a scholarship to attend the National Student Press Association Convention in Seattle, Washington.

Wow.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

Like he said, my name is Rebecca Batzianas and I am a journalism and also English teacher in the San Juan School District.

My program mainly focuses on teaching students how to make and edit videos.

We do focus on journalism, but we also have a creative filmmaking videography aspect as well.

For the first time, since I've taken over the program, we were able to go to this national convention.

And the goal was to have students, expose students to other schools and programs as well as other classes and workshops that they could attend.

There was also a trade show which included college reps.

So they were able to talk to nationwide representatives from a whole bunch of different colleges to learn about their programs.

My program also runs a live broadcast every Monday called Caseroble Live.

We go live on YouTube like the professionals do.

So it really gives the students an opportunity to learn what it's like out in the real world.

They produce videos as well, pre-recorded videos that we incorporate as well.

So being able to go to Seattle to the National Student Press Association convention was a really great opportunity for them to learn more, to attend classes, and to get to meet with professionals in the industry to learn more.

It was a three-day convention that we attended with literally thousands of other high school students.

The first night we were able to hear from speakers in the industry and to kind of hear about what the program consisted of.

The second and third day there were classes featuring hundreds of professionals from a variety of industries.

My students wanted to be here but we're on summer vacation and they're off literally with their families.

So I am representing them.

What Nico wanted to say is that he really appreciated the opportunity to learn more about interviewing and how to make people feel more comfortable while they're working.

And how to make people feel more comfortable while you are interviewing them.

He is a very shy student and I have really seen him come out of his shell, which is amazing to see.

Especially on this trip I really saw a side of him that I have not seen before.

And he really appreciated the opportunity to learn and to grow.

My student Jaden really learned how to prioritize the importance of telling a story as opposed to just working off of a list of like a check mark list of things that she wanted to do.

And to focus more on the story behind her videos.

All along she has said that she wants to go into journalism and she said that this trip cemented that for her.

And really helped her to see all of the opportunities and all of the ways that she could pursue that career.

For Hudson and also for myself the highlight of our trip was we got the opportunity to view a doc Oscar winning documentary.

And then also have a presentation and a Q&A with an Oscar winning producer and director.

Which was really cool.

And he opened the floor for students to actually interact and talk and ask questions of him.

And that was really an invaluable opportunity for me and for these students to see somebody who has won an Oscar.

And to ask personal questions and interact with him.

Hudson said that he really appreciated that he was able to get the scholarship.

And he said that he definitely would not have gone if he had had to pay all of the money on his own.

And it was a cool experience.

And he was glad that he got to go on the trip.

And very grateful to all of you for providing that opportunity for him.

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity that I had to attend as well.

As a teacher I don't often get the opportunity to learn for myself.

Usually I'm passing on the information.

But I did get to attend several workshops.

The ones that were most valuable for me other than the presentation with the Oscar winning director.

Was the opportunity to go to a couple of classes where they really talked about California law.

And how that applies in the classroom.

To freedom of the press.

As well as copyright infringement.

Which is really important I feel right now.

In the freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

So I was really grateful to have even more knowledge of my rights.

As they pertain to what my students can do inside the classroom.

So all four of us are truly appreciative of the scholarship.

And the opportunity to go to Seattle.

And to learn more about the industry.

And to meet with professionals.

And look at opportunities for college for these kids.

So thank you.

Amazing.

Thank you so much for sharing.

That's really remarkable.

And hoping you get back to enjoying your summer break soon.

I will.

Anything from...

Oh yes Keaton.

Yeah well it sounds like an amazing opportunity.

Really glad that you all got to do that.

I'm just curious what the documentary was.

It's called The Last Repair Shop.

And it was...

It's about a Los Angeles Unified School District musician instrument repair center.

And it's the last one in the country where they provide for free all of the instruments

for people in the LA school district to be able to play instruments.

And then as they break they come in and repair everything.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Awesome.

And anything else from the remainder of the commission?

So moving forward for efficiency's sake.

I'm going...

If I do not see any requests to speak.

I will assume that there are none.

And I will move on.

So if you would like to give any remarks or feedback please just click that little button.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you.

Two more presenters.

The next one is Elliot Rogan.

He's a student from Vista Del Lago High School.

And he was awarded a scholarship which he used on some hardware and software.

And I believe he brought some examples of his photography today.

Yes.

My name is Elliot Rogan.

I am a...

Or past...

I just graduated from Vista Del Lago High School.

And I had taken specifically Photography 1 and Photography 2 classes at that school.

That was specifically what started me inside of this program.

And first of all I'd like to say good afternoon to the board.

And thank you all for giving me the opportunity that I have been given.

My grant was a large sum of money that I was able to spend on hardware.

Specifically a Macbook.

And specifically Lightroom and Lightroom Pro and Photoshop.

And I've been using these certain tools to be able to influence the nature of my photography.

And be able to showcase it in various ways.

I have been able to open up my artwork to different photographers.

I'm able to open up and communicate to different people that I wasn't able to in the first place.

I've been able to share and collaborate with different photographers as well.

And I have been able to, I would say, open up my knowledge as well to various techniques and tactics.

I would say I wouldn't be able to edit and showcase any of this artwork without this grant.

And I wouldn't have been able to specifically collaborate with anybody.

And I have...

Besides the Photography 1 and Photography 2, I am taking a beginning photography history class in college.

In the community college in my area.

And I plan on continuing that into a University of California.

Hopefully I can take my photography to the next level and turn it into a career.

And turn it into any more than a hobby.

And make sure I can turn it into something that I can sustain myself on.

I can showcase some of my photography here.

I'd like to specifically showcase the wide range of ability that this camera and editing software has been able to give me.

And this photo that is on the screen here.

It is, I would say, probably not specifically as dark as it could have been.

And the camera was able to highlight the darkness in this scene.

And also the lighting as well that I wouldn't have been able to capture with any other, excuse me, instruments.

Without this grant here.

And then I go to this next one here.

And it's, I would say it's a complete different jump from what the last photo was.

And I'd like to highlight the wide range of colors and light, I would say, in this different photo.

As the first one, it was a fully different scene.

And I'd like to highlight the amount of variety that the camera has been able to give me.

I feel like I would, was able to, through the amount of money I'm able to get different, or how to say this, different photos, I would say.

And make sure I can get different ones that are able to highlight how I feel in the moment.

I would say that with how different this photo is from the first one, it is able to showcase a lot of different options I do have.

And then for this next one here as well, I'd like to highlight that this photo wasn't originally black and white.

And through the techniques and options I have through the softwares that I was able to purchase with this grant,

I'm able to showcase these different photos and edit them specifically how I would like to edit them through Photoshop and Lightroom.

And able to showcase what I would say is the best of my ability through these photos as well.

Here in this next one as well, it's also black and white.

And I would say this one was taken through, I purchased a new lens as well through this grant that I was given.

And I feel like that along with the ability to edit them how I see fit, I think is a very great opportunity that I've been given.

And I feel like it has really opened me up to a lot of different techniques and different experiences that I wouldn't have been able to in the first place.

For this next one as well, I'm back to color.

I'm not color, but I'm able to edit everything and be able to showcase it to you as a group to be able to showcase what I would say to the best of my ability is what I've used this grant for and how I've been able to further my education and further my experience in the photography world.

This one wasn't necessarily taken on the camera that I've purchased, but this one was edited through the software that I've been given.

And I like to say that this photo has been a big inspiration to me particularly just because it has, this photo out of all of them particularly has made me like proud to be the photographer that I have become.

And I'd like to say that this photo particularly has influenced the ideas that I've been able to create through this grant that I've been given and how it has inspired me to keep pushing and to continue my education and to continue my passion I would like to see fit.

This one particularly is the same case as the new lens that I was able to purchase.

It's all these photos have been able to particularly show how each individual item and technology I've been able to purchase has helped particularly all these different aspects of my photography.

This one as well, none of this would have been possible without the use of the technology and then the editing software as I've been able to purchase.

None of this would have been able to, been able to shown to the board or to be put out in the world in any capacity without what I've been given particularly.

I have a few of people here, a few subjects of people here and I'd like to say that I've been able to connect with different people and also be able to, I would say make people feel proudly and I'm able to connect to different individuals.

I have this next one as well, I have the ability to connect with different individuals and to make long lasting connections and be able to show my photography in less of a uniform sense and be able to show it to people that can make feel better about themselves and that wouldn't have been able to be done without this grant here as well.

And then I believe that was the last photo there and my closing remarks is I'd just like to say thank you to the entire board for what I've been able to create here and be able to show you all this.

I don't think any of this would have been possible without any of what I've been given and I'm proud to say that I'm continuing my education and moving forward with my photography journey and making sure I can use all of my technology to the best of my ability.

So thank you.

Thank you so much Elliot and thank you for sharing that with us and congratulations on your graduation.

It looks like we have a director Granesen punched up.

Thank you Elliot.

I just want to say congratulations.

I'm very impressed and I'm glad to have your art here in Folsom.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you so much.

Who do we have next?

We have one final presentation from Folsom Cordova Unified School District.

We had two winners Maxwell Rice and Gia Tialini might be mispronouncing your name.

Max is here along with the teacher Brittany Valtiera.

Am I saying it right?

Great.

Thank you.

And they actually produced a video.

I think they're going to show you not the video today because it's like 11 minutes long.

It's not too long for the commission meeting, but they're going to show you the behind the scenes reel.

Awesome.

Welcome.

Hello.

My name is Maxwell Rice.

Gia cannot be here today.

I would just like to note we are both moving forward in college with careers or majors related to film production.

So thank you to the board for giving us that opportunity.

So this year I had the privilege to be the director of Vista de Lagos Video Production 3 Capstone Film Control Z.

I've been part of the video production class two times, once last year without the scholarship and then this year with the scholarship.

And the difference in those experiences for me were night and day.

So I can confidently say that with the help of the Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission, our class was able to like creatively expand past my expectations.

And we were able to test new things that we weren't able to before, learn new styles that we all have, and actually like connect closer as a class and come together as a crew for a movie.

So for the movie, some examples of what we were able to do were we were able to make a complete bedroom set out of fake walls and decorate it with posters created by our students in our class.

We were able to interest enough students at Vista to come back to school during our breaks to sit as extras in a classroom and have them come out actually the night before senior ball for a party scene.

And we were able to afford new equipment for the camera lighting and audio which helped us create this movie at the quality that it came out as.

And before the scholarship, our capstone funding was completely reliant on students and donations.

And as you can imagine, sometimes that didn't end up very well.

So we would be stuck with a lot of challenges with the budgeting of our class.

And this year with the with our donations from you guys, we were able to focus more on telling our story and creating like a visual style that we best felt match that story.

So I'd like to thank you guys all for giving me the opportunity to be better prepared for a career in video production.

Yeah, just to piggyback on that Max said, it really is a special hopefully get a glimpse of that experience.

And this really did help this year, not only in that sense, but every year I try to send it out to a festival, but festivals get kind of costly.

And we were able to send it out to six festivals this year also with the funding that you guys provided.

So thank you very much for that.

We've gotten some inklings back from one of them.

So I think we're getting in, but we don't find out till the 15th.

So I'm hoping for that.

But each year provides new challenges because we literally don't know what film we're making until the students go through a very thorough pitch process.

And then even goes to a producer in L.A. that I used to work with that picks the final film.

So we have an idea of what all the different scripts are.

But until we actually say this is a movie we're making, we're constantly trying to figure out what those challenges are and how we're going to overcome them.

And me, myself included.

So it's fun for me as well because I'm always learning new things with them as well as showing them the ways of the industry.

So, yeah, we'll just keep it there.

Let you take a look.

Okay.

Upgrade the first.

All right.

Ok, And set the windows.

The windows, like...

Like a lot of people.

Working through the casting process, which was a little bit lengthy this year.

Uh, trying to find our main three actors and, trying to find all extras that we needed.

Yo-yo.

Let's just actually go so it is.

So.

Thank you, it is.

was really cool getting to like kind of figure out this shot while we're at the

location scout and like already prepared for like where lighting would be just

because we're already at the location so we know the space that we have available

to us.

There was a lot of stuff that I wasn't expecting like having to physically

build a bedroom in the studio instead of having an actual bedroom to shoot in.

That's me!

Alright, quiet on set!

On our shoot days I was kind of in charge of making sure that all the departments

were all good that there was no issues so like talking with the camera, lighting, art

and then obviously working with talent.

Keep your hand up if your walkie does not have this.

I reached out to like local food vendors to place orders for food so that we had those for our shoot days for crew and extras.

My favorite memory was probably the party day.

Miss V brought her husband, who was really helpful.

Extras obviously give direction because they don't know exactly what's going on in the shot.

For a couple of extras we'd have them like walk across the frame.

I think one of my favorite memories was probably when we actually started filming in the room because I actually got to see my work on camera.

I thought it looked really, really good.

Alright, that's a wrap guys.

Woohoo!

So during post production I'll be mostly like looking over the final edit of the movie, making sure that we get good music throughout the movie because Miss V wants us to kind of make our own music.

So like, I mean I think music is a huge part of conveying emotions, setting an atmosphere.

I'm super happy with what we've been able to do with music in this movie so far.

But now the silence is haunting me

During post production it was a lot of editing.

Again, talking with my team, making sure everything was coming out okay, especially with Max, our director.

We talked a lot and made sure all of the scenes were perfect.

And I can't press control Z

Wow, that's amazing. Thank you so much.

Thank you all so much for sharing. That was amazing.

Where could we find the full 11 minute movie?

We have the link. We could just forward it to the commission members.

I would love that. Thank you so much. I'll look forward to it.

I have a question. Max, where did the script come from?

Where did the script come from?

So at the start, so our class at Vista de Lago, it's kind of divided into two parts because we do kind of a weird schedule.

But at the end of the first half of the class, students start writing scripts and every student pitches their script to a board of teachers at our school.

And those teachers often consist of like English teachers, art teachers.

Never Miss V though because she likes to be out of the matters related to that.

And from there, three scripts are chosen and we send those three scripts to one of Miss V's friends in L.A. who's a producer.

And he picks one of those scripts to move on. So that's where the script comes from.

Thank you.

Max, Miss V, thank you so much for being here. We appreciate it.

Thank you.

And so it looks like we have received and filed the, I'll call it report backs from some of our grantees, which is really an appropriate frame as we move into our next item, which will of course be looking at the approvals for our next batch.

But before that, any final commentary or feedback from the board? Seeing none.

We have received and filed. So we'll move on to item four, which is adopting the resolution approving the fiscal year 2024-25 Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission Community Grant Program Grant and Scholarship recipients.

Mr. Executive Director, do we have a presentation?

Mr. Executive Director, yes. Is there a PowerPoint for this one, Jillian? There it is. Do I have the controller? I don't think I do. Okay. Um, the first.

Mr. Executive Director, yes, that's a much less exciting. Try a different one.

Mr. Executive Director, let me just, yeah. That one's gonna be big. Um, okay, let me just give you a verbal on it. So we have the, um, the artists will include it, um,

We have the big grants to award today.

There was an ad hoc subcommittee that identified several that should move forward.

We are going to have a recusal on this one because our Folsom Commissioner,

I don't think you have to actually leave the room for that.

I just want to say my apologies.

I'll defer to Josh on that.

Yeah, yeah, he should be here.

Okay.

And so there's going to be an ask for two $50,000 grants, one $25,000 grant,

and one outstanding scholarship that we were hoping to award at the last meeting,

but we couldn't get everything coordinated.

So the first large grant, $50,000, is to the American River Parkway Foundation.

Its production costs for four 30-minute episodes of Parkway Discovery,

hosted by Emmy Award-winning newscaster Kelly DeMarco,

which will celebrate the natural beauty of Sacramento's 23-mile nature preserve

while uncovering stories of community engagement, multicultural use of the parkway,

and educational initiatives.

The video series will feature interviews and video segments aimed to inform, inspire,

encourage community use, and share insights into the many opportunities available

on the American River Parkway.

Amazing.

Thank you so much, Sean.

The next one is mutual housing.

This one's for $25,000.

Production costs for a 27-minute micro-documentary film aiming to celebrate the rail yards,

the impact of the Wong Center, and discuss the historical use of the rail yard property.

They're bringing on two historians to help with this project.

It'll be developed in collaboration with Marsha Iman,

who I believe was a retired city historian.

Yes, Marsha's exceptional.

And also Alita Bray, a museum professional with over 40 years of experience in Northern California.

And then the final large grant is for SAC Geeks, $50,000.

Production costs for five documentary-style episodes focusing on geek culture,

prop making, cosplay, graphic novels, and the Comic-Con experience.

Each episode aims to showcase the energy and creativity of geek culture

and highlight its role in Sacramento's creative economy.

And then the scholarship is to Cooper Currency for $980.

He's going to take radio, television, and film courses at Kisunas River College.

And we're asking you to vote in favor and support.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Sean.

That's incredibly exciting.

And, you know, as a reminder to our commission, we have a couple of new folks.

This is something that we are in our, I want to say, third year?

Nope.

Fourth?

Second.

We have done this before.

This is our second year.

And so this is the next batch of folks that will be producing, you know,

some exceptional content and stimulating the creative economy here in Sacramento,

which is a priority this board set and reaffirmed in our discussions last year.

I'm especially excited for the mutual housing project as the, you know,

the city of Sacramento approved the broader rail yards project this week.

And boy, have I spent the week delved into rail yards history.

So I'm really excited to see that come together.

Anything from the rest of the commission?

Hearing none, is there a motion to approve the resolution?

So moved.

And the most important one really is the geek stuff.

So let's not, let's not get twisted.

No one cares about the way they are.

Thank you.

Everyone cares about the geek nation.

That's right.

Don't start with me.

Thank you.

Motion by Vice President.

We have a second.

I'll second.

Thank you so much, Alma.

And do we have any discussion before proceeding to a vote?

Seeing none.

There.

No public comments either.

Thank you so much for that.

I definitely did not forget to ask.

Is this a button or a voice vote?

This is a, you guys can take a button vote if you guys have it available.

If not, then I can go ahead and do a voice vote for you.

We'll go ahead and do a voice vote.

Perfect.

Thank you.

In that case, all those in favor of approving the resolution, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed?

Any abstentions?

Yes.

Thank you.

In that case, with a single abstention, the resolution carries.

Congratulations to our new funding recipients.

I'm so excited to see what y'all produce.

And then with that said, we will be moving on to item five, which I am very excited for.

This is adopting the resolution honoring our fabulous staff member, Kristen Riggs, and celebrating her 25 years of dedicated service to the Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission.

Sean, do you want to take this away?

I believe we have a resolution in a frame.

We do.

It's up here.

Too much in a row.

Great.

And it's my understanding that you'll present the resolution.

Maybe we can get Kristen to come up.

Chair Brown, do you need a motion first to approve the resolution?

As a matter of fact, I believe that I do.

I'll make that motion.

Do we have any public comment before proceeding to a motion?

We do not.

Thank you so much.

I hear a motion from Director Munoz.

Second.

And a second from Vice Chair Gatewood.

I'm going to read segments of this into the record and put Kristen on the spot as we are celebrating her today before we proceed to a vote.

And so Kristen Riggs began her career with the Metro Cable Commission as our programming coordinator on May 15, 2000, and was promoted to production director in August of 2014.

And she's worked diligently on cable casting quite literally thousands of local government meetings and has been a key leader in Metro Cable 14's mission of bringing government closer to the people, fostering transparency in local government for the Sacramento area.

Her leadership and mentorship have helped so many production assistants and new employees learn their jobs to become confident in cable casting and control room skills and, of course, ultimately flourish in their broadcasting careers.

And I think really most importantly and most in alignment with our mission, you know, she has continually worked to improve local government transparency and the accessibility of public meetings with her involvement in our transition to closed captioning, implementation of an archive of agency meetings, and has truly worked throughout her career to deliver exceptional results for the commission, for our members, and, of course, for the greater Sacramento community.

And, of course, I think we're about to make a cry for that, that close.

But before we do that, do we want to call for a vote, be appropriate on the resolution?

Or before we proceed to a vote, is there any discussion from our commission members?

Congratulations.

We've enjoyed having you.

You've been great.

Thank you so much, Kristen.

And in that case, we'll proceed to a vote.

All those in favor of adopting the resolution, please indicate by saying aye now.

Aye.

All those opposed?

Any abstentions?

I abstained.

I'm just joking.

You've been great.

This man's a problem today.

Kristen, the motion carries, the resolution is adopted, and we are so incredibly grateful to have you with us.

Hopefully for a long time now, but for the last 25 years, you've made an exceptional difference.

And before we go and present, are there anything you'd like to share with the commission and the public?

Sure.

Sure.

I really appreciate this thoughtful gesture recognizing me.

And anybody who knows me knows I'd rather be back behind the scenes than out here in front of the camera.

But I'm just so grateful to have been able to work here this long and given the opportunity by Donna Wellborn when I was first hired,

and then Bob Davidson when I was promoted to production director.

And I'm just grateful to be surrounded by wonderful staff, competent crew, and, of course, all the clerks that we work with and the staff members.

I just wish more people understood how hard people work behind the scenes to provide government transparency.

So I'm grateful to be here, and thank you very much for honoring me today.

Very kind.

Big round of applause for Kristen.

Thank you so much for your service.

We want to take a quick picture with the presentation.

Could I have my commission members actually maybe join down in the center area here so we can take a quick photo with the woman of the hour and, of course, the resolution made of reclaimed barn wood?

I was warned to be very careful while handling it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Ryan, if Alma ever has advice on process, she's always right.

Okay, noted.

I fully believe that.

Amazing.

Thank you so much.

Again, thank you, Kristen, for everything.

And I am, we're going to move on to our next item under discussion matters.

That is item six, conducting the public hearing, discussing vacancies and approving the fiscal year 2025-26 preliminary general fund budget to include the following resolutions, attachments, and exhibits, which I'm sure that you have all read carefully in the agenda.

It is lengthy, and I will not repeat it.

That is the subject of the item.

That is the subject of the item.

Do we have a presentation?

I'm just going to confirm the mic is on.

Yep.

Okay.

Okay.

Two votes and an ask.

We have a recusal on one of the matters.

I'm going to break it down into the general fund presentation, and then I'm going to do the PEG presentation, and then I'm going to ask the commission for some direction.

And I'll pause at each point where there's a vote and answer any questions or entertain any comments you have for me.

First off, AB2561 requires public agencies to present the status of their vacancies.

In a public hearing before their governing body at least once per year, this org chart shows where my two vacancies are.

They're on the admin side of my shop.

We're carrying those vacancies because we're trying to basically preserve our general fund money.

My team works hard, and they can work within a couple vacancies, although we do have a temp in one of those vacancies right now.

I'm going to show you what I'm going to ask you to vote on, and then I'm going to circle back to the screen.

So I'm going to ask you to vote on the 25-26 preliminary general fund budget to include quarterly channel license funding,

and then all the resolutions, attachments, and exhibits, and agreements included in the fiscal year 25-26 preliminary.

Preliminary education, excuse me, preliminary general fund budget report.

I try to meet with as many of you as I can and try to complete the fiscal picture for the team that I lead.

You can see that that top line is diminishing revenue.

The bottom line is you're increasing expenses, and basically the difference between those two lines,

less the money I hold out for operational needs, is the general fund distribution.

If you look down at the bottom right-hand corner, but for cash, so we're taking some money out of our account as cash,

to make the projected number of $6,314,842.

To keep to that projection, we're bringing cash out.

If we had done the calculation just based on the revenue and then after deducting expenses,

the actual distribution would have been $5,496,283.

Just to run the Metro team and run my admin team, this is commission salaries and then our operations.

You can look at the things that we pay for in operations to keep the Metro channel going.

It includes closed captioning, insurance.

We're located at 799G with DTAC.

Included in this was the efforts that we put into to bring the grants and scholarships forward, contracts, education, training.

It's a busy, busy shop.

Small, but intensely busy.

My admin team administers the state franchises, assists in consumers in resolving cable complaints.

Mary, 32, 33 complaints?

33 complaints year to day.

Usually we can get them resolved in the same business day.

We have oversight of the Metro channel, collection and distribution of franchise fee revenue, collection and distribution of PEG fee revenue.

That is a lot of work between the admin team and even the tech team working with each of your control rooms to make sure that we're funding you

so that we can put out high quality audio video productions for the different JPA members.

And then we support community programming.

These are the channels and the programs that we support.

Access Sacramento, PBS, KVIE, SECC, SAC Life, and Metro.

There's an intentional blank spot on this.

CAP Radio has dropped out this year.

We had a placeholder in our budget for them.

But because they're working, I believe, with CSU, there's parameters on how they can accept money.

And what they communicated to us was our money was conditional.

And so they're no longer going to accept money from the commission.

My Metro table, excuse me, my Metro cable 14 team stream and broadcast live all of the videos,

excuse me, all of the meetings in board chambers and in the city council chambers.

We still do hybrid, virtual, and in person.

We do pre-meeting testing.

Our production assistants go out and take care of that for you.

We meet with clerks and all your IT staff to make sure that all of your PEG requests are actual PEG requests.

There are some legal parameters around that.

And then we work up your budgets for that.

And you'll see that in the next segment of this presentation.

So on-site technical support.

I want to talk about the flight pack a little bit.

The flight pack allows us to remotely cover meetings.

I think we're going to cover a sewer district meeting.

And there may be plans to do a joint city and county meeting.

And that will give us the ability to go out and cover that meeting.

We do all the closed captioning.

And all our recordings are archived on YouTube.

And the channel has been in business for 40 years in Sacramento.

I think it used to be Metro 65.

And now it's Metro 14.

We have some video from that era.

I thought about showing it, but it's on VHS or something.

This shows the 22 agency meetings that we cover.

It's a diverse group.

It's also geographically diverse.

So we're at virtually every point in the county.

Let me back up.

The red dot just shows where the meeting's live.

Some of them we record and then post later.

So total number of meetings was 369.

And then 100% of the meetings broadcast are captioned.

About two weeks ago, Christian went out and did a presentation to the Disability Advisory Commission.

I attended with her, but she did all the presenting.

And they gave us feedback on what they look for in our material that we produce.

And we're hoping to incorporate some of the suggestions into future taping and the audio part and the closed captioning part.

So that was helpful.

And I appreciate, Kristen, putting that together.

Okay.

Per capita distribution.

You saw the big number on the first chart that I showed.

We're holding to that number.

These will be your actuals.

If you go down the third column, that's what each JPA member, your jurisdictions will receive that as general fund money.

I do want to point out this is probably the last year where there's going to be a really large per capita distribution.

It's okay.

So here's the vote again.

Vote to support the preliminary budget.

And I want to make it clear that after encumbrances, I'm holding about 1.5 million just as an operating budget for my day-to-day expenses.

That gives me about six months of operating, and then I'll look to future revenue to finance the next six months or whatever it turns out to be.

Time for a vote, please.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Sean.

Before proceeding to a motion or to any of our commission comments, we do have some public comment to hear.

And so our first public commenter is Gary Martin.

Mr. Martin, are you with us?

Yes.

And I do want to also apologize.

We had you down for item one off agenda as well and fully skipped it.

And...

Can I have a clarifying question?

Oh, Director Sloan, please go ahead.

Sorry.

Could you back up to the slide where you show the distribution of fees to our members?

Could you clarify for some of us who might be new to the board how those amounts were derived at and how we've been able to meet them this year?

Sure.

So there is franchise revenue comes from the cable companies.

There's a 5% tax that the user pays.

That money comes to us on, I think, a quarterly basis.

Out of that, we deduct out the expenses to run the commission and also to support the community programming.

And then whatever is surplus gets distributed to the JPA members on a per capita basis.

So we take the total population and we divide it into the surplus of money.

And that determines the distribution that each of you get.

And those fees are generated from cable fees but not from streaming service fees.

Is that accurate?

Correct.

And that's why that line, that top line on that first chart I showed is declining because people are either...

You want to go back to that chart, please?

Yeah.

Absolutely.

So we have what's in the industry called cable cutters.

And then we have a new generation of individuals that never had cable, never will.

They stream everything.

Because of my position here, I've paid a lot more attention to this than I have in the past.

You see a lot of advertisement for 5G or for Wi-Fi.

Most TVs are smart TVs now.

They have apps like your phone has on them.

You can get all of the material and content that you get from cable from a streaming service,

usually on a smart device, your computer, your phone, or your TV.

And so as that revenue stream diminishes, it is not offset by the streaming because we do not collect the tax from the streaming revenues.

And then lastly, I wanted to highlight that in your fiscal year board item,

you referenced the three major components of what we do as pillars.

And the first was administration of metric cable.

The second was community programming.

And the third was general fund per capita distribution.

And I'd just like us to take note that as our revenues are depreciating,

we're going to have to reflect on what our core functions are.

And while these are not prioritized, they're listed one, two, three,

we may need to have a conversation in the coming year as to setting some priorities for the limited,

continuing to be more limited resources that we have available to us.

Thank you.

Thank you, Director Sloan.

It sounds like you may have volunteered to be a part of our budget priorities ad hoc coming up in item 8,

but more on that in a moment.

Mr. Martin, hold tight one moment.

We have one more question from the board.

Director Hedges.

Well, one more person.

I have a few questions.

Can you describe what the 1.13 in carryover funds is?

Which screen are we on?

I don't know if it was on the screen, but it's within the budget document presented.

The recommendation was for us to pass the budget with 1.13 carryover funds.

It might be either what I'm holding back in my operating budget.

Okay.

Or at the last budget when Bob Davidson was here as your interim, he called it a carryforward fund.

So there were reserve funds that hadn't been distributed in the past.

I'm doing my best to distribute those funds, and part of that distribution is in this fiscal cycle.

That makes sense.

Also, on that slide, on the graph that showed the declining revenues, my quick math shows we've got about,

I don't know, if it continues at this linear path, about three years left maybe before our revenues were lower than our expenditures.

What's your math tell you?

I think you're good through the 26th year, but I think you want to start planning sooner rather than later.

That's why I'm going to ask for an ad hoc budget priorities committee.

The more money you have in cash or in your reserve, and by the way, all this does reflect the $2.2 million reserve,

as one of my encumbrances, that the commission previously voted on,

the more time you're going to have to deal with the reality of whatever comes next as those lines converge

and your expenses outpace your income.

I hope that answered the question.

It did.

Finally, and let me know if this is more appropriate to ask later,

because it sounds like we're breaking this up into a few parts,

but I had a question about the community grant program funding.

Should that be now or later?

I think you can ask now.

I had the totals.

You didn't quite give away the full $200,000 and the full $50,000,

but you got pretty close.

I think if you want to continue that program either in the subcommittee or at a future meeting,

I could come back to you with a recommendation.

But my general feeling right now is you want to preserve your general fund dollars as much as you can,

because the future is out there.

Yes, we can get through the 26th fiscal year, maybe even 26, 27,

but as you said, by about the third year, there's going to be some really hard choices to make.

And if we could start planning for that now, it's likely to include things like encumbering money.

You still have liability with retirees.

You're in CalPERS right now, so the calculation could change.

There's all sorts of parts moving here related to whatever that future looks like.

On your budget document, you gave an amount for budgeting next year for that program.

Did that amount include your staff time associated, or is that simply the...

My staff time is always just sort of baked into that bottom yellow line, just where my operations are.

It's one of the screens that I put up there shows everything.

Actually, let me go to that screen.

Okay, so this is 1.862997.

That, in theory, should go up significantly next year, because I am doing internal auditing.

I plan on doing some other auditing, which I'll get to in my executive director report.

Additionally, when we get to the discussion around ad hoc, I'm going to ask BBK to host that meeting,

because there's quite a few legal components attached to it,

and I'm setting aside our encumbering additional money for the legal expenses.

That's probably the item without seeing it specifically.

Great. Yeah, that's all I have for now. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much, Director Hedges.

Before moving to public comment, are there any other questions on the presentation?

There will be an opportunity for further discussion after comment as well.

Great. Thank you so much, Sean.

Mr. Barton, it's your time.

Our first commenter today is Gary Martin,

and because we were not able to hear you in item one, we will extend your time.

Public comments are three minutes, and please, yeah.

All the way out to unlimited, right?

Mm-hmm.

Just keep talking.

Well, you can try.

No, that's fine.

Item number one first, and I labeled it spending priorities.

I didn't realize that deeper in the agenda that you actually are considering a committee for that,

so thank you for looking ahead.

I found it a bit distressing, honestly, to look at the chart and see that in the last three years,

Cable Commission funding from the system has dropped by $4.5 million,

and you're down to, what, about $9.5 right now.

So that's frightening to me.

So in item one, I wanted to talk about history.

I came to this area in 1989, live in Elk Grove,

taught for 20 years at Cosumnes River College as a radio TV film professor.

I now live in Kevin Speece's district,

and I'm still active with Game of the Week and Access Sacramento.

My fear, as the money declines,

is that the three pillars will begin to divert even more money away from the cable system

and more into the general funds of all of your agencies.

In the earliest days, I mentioned I came here in 1989.

This commission was founded at around 84, 85, so you're at 40 years.

At that time period, there wasn't the third pillar.

There was only the first two.

And in the first two, it diverted all of the money that came from the cable system,

the 5%, to the licensees.

And at that time, the access channel was automatically designated as a 50% recipient,

25 for education and 25 for government.

Now, of course, times have changed.

And when Rich Esposto came in and there was a diversion and the third pillar was created

and money started to come out of the cable system to the city and county,

that was on the basis that all city and county voters,

the people who lived here, would benefit from those dollars

and general fund expenditures out of the cities and the county.

But at that time, there were fewer dollars that were involved.

Obviously, over time, cable expanded and more and more dollars were available.

And so that third pillar was created because the channel licensees did not need all of that money.

As the resources decline and as you look at your budget priorities in your new committee,

I would hope that you would prioritize cable money to remain in the cable system

because the channels that were so important when this board was originally founded

continue to have that need.

The public access opportunity, the educational access opportunity,

and the transparency to government programs are all important needs in this community.

And hopefully, the money that comes from cable subscribers will stay in the cable system.

I know you would love to have as much money as you can

because, you know, there are lots of important things that cities and counties have to do.

But my experience with free access as an educator and then later with Access Sacramento,

I find that that need truly should be prioritized, in my view, for the cable money.

And hopefully, it will stay in the cable system.

Okay.

Moving to item six.

Yes, although it wasn't discussed other than the licensee's getting money.

Mr. Martin, very briefly, Madam Clerk, do you mind resetting to add three minutes

for the second half of the comment?

Thank you.

Although the specific distributions of what was allocated to the cable licensees

wasn't a part of the initial report, and maybe that's coming later,

I'm hoping that all that the cable channels asked for was actually granted.

I don't know if that's what that answer is.

But hopefully, that was the case.

Because I know that all of the licensees, the government channel,

as well as the educational and public channels,

try and be very frugal and fiscal, you know,

appropriately operating their fiduciary responsibilities of spending that money.

But I also would hope that there weren't cuts,

because obviously expenses go up,

and the cable channels should have the ability to get their job done.

You know, programs like Game of the Week that I still help with

are challenging opportunities and award-winning opportunities

based on the funding that you provide.

The licensees, the government channel, educational channels, and public access

do a great job in serving their community

and the community, the cable access, the cable world.

Hopefully, you will continue to fund them as much as you possibly can,

recognizing that if in three years

the dollars are so significantly reduced

that you will be trying to spend more than you're getting,

obviously, that is a huge, huge issue.

And I wish you luck with that.

But again, that third pillar, in my view,

is something that cable money should stay in the cable system.

And I thank you for your time and your attention.

Thank you so much, Mr. Martin.

It's not often we get genuine, actual public comment at these meetings,

and so I really appreciate you taking the time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And we do have one, two, three, four other public comments

queued up for this item.

And so I am going to start with Jose Vega.

Our next commenter is Jose Vega.

Mr. Vega, thank you so much.

You have three minutes.

Thank you.

Hello and buenas tardes.

My name is Jose Manuel Vega.

Pronouncing him his.

And I first want to take you back to growing up with bunny ear rabbit antennas.

Aluminum foil balls at the end.

Trying to get that signal to watch TV and to have access to media.

Fast forward, I'm a grad student,

obtaining my master's in public health promotion and education.

And Access Sacramento opened their doors to me.

And I hope that you might have seen it.

If you haven't, please go to their YouTube channel

and search for sexual, taking control of your sexual health.

I'm an advocate for reducing HIV infections.

I'm an advocate for the LGBTQ community.

And an advocate for public health, public services.

And we were able to do a show on the Sacramento County,

the County Edition episode on reaching out to community members.

How do they take control of their sexual health?

We went out to community.

Many expressed the, oh, I'm not sure about talking about that.

Or I don't know all the many resources out there.

Well, on this episode, we highlighted every resource out there

in the Sacramento County.

We talked about HIV.

We talked about syphilis.

We talked about the vaccines, MPOX, Access.

So all of that.

And from that programming, over a dozen individuals got tested.

Over a dozen individuals learned that there's new,

there's other resources out there.

So I just want to show my appreciation to Access Sacramento

who opened their doors.

I'm a gay, Latin, son of immigrants.

And to be able to be part of this program and share my vision

and share the goal that I'm wanting to show in my community,

Access granted that for me.

So I hope not to see anything cut there or any lack of support there

because they're really, really making a change.

And many more public health students who are looking to do promotion

and education are turning to Access Television or Access Channels

or Access Media due to it's always in the same bucket of,

oh, just give it to the health department,

give it to the hospital and so forth.

But these are actual opportunities where we can expand.

And if you'd like, I'd be more than happy to meet with you one-on-one

and strategize and show you kind of the area where I'm doing my research on.

Appreciate your time.

Thank you, Mr. Vega.

Next, we have Tanya Hernandez-Aguayo.

Awesome.

Thank you so much for joining us, Ms. Hernandez-Aguayo.

You have three minutes.

All right.

Hello.

Thank you.

My name is Tanya Hernandez-Aguayo.

I'm the equipment librarian and editor for Access Sacramento.

And Access Sacramento means a lot to me.

And it means a lot not only to the employees but the community as well.

As equipment librarian, I work a lot with the community.

And each time they praise Access for its affordable lending library

and voice how much more difficult their passion project would be without Access.

Access not only provides resource but also classes that teach the community how to use professional cameras,

lighting, and editing software, and so much more.

I am also an employee at Metro Cable.

The people who actually broadcast these meetings.

So it's pretty interesting being up here for the first time.

So without Access' trainings, I wouldn't have made it here.

And so thank you so much for your consideration and your time.

Thank you so much for sharing.

Next, we have Alexander Vasquez.

And after that, James Just, which is our final commenter.

So, Mr. Vasquez, thank you so much for joining us.

And you have three minutes.

Thank you very much.

My name is Alexander Vasquez.

I have been involved with Access Sacramento for over 20 years.

I was on the board of directors for 10.

And before, I had a show called Capital City Radio on KUBU Radio.

And now that we don't have KUBU Radio, we have a new dynamics that we're catching up with,

and that is podcasting.

And so we have more producers coming in, different whole system of teaching,

whole new system of learning.

But since I didn't have my radio show, being podcast,

I didn't realize how big of an audience there's out there.

And one thing I've learned is that now that we don't use to carry city council meetings,

I go to Metro 14.

That gives me the exact time frame and real time of information, debate, and everything else.

In a time like this, where everything is just blowing up,

Christian, who just got an award, she's going to be working overtime.

Because I'm going to make sure that other people know about Channel 14,

because a lot of people don't.

And when I've had different nonprofits, political groups, left, right, in between, whatever,

they didn't know about Metro 14.

So now my job is to go out there and promote Metro 14, because they do not see civics like this.

I'm not talking about government.

I'm not talking about politics.

I'm talking about civics, where they actually see their representatives on live television, on live real time.

And so with access, please keep the funding going, because we're having new voices, younger people.

And radio is not dead yet.

But this is a whole new different venue, new different experience.

And people are just getting used to it.

I'm just getting used to it.

But the schools out there, they need Metro.

They need to know about civics.

They need to see it.

Political groups, they don't know about Metro, that many of them.

And so I introduce them to them and say, this is your representative.

This is your councilman.

This is your state assemblyman.

This is your county supervisor.

And they get to see it in real time.

And now we talk about real democracy.

Now we're talking about real discussions.

Now we're seeing our representatives full spectrum.

So Metro is going to be very important.

Christian is going to be working overtime a lot.

I know she is.

And I'm going to make sure that she is.

And as far as access is concerned, this venue, Access Sacramento, and the new podcasting program we have, along with Metro 14, they go hand in hand.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Mr. Pasquez.

Because our final speaker on this item is James Just.

I'm hoping I read that correctly.

Mr. Just, thank you for joining us.

You have three minutes.

First, I want to thank everybody for showing up today.

It's an important thing.

I am James Just.

I am currently the assistant director for Access Sacramento.

But today I'm here as a member.

I have been as a member for, oh, wow, almost a decade now.

And our importance is deeper than we think.

You know, 15 years ago, I couldn't leave the house.

I was a shut-in due to anxiety disorder.

My daughter also deals with an anxiety disorder.

And when I was ready to reengage with the world, Access Sacramento was there to help me along that journey.

And the journey that I went on isn't nearly as important as my daughter watching me on that journey.

Children need examples.

And parents, uncles, aunts, neighbors, a next-door neighbor, your best friend's mom, going out and trying to learn new things, trying to engage with their community, trying to become a better human being, become a better citizen.

When children can see that, we don't know what that impact looks like.

But we do know it exists.

My daughter is now a functional human being.

She can go out and behave in a way that I didn't think she was going to be able to.

And it was because I learned how to do it first.

And she got to see that.

There was no discussion that we had that did that.

She got to see it.

And it wasn't just her.

Her friends got to see it.

Members of my community got to see it.

You know, I have a community that gets to see me every week on TV now.

And they go, you're an inspiration because I know the journey you went through.

And so when places like Access Sacramento exists and your other channels, educational channels exist, they do more than just educate people on how to make a TV show or how to be a cameraman or a sound operator or all the various things that we get to teach.

But we also teach them how to be human beings, how to work with each other, how to be part of a community.

And that's what you're really funding.

We bring people who are underdeveloped, still in their cocoon, and we turn them into butterflies and let them go.

And you cannot always know the impact of that.

But it does exist.

Thank you very much.

Thank you so much, Mr. Just.

That concludes our public comment on this item.

And in order to open up discussion, I'd like to request a motion to close a public hearing and move the item.

Do I hear a motion?

So moved.

Moved by Vice Chair Gateway.

Do I have a second?

I'll second.

Seconded by Director Hackett-Little.

Thank you so much.

The first person that I see punched up is Director Gull.

Hi.

I just had a quick question about the third pillar discussion.

I appreciate the history lesson on that.

Can somebody tell me when that third pillar of, you know, distribution back to the agencies began?

I can research that for you.

I don't have an answer today.

Okay.

I'd be curious.

And then just in the same vein, how is it calculated?

Is it operating funds first and license expenditures and then whatever is left over?

That's exactly it.

Yes.

And it's either in the commission bylaws or it was voted on the process.

But you've actually described it in straightforward terms.

The money comes in.

We pay for the channel licensees.

We fund the metro team and then the surplus money then is distributed back to your jurisdictions

as general fund money.

Yeah.

Just to clarify, it's actually in the joint powers agreement.

So the document that established the commission identifies the flow of funds.

But there's no rate or calculation that is defined in that agreement?

The only thing that's defined in there as far as the calculation, which you saw in the

chart a couple of slides ago, is the distribution, the way it's calculated.

Rather than it being provided pro rata to each jurisdiction based on the franchise or peg fees

received from that jurisdiction, it's done on a per capita population basis and that's

set forth in the JPA.

Okay.

All right.

Thank you, Director Gould.

Seeing no other requests to...

Oh, Director Hedges.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Just wanted to make some general comments about what we're being asked to approve here.

Um, I'm very concerned about the long-term future of this commission and what that looks

like because, and I don't want to go into details about the long-term future because

I think that's a different discussion, but about this budget, I think we need to start

really considering that future when we're dealing with this budget and start cutting things

that we don't have promises to and things that we can.

And the obvious one that jumps out to me, um, is the community grant program.

These are not promises we have to the community and this is funding that is used for the good

times and when we have a lot of money left to spend.

But when we're looking at a cloudy future for us existing financially to get pumping out

more money to the community for things, I don't think it's a good thing.

Um, I also think that we need to start having a really serious discussion, not right now,

but probably next year about the money we're spending on the licensees.

Uh, I think it's way too soon right now to just tell people your funding's changing.

But I do think we might want to start having a very serious conversation with them about

what that future looks like next year.

Um, because I would greatly desire this, uh, commission to exist in a few years.

And trying to figure out how to extend that and rethink things I think is important.

So those are my current thoughts on, on, on this budget.

Thank you, Director Hedges.

Um, any further requests?

Um, in that case I'll make my, uh, oh, Director Hackett Little.

Thank you so much.

I just want to push back a little bit on that and reiterate the importance of the community grant program.

As somebody who went to a performing arts high school and had the benefit of grants for these kinds of exposure opportunities at a very young age,

it's critically important for us to make sure not only we're supporting, uh, the younger generation of, uh, creatives in the Sacramento region,

but also making sure we're prioritizing that, uh, so, uh, future opportunities not only presented to them,

but also they have the opportunity to engage with organizations like this as well.

Thank you.

Thank you, Director.

Seeing no other requests to speak, I'll, um, give my comments and keep them extraordinarily brief.

Um, I want to kind of emphasize, uh, at least one of the points that, uh, Director Hedges made,

which is that this is serious.

This does not look good, especially not only in the long term,

but even in the medium term, there's going to have to be some very serious conversations in the next,

I would say two years going into three years at the absolute most in terms of what we're going to fund,

how we're going to preserve the longevity of the commission,

how we're going to prioritize where our extraordinarily limited and rapidly waning funding is going to go.

Uh, part of that consideration, of course, needs to be the operations of the commission.

It has to be the, you know, um, staffing that we have on board,

the services we provide to our agency partners, uh, and of course,

you know, the work that we do supporting community grants and our channel licensees.

And so, um, as we move into a vote on this item and the discussion on the next,

uh, I want to once again highlight, um, item eight,

which is the appointment of an ad hoc committee to discuss, uh,

the budget to look at this next 24 to 36 months and really make those critical decisions,

uh, to advise the board on what we are going to prioritize,

how we're going to prioritize it,

and to what degree we're going to continue funding it.

And to really kind of balance those priorities with the ongoing fiscal health of the organization.

And so, as we are hearing the next items,

I would encourage you to think about,

hey, maybe that's something that I would like to be a part of.

And, uh, I don't want to have to have a long discussion about who's going to be on that

because I'd love to have some volunteers pop up immediately, uh, when we hear the item.

So, food for thought, please consider it.

Um, and, uh, looks like we have Director Sloan queued up.

Can you hear me okay?

Yes.

Uh, when we had the ad hoc committee to select a new executive director,

there was a great interest in the advisory,

the ad hoc committee members,

and asking all the candidates questions about how they would approach

what we were anticipating would be the circumstance that we find ourselves in.

Although, I don't think we had a way to know exactly what the, um,

budget forecast would be until we're looking at it now.

Um, I would like to say that a big part of our selection process

and Commissioner Speece might want to weigh in was, um,

the fact that Mr. Ayala had some entrepreneurial ideas

as to how we approach, uh, our relationships with our franchisees,

uh, relationships with our JPA members.

Um, how do we maintain public, um, access for community programming?

And I think, sorry, this is just my opinion,

most essentially making sure that the public has access to their public meetings,

uh, to the point that Kristen made about transparency.

So, it's a little difficult to hear and see the forecast

and then be asked to be acting upon the coming budget.

Um, so I'd like to ask our legal counsel

if they could help us understand what flexibility we would have

after today to make adjustments, um, mid-cycle.

Yeah, and, uh, Director Sloan,

the short answer is complete flexibility.

So, this would be your budget,

but it would not prevent the commission

at whichever future meeting it wished during this fiscal year

to, uh, adopt a modified budget.

Please don't, um, um, hear my comments

as disagreeing with the comments of my colleagues.

I do think we're going to be, uh,

in a difficult position where we have to make some hard choices

and we may also have to be thinking outside the box

in terms of how do we generate revenue

for those things that the board determines to be priorities.

And I'm very eager to have that conversation.

I don't want to send a message to our grantees

that came to talk about the good work they did

with their grants last year

that this program is automatically going away,

but we may have to rethink how it is administered.

And maybe we think about the scale of grants

that we've been providing

and what we can afford to do with those

and, and for how many, uh, recipients.

But I, I think that all those things

should be part of our consideration,

including going back to our JPA language

and considering whether those, um, agreements

that we have with our member jurisdictions,

not any one of them, but all of them

needs to be, uh, also reconsidered.

Um, obviously there'd be,

we'd be in a different situation

if we were advocating for some part

of, uh, streaming subscriptions

to be coming to this effort.

But I think that that's, um, a little bit

too blue sky thinking for today.

Point well taken.

Thank you, Director Sloan.

Um, Commissioner Spies, uh,

would you like to add anything?

Yeah, I, I think I just wanted to,

just like to add that, I mean,

the reality is that very soon

the two lines will meet, right?

And so there, you know, no, uh,

we have to look at, at all options.

Some options may be that in the future

there isn't a commission, right?

So what I'm suggesting is that

regardless of how we feel

about things emotionally, right,

we have to take a look at it

and say what are the things

that we, that we have to prioritize?

Um, what are the things

that the community has come to expect?

Um, and the reality is that

those will be very tough conversations.

So I just wanted to leave it there.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Uh, Vice Chair Gatewood.

Um, hearing all this, uh,

crazy, awful news,

uh, I'd like to move, uh, the stuff.

Uh, are you calling the question?

I'm calling the question.

In that case, noted and granted,

we'll call the question.

Um, in that case, we'll move to a vote.

Is this a voice or a button situation?

Are we all voiced today?

All voiced.

Wonderful.

All voiced all day long.

In that case, uh, all those in favor

of closing the public hearing

and moving the item,

uh, please indicate right now

by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed?

And any abstentions?

All right.

Public hearing is closed.

The item carried.

Uh, and we are moving into item seven,

which is conducting the public hearing

and approving the fiscal year 2025-26

preliminary public education

and government fee fund budget

to include an extremely long list

of other things.

Uh, Mr. Executive Director,

uh, the floor is yours.

This, make sure this is still on great.

Uh, this will be a much shorter presentation.

Um, so here's your PEG fee fund highlights

and then right after this, the vote.

And then I-

Actually, very briefly,

uh, for the benefit of our newer members,

do you mind explaining what PEG is

and why we're funding it?

Yeah, it's public education and governance.

Actually, Josh, do you want to do this part of it?

Because I feel like there's a legal parameter

and you have actually written the rules

that the JPA members use

when they're submitting their PEG requests.

Yeah.

Um, so we've talked a little bit, uh,

this afternoon about the 5% franchise fee.

Uh, we just, that was part of the discussion

about the, uh, distribution, um,

to, to member agencies.

Um, under federal and state law,

in addition to that 5% franchise fee,

the commission is authorized to impose a 1% PEG fee

to fund the capital costs associated

with operating our public education

and government channels.

So all of our public access channels,

um, uh, are entitled to use these dollars.

Um, but again, the funding restriction here

is that PEG fees can only be used for the capital costs.

So equipment, buildings, that sort of thing.

Thank you.

So my team gets those requests

and makes sure that they fit the legal parameter

that council's advising.

Sometimes we work with you to change,

make sure things stay in the,

within the legal parameters.

Some things drop out.

This is not subject to a per capita distribution.

At this point in time,

you get basically 100% of everything

that your jurisdictions ask for

after it's been scrubbed

to make sure it meets the legal standard.

However, you've had a surplus in the past

and that surplus is beginning to diminish.

So much like the general fund discussion,

if we do an ad hoc committee,

there's probably going to be discussion around PEG.

I think this problem is a little more easily resolved.

Um, but I'll just go back to the presentation for now.

So the member agencies, uh, 2,428,470.

That's all of you.

Um, your projects sometimes take more

than one fiscal year to complete.

And so this includes 1.860936 in re-requested projects.

So those occur over multiple fiscal years.

They're usually larger projects.

In what I've seen since I've been here is some inflation,

the tariff discussion, supply chain issues.

And in some ways people are still recovering

from the pandemic and some of these larger projects.

So I think that's why there's so much roll forward each year.

They just get re-requested.

Um, the channel licensees requested $992,592.

I'm recommending, like we do on the general fund,

to go to a quarterly distribution of that money.

Um, and then the commission itself, my team,

uh, requires about $472,317 to meet the needs

of our process of keeping Metro 14 on the air.

Um, total PEG requested is $3,893,379.

I think you'll get about another $1.4 million

in that 1% PEG next year.

But as you can see, if all the projects get completed,

that $1.4 would not cover a full year's ask.

And so this is something that I'll ask everybody

to be mindful of when it comes to, um,

that ad hoc committee discussion.

Um, I believe I have one recusal on this issue.

I just want to put that out there.

Thank you so much.

Um, and before we move into, uh,

any of the subsequent items and discussion on this,

um, I want to note that, uh, shout-out to, uh,

Directors Hedges and Munoz for catching a parliamentary error.

We didn't actually approve the budget, it turns out.

We voted on, uh, Garrett's motion to call the question,

uh, which we did approve for what it's worth.

And unfortunately, the question was not called.

Uh, and that one's on me.

And so we have technically still an open motion on the floor,

which is to close a public hearing and move item seven,

uh, which was the item that we just theoretically approved moments ago.

Uh, but, uh, the motion on the floor, uh,

is to close and to close the public hearing and to move the budget.

Um, all those in favor, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed?

No.

Noted.

Uh, and any abstentions?

Thank you so much.

Uh, the motion does carry.

I mean, we have passed the budget.

And now we can move into item seven, uh, for real this time.

Thank you so much for your presentation, Sean.

Uh, do we have a motion to close public hearing and approve item seven?

Oh, I apologize.

I have to have public comment first.

We have received any additional public comment?

Yes, we have for item number seven.

Wonderful.

Uh, well, guys, uh, do we have that here?

Thank you so much.

Uh, our first, uh, public and first and only public commenter on this item,

uh, Mark Freeman.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

It better be good, Mark.

I swear.

Mr. Freeman, thank you for joining us.

You have three minutes.

Yeah, this was initially, I think, supposed to be on not an item, but general comments.

So, um, sorry.

Usually I, uh, uh, haven't really done this before.

So, excuse me if I didn't fill it out properly.

And I do want to read my comments.

Um, good afternoon.

I appreciate the opportunity to address the board today.

My name is Mark Freeman.

I serve as president of Knowledge Transferance Incorporated, and I'm the special project manager

for the Sacramento Observer newspaper, bringing over three decades of experience in multimedia

and online instructional design.

I am here to advocate for increased collaboration and funding for community journalism within the

public education and government PEG ecosystem.

So사를 put together safely, both national and regional journalism face significant challenges

due to political pressures and economic strikes, a situation also impacting PEGs and community media across the country.

Historically, journalists and PEG organizations have often worked or operated independently of one another.

it is crucial for us to intentionally collaborate and seek funding from both

sectors to ensure the public has access to reliable and informative content. The

Alliance for Community Media has recognized the need prioritizing

collaboration with journalists organizations. The National ACM CEO

affirmed this at a recent conference that partnerships with journalists and

publishers are essential for the ACM's future. Solving Sacramento exemplifies

this collaborative approach. As a founding member, the Observer participates in this

award-winning organization which demonstrates the benefit of competing

entities uniting for the public benefit. I urge the Sacramento County Cable

Commission, PEGs, and local publishers to explore opportunities for

collaboration and deliver trusted and informative content to Sacramento County

residents. I would like to offer the board a formal presentation and

recommendations at a future meeting. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Freeman. And with that,

that concludes the public comment on this item. Do I hear a motion to close the

public hearing and move the item? So moved. Motion by Vice Chair Gatewin. Second by,

second by, we, oh my God, I forgot your last name, I'm so sorry. Second by

Director McCarthy Olmstead. Thank you so much. That's incredibly embarrassing. And so

with that, do we have any members of the Commission who would like to speak on this

item? Director Gull? Just a quick question on one of the presentation items about re-requested funds that

come through. Are there any of those that are, that have been sort of sitting and languishing so

long that they should be considered for removal? Okay, so originally I didn't know what the sort of

scrub budget was and what the re-requests were. Mary has worked on that with me. We know for 24,

25, the numbers I'm showing you are those numbers that are being re-requested. We have not had time to

go back to the earlier budget cycles. That's part of some of that auditing that I talked about.

By the final budget, I will get your information for you. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other requests?

Seeing none, in that case, we will proceed to a vote. All those in favor of closing the hearing

and moving this item, please indicate by saying aye now. Aye.

All those opposed? And any abstentions?

I recuse from this item, please. Noted. Thank you so much, Director.

With that, the item carries. Thank you so much.

And we're going to move into our next item,

eight, which is the Formation of Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission Budget

Priorities Ad Hoc Committee.

And Sean, you want to walk us through this?

Yes.

Let me get to that page.

We have one screen for this, and I'm going to show it to you in a second

so you kind of know what you're getting yourself into.

But if you choose to form a subcommittee,

Chair, we've talked about having you lead

and then obviously some representation from city side and county side.

But here's kind of what you're getting yourself into.

These numbers across the top are a little bit different

than the first chart that you looked at.

This scrubs out interest, and this scrubs out cable casting fees.

So this is just pure revenue.

You can see your revenue dropping 18, 9, and 16%.

I don't know what the revenue drop is going to be for next year.

We probably won't know for a couple of budget cycles.

The scale is a little misleading.

I kind of put the peg at the bottom here,

but the peg is also going down 5, 9, and 17.

And given the item that you just voted on,

you can see at some point in the future we won't be able to cover 100%

of all the peg requests.

So that's part of the discussion also.

My plan would be that we have BBK host

and that I would have a more detailed presentation

about where all the funding goes.

I will have some comments in my executive director report

about some of the auditing that I'm doing to best stage

so that when I'm asking you for your very valuable time,

get a meeting at BBK, identify some priorities,

and let me start working on those as soon as possible.

But I need direction from the commission.

That's the ask.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Madam Clerk, any public comment on this item?

Not for this item.

Thank you so much.

I have a couple of quick questions before I pull folks up,

which is number one,

would you have a recommendation on how many commission members

would be appropriate to serve on the ad hoc,

or is that truly whoever volunteers?

It has to be less than a quorum.

So I think five is what it would be.

You'd be one, and then as many as...

Myself, in addition to five other members,

for a total of six, which meets just under quorum.

Sixth total.

Sixth total.

That's correct.

Thank you.

And then number two,

what would be the timeline for ad hoc meetings

and producing a result?

I would like to get this done in as little as one meeting,

and I could come back to the September meeting

for a general vote so you can direct me,

and then possibly, depending on how that goes,

a second one in that final quarter of the calendar year.

So by the December meeting,

I have a clear idea of what direction you'd like me to go in.

Perfect.

Thank you.

First punched up is Vice Chair Gatewood.

I want to be on the committee.

The show does.

So first off.

Yeah, thank you.

And the second thing is,

as we transition down,

we may have to look at what we actually do,

because this is the death blow of this committee,

and as it goes out,

I just want to make sure that the money,

but I know a quarter of my city just transferred over to Fiber,

and they're all streaming.

Like all our new areas,

there is no Comcast cable being put out there.

We literally have Fiber City and other Fiber Cities

coming in and writing over the thing.

So we're going to probably have to turn ourselves

in some sort of revenue generation stream

that this group has never really gone into,

and it's an exciting opportunity,

but also a very big lift.

So I want everyone to put on there,

if they, you know,

if this group might not be,

it might have to transition to something

that's run by the county and purely goes into it,

and there is no committee at that point,

but it's going to be an interesting transition

as we talk about, you know,

because fees went down almost, what, 16%.

You could see it going down another 30% to 40%

by the end of next year,

and then you're breaking into, like,

what's really left,

and we don't want to take any of the money

that the franchisees need to keep it going,

but we do have to set you guys up for success

of how you're going to generate revenues.

So interesting opportunities.

Thank you.

Director Hedges.

Thanks.

I'd just like to volunteer,

and I would like to,

I don't think that's a formal process,

but I'd like to nominate Rebecca Sloan.

You caught me.

Director Sloan,

could we request your expertise

as a member of this subcommittee?

Wonderful.

So right now, looking at it,

we have myself as chair,

but also representing, you know,

City of Sacramento.

We have two representatives from the county

and one representative.

By the way, you can be on the commission,

but you can't call it the CHO.

I beg you.

There's actually two members from the CHO.

One.

CHO, two.

Ah.

He's right.

That's two.

I would love to request maybe another member

from one of our jurisdictions,

Director Hackett Little.

I'll volunteer as well.

Got it.

Thank you.

Oh, we'd love to hear it.

Is that a nomination or is that,

oh, look at that, Director Middleton.

Yeah, there's space, sure.

And indeed there is.

And so that is our limit at six members.

Is there any burning desire to change that?

As a review, it is myself,

representing the City of Sacramento,

Director Sloan and Hedges,

representing the county,

Director Gatewood,

Vice Chair Gatewood,

representing the CHO.

Thank you.

Director Hackett Little,

representing the city,

and Director Middleton,

representing Citrus Heights.

Does that sound like a good ad hoc formation to folks?

That is the cap of our members.

Do we need a motion to establish

the membership of the ad hoc?

Go ahead, Josh.

Motion's not required,

as long as there's consensus

that that's the ad hoc.

Any concerns?

Fabulous.

It is decided to thank you so much

for volunteering to be a part of this,

and I look forward to working with you all.

We'll hear next step soon, I hope.

Yes.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That completes my presentation for the budget.

Thank you so much, Sean.

So that is the conclusion of our discussion items.

We are going to move into Section 4,

Separate Matters.

Item 9,

which is receiving and filing reports

of channel licensees,

which, of course,

access SAC,

KVIE,

SECC,

and SAC Life TV.

I do see a few representatives

and some new public comment slips.

Thank you so much.

First,

in public comment,

I am excited to welcome

David Lowe,

representing KVIE.

Mr. Lowe,

thank you for joining us.

The floor is yours.

Thank you for passing the budget request that we had.

So,

David Lowe,

KVIE,

and we've got some really exciting things

that we are doing.

We're focusing more on news and information

than we have,

and I have something I can announce in August,

but the first service is the KVIE News Minute,

and I believe there is a video that we can show you.

Thank you.

Caltrans has announced the closure of Highway 50's

eastbound lanes in West Sacramento

this upcoming Father's Day weekend.

The shutdown is from 9 p.m. Friday

to 4 a.m. Tuesday

from the I-80 U.S. 50 ramp

to Jefferson Boulevard.

A Sacramento City employee

might soon be digging through your garbage.

Staff are checking 15

out of every 1,000 garbage,

recycling,

and green waste containers

to see if residents are separating items correctly.

If not,

you'll get an educational tag saying,

let's sort this out.

Similar reviews have been done in Davis,

Elk Grove, Folsom,

and Sacramento County.

Around 600 homes in South Natomas

may be abuzz with more mosquitoes

from July to October,

but they won't bite you.

The Sacramento Yellow Mosquito

and Vector Control District

will release about 30,000 sterile male mosquitoes

each week

to reduce the threat of dengue fever.

The mosquitoes mate with females,

but the eggs don't hatch,

leading to fewer biting mosquitoes.

So that was an example from earlier this week,

and we air them right before the news hour

on KVIE2,

which is our PEG channel,

and that's weeknights.

The Friday episode is always about events

that you can go to this weekend,

and it's also running on KVIE,

our primary HD channel,

and available on YouTube

and on KVIE.org slash news minute.

There we go.

Thank you so much.

Any comments or questions

for our representative?

As a reminder, punch up,

or I will say nothing.

Same once.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Next up, we have Ms. Donna Giroux

from our friends over at,

oh my good Lord,

I mixed this up already.

Of course, Access Sacramento.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Hi, everyone.

I'm Donna Giroux,

Access Sacramento Executive Director.

I want to thank you for the funding.

We're doing an amazing job.

We have a very tight budget.

We have been anticipating

this diminishing funding for a while,

and so we're doing everything we can

to elevate the quality

of what we give to the community

while trying to keep the costs down.

Of course, inflation

and everything that's going on

that we have no control of.

We're controlling as much as we can.

We're trying to be fiscally responsible

with the money that you're providing us.

We're also doing a great job

at training community members

because people right now are frustrated

and they want to raise their voice,

and we want to make sure

that everyone in the community

has that opportunity.

There's a lot of conflict

and there's people who press on us,

but we're a platform.

We don't have an opinion

about individual politics,

and we try to be as neutral as possible

so everyone feels included.

I think that's important

to understand as a commission.

We also very much appreciate

the new management

and your executive commission team.

Sean and Jillian

have done a great job

in communicating.

When I first came here,

the prior administration

didn't communicate

with the channel licensees

as thoroughly,

and so from a stress level

as a channel licensee

begging for funds,

this is a wonderful improvement.

Hats off to the crew

that's here right now.

Do you have any questions?

Oh, as for my report,

I submitted it in,

it's in the agenda

that you're looking at now,

so not only was it my budget request,

but it was also statistics

and cute pictures,

so you can see how the,

the key things that we do do

is we do community event filming,

we do game of the week,

high school sports,

that educates people

on how to be in big production teams,

and people have gone off

and gotten legitimate jobs.

We are also fundamental.

Your funding doesn't really finance this,

but we do something called

the place called Sacramento,

which is a year-round training program,

so I go and look for grants

and we sell tickets,

so we would love for you to come to it.

It's our flagship event.

We, right now,

there's 10 films being produced

with several hundred people,

and the idea is that it's all done

on a volunteer basis

so that our creative economy

has that foundation,

so when a film comes in

and they need production assistance

or they need a script writer

or they need somebody

to work on their crew,

whether it's commercial video projects

or film,

they are,

we have the foundational crew of people,

the locals.

I do want to recommend that

if you decide not to do a,

I notice when the scholarships

that were given,

the grants that were given,

we have facilities,

like there's one gentleman,

young Elliot,

he was happy that you gave him

the ability to have Photoshop

and Lightroom.

We have that for everyone

in the community,

so people who are not getting

these grants,

we have a digital media lab,

seven computers,

they're all souped up,

we pay for subscriptions

every year,

they're used extensively

by the community,

so if you are the working poor

or lower on the economic scale,

our service is there for you.

Just now,

we have equipment

and we have software

and we have a digital media lab,

we have a TV studio,

we have a podcasting studio,

and they're being used extensively.

All right,

any questions?

Thank you so much.

Thanks, guys.

Thank you.

Next,

we have Mr. Ron Herman

of SAC Life TV.

Ron,

come on up,

the floor is yours.

Well,

it's good to see you all.

I've been sick

and I had other things

that kept me away

from the last two meetings,

so it's nice to be before you.

As you know,

going past,

going back a little bit,

we used to be SAC Faith TV

and just had faith-based programming

and I'd come up here

and give you a one-minute overview

and then I was out of here.

So I'm giving a big smile today

because of your funding last year,

for the first time,

we've been able to do

some things

that we hadn't been able

to do before.

Not only were we SAC,

went from SAC Faith to SAC Life,

we've expanded our program

to be community outreach,

non-profit,

health and fitness,

the arts,

and of course,

we still have our faith things

that are going on.

I want to give thanks right now

before I get into my presentation

here to Access Sacramento

and Donna and her crew.

For the first time,

I think,

as long as I've been here,

which is 17 years,

I felt it was good

that if we could work together,

we could split the costs on things,

use our resources together

and spread ourselves better

in the community

and we've had a partnership

that's worked real good

this last year

and she's helped us

with some productions

and we've helped them

with some things

so that's really worked out good.

Last year,

you granted us $70,000

to do some things with

and I want to kind of give you

an overview of what happened

with that money.

We had our first project

was called Operation PTSD.

I've been approached

by our Veterans Administration,

the Capitol,

by some people

that knew what I was doing

over there and said,

look, our veterans

aren't getting the support

they need,

they've got some issues going on,

can we do something

to help them out?

We've got some ideas.

We developed a show

called Operation PTSD

where we take several

of our local veterans,

we put them in,

there's a local place

that does a retreat for them

and we talk about their issues,

how they got their PTSD,

they go through this program

and how they're correcting it,

we have information

that goes out to the public

of what to look for

in your own families

and so forth.

The idea here was to get money

to do two pilot episodes

and I know that money

and funding is very tight

so the idea here

is to do something different,

create an episode or two

that would be,

as I mentioned,

the pilot episodes

and hopefully be able

to get that money funded

by a streaming service

like Prime

or Netflix or something

of that nature.

We're still working

on that project.

Those two,

we took those two pilots,

they've been edited a couple

of times and they've been

showing around.

We've got matching funding

to come back and do extra

shooting last weekend.

Those two episodes

are going to turn into eight

episodes and almost have

a full season that we will be

able to present to a streaming

service and hopefully fund

the pilot episode itself so I

don't have to come back here

to this committee and ask for

more money.

That's one good thing

and that's for our community

veterans.

The other thing we put

together was called the

powerhouse podcast.

This is a half-hour show

with a local host that focuses

on things that are going on in

our community.

It's driven by our own

viewers that send in

information on our emails,

subject matter they want to

have covered or guests they

would like to have on our show

or there are national issues

that also affect our area here

in Sacramento.

We've had 30 episodes so far.

They cover subjects such as

our legislature at work here

in the Sacramento area,

homelessness, mental health,

fighting addiction, service

animals, inside ice,

immigration, how it relates.

That was definitely a subject

and obviously there's two sides

of that.

They can go both ways and we

covered that on the other side

by having Charles Christian

Gonzalez in who was the

Mexican consultant of California

to talk about the other side,

the immigration side of it.

So we're covering both issues.

This year, this month, we had

Chief Lester, Chief Cooper, U.S.

Marshal Boyden and Chief

Lykoff here to talk about the

issues in the different

communities in Sacramento that

have to do with law

enforcement.

Interesting side note on that,

this week we showed an episode

with Sheriff Lykoff about

encroachment of animals in our

rural areas, mountain lions, bears,

and bulls.

I didn't think it was a, you know,

that interesting a subject, but I

live in the city.

It just so happens that that

subject took off.

You never know what's going to go

viral.

I got this email from our host,

Topo Padilla.

I'm up at the California State

Sheriff's Association Convention.

The interview with Sheriff Lykoff is

getting spread all over the country.

I asked to move.

I talked to more than a dozen

sheriffs who watched the video,

and they loved the hard-hitting

information.

The podcast has also got, was sent

to and has been shared on Ted

Nugent, who is going to spread it

on his social media.

And Gubernational candidate for

California, Chad Bianco, has also

spread that out.

I have so many people that want to

come on the podcast.

They need to focus on more diverse

and riveting guests.

See you at this month's shoot.

That podcast has also got the

attention of two other people

who have come to us and want us to

do their podcast as well.

I'm working with Donna on

developing those.

The other, the other project we

have is called the Sacramento

Spotlight, where we take our

cameras out and we spotlight

nonprofits in our community, not

the big ones, but the ones that

need attention that haven't been

shined a light on.

We covered Celebrate Recovery

this year, last year with drug

intervention, JJ Roberts, Folsom

Community Fundraiser, the All-

American Rib Cook-Off up in

Auburn that helps crime victims

united, adopt a family during

Christmas to help support under

under pressure, excuse me, under

families that that that that are

that are in need of gifts and

things of that nature.

And we stand up to abuse and if

everybody acts, violence ends.

The word is getting out and I've

got a list longer this this year

for those nonprofits than I did last

year.

This year's funding will go to both

of those projects to continue

them.

Obviously, operation ptsd is

starting to fund itself so I

don't need to come back for money

for there.

Our fourth project last year we

were going to do a show called

Sacramento eats after reviewing

that show a couple of times.

I felt that that would be not a good

use of the funds that you've

granted us.

We want to be good stewards of

that money so I return that money

to the cable commission to be

reissued to us this year so that

we can use it on a project on

another project.

And the other project that we're

going to be working on this year

is because I'm working with all

the law enforcement agencies

what came to came to us is

something that is needed here in

Sacramento is we're working on a

new show and I've got all the

sheriff's and law enforcement

included on this is a show called

Sacramento cold case where the

different departments are going

to be coming into the studio

and we're going to talk about

it's kind of like America's

most wanted on a smaller level

here in Sacramento.

If you remember last year you had

a member Kevin Papino that was

on the board.

He is a district attorney, he

works at the district attorney's

office as an investigator for

cold cases.

He'll be the host of that show

and we'll be drawing cold cases

from our local police department

and we'll be drawing cold cases

from our local police department

and we'll be working on the

We'll be drawing cold cases from

our local law enforcement

agencies.

I invite you all to go to our

website.

I do need a lot of information

here.

All these programs are available

at saclife.tv.

They're archived there.

You can go to the top of the menu

bar and look at our Sacramento

Spotlight, the podcast and what's

going on with the other things

that we're doing here.

In closing, do you have any

questions for me?

Nope, doesn't look like it.

Thank you so much Ron.

Thank you very much.

Next we have Aaron Heinrich

representing SEC.

Aaron, thank you for being with us.

Thank you.

This is only my second meeting so

I appreciate the time.

Also appreciate all the funding

that you're giving us.

I'd say every penny but since

that's going out of circulation

it's probably not appropriate

given the budget discussions.

But I really do appreciate all

of it.

One thing I just want to

volunteer myself to this ad hoc

committee.

Since the short time that I've been

with SECC I've done a lot of

looking and talking to other

entities around the country that

are going through the exact same

thing all of us are.

Some have been able to actually

tackle it and get that funding

from these services to help

continue to fund this.

So there's some insight I might

have some other folks that I've

talked to that I recommend you

speaking to as well as part of

that opportunity.

Before I go into any of the

details of what we've accomplished

over the past year I do have a

video I want to show that

probably encapsulated is

probably better than what I

could actually say.

So if we could go ahead and say

that at this point.

Show that.

My name is Melissa May and we

are so excited we are at the

SEVA 2025 event.

We are at the SEVA

2025 event.

We are at the SEVA

2020.

We are at the SEVA 2025 video

awards.

Woo hoo.

I'm most excited to be up there

speaking and to see who gets the

SEVAs because it lets kids show

off their creativity.

It lets them air things that

probably would have only been

shown to like a small group of

friends at their school.

It lets them show it off to

untold thousands of people.

Well the SEVA program is

encouraging students to expand

their horizons to go do

something cool to like this is

a great way to do.

And we're excited to be

excited we are at the SEVA 2025

video awards.

I'm most excited to be up there

speaking and to see who gets the

stars.

It's like the Oscars and it

really encourages folks to go

outside of what they are

normally doing to be creative

to reach for the stars so to

speak.

This year we had 630 entries.

We need to make sure that we

continue to invest in these

kind of programs.

It's really critical in making

sure that everyone has a voice

and I love being able to use

our board, the Metro

Cable board to reinvest into

this kind of program.

winning the SEVA really helped me

remember how much that media has

in our society.

I guess just as an influence and

everything.

I think what people should take

away from the SEVA is that

creativity is not bound by an

award.

Creativity is bound by your

imagination.

We have done our best and that is

something to be proud of.

As we journey into this new stage

of our lives, may we always carry

with us the love that we have

received here.

I wish each one of you the best

that life has to offer.

Graduates, this is a time that you

end your high school journey and

begin the rest of your life.

The string project is a service

learning program where we take

elementary school kids and middle

students and students and

students and students and students

who are going to be able to

meet the students and students.

We are going to be able to

take them here on campus to

Sacramento State and we teach

them how to play violin, viola,

cello and bass, the bowed

orchestral strings.

And the main teaching is done by

college students who are majoring

in those instruments or majoring

in music education.

For us, having the mission be

about young people and families,

introducing them to ideas of

excellence, and the education

is about the best and the

best and the best and the best

of the best.

The string project is a

best and the best.

The string project is a

best and the best.

The string project is a

best and the best.

The string project is a

full of excellence, musical

excellence.

The idea that all of us are

coming together around these

young people to think about a

practice that is hundreds of

years old, but finding a way

to give them an entry point

into it that can feel new and

that can feel relevant and

vital.

So I just wanted to give you an

idea with that, that we are

far more than just the SIVA

Awards and thank you Ryan for

taking the time that evening to

be part of that.

I'm sorry Portia has left

because we appreciate her as

well.

We also had some other folks

there to try to extend the

reach out in the community with

this program.

We had Marcus Allen from ABC

10 as a presenter.

We also had Catherine Luna who

is now with the Sac Republic FC

as a presenter.

And we also had Melissa May

who is one of the instructors

that intercom and a media

educator there as a

presenter.

We had 52 teachers involved,

11 school districts, 4 grade

groups and 5 categories.

And as I mentioned in I think

the first commission meeting we

had over 630 entries which was a

record.

So this is a program that on the

surface you know that looks like

these kids are having fun which

they are but it's also very

impactful.

These kids as I've grown to know

some of them and also talk to the

teachers are learning things like

confidence, being able to

communicate, tell stories,

visually, visually, and really be

able to integrate themselves into

world that has become far more

visually oriented썹 today.

So the other thing is we had 15

grants from the grant money that

we got from this past budget.

We live streamed in both channels

15% of the budget.

The massacry vivre, xWAT, 14-ố-

month code.

And we have one with a

しょally, month and a month.

So one thousand talks, ok we

both channels 15 and 16 as you saw over 40 high school and related graduations. Probably about

over half a dozen of those are ones that we actually helped produce and were on site with.

In-kind productions for eight districts. We had six committee meetings and then we've also began

expanding the overall programming on our access channels to update it and make it more relevant.

Relative to the budget, we just had a board meeting and a strategic plan yesterday where we're

already starting to try to figure out this ourselves because we know the money's gone away

at some point. And it's interesting, Sean, because the time frame we gave ourselves was three years.

Right? Because this is what I saw happening when I was the head of marketing at ABC 10, too.

And when you saw those cable cutters and coordinators and the cable companies going like this,

it's all the same thing. So anyway, I appreciate your time. I appreciate the budget that you've

given us. We're going to make the best use of it. Thank you.

Any questions? Thank you so much, Aaron.

It was such a pleasure to be at SEVA this year. I wasn't able to make it last, but I can't tell you

what an honor it was to be able to support in presenting those awards and kind of facilitating

the event. So thank you for the invitation and hopefully we'll see it next year as well.

Yeah. Thank you.

Awesome. Thank you so much, Aaron.

Our final public commenter on this item is Alexander Vasquez. Mr. Vasquez, I have you down for number

six and number nine. You are very welcome to yield your time. Noted and thank you.

That concludes public comment. And we have received and filed the reports of our licensees. Thank you

all so much. We will move into item 10, receiving and filing the reports of our state franchisees.

And do we have any representatives from Comcast or AT&T and DirecTV? The reports, of course,

can be found in your agenda packet if you choose to peruse them. Noted. Moving into item 11,

the executive director's report of general administration activities. Sean, what's going on?

Just renewed our contract with our accountant and that accountant works with an auditing team that

also audits our processes. So I'm trying to finish off my view of all of the financial issues related

to commission business. As part of that, I'm going to start doing some auditing outside of just the

commission. And I actually have a statement I want to read. So make sure I get this right.

Across public agencies, we are seeing contracting budgets. Metro Cable is not unique in this regard,

except to say we are also confronting a structural imbalance. As our revenues rely on fees,

increasingly popular streaming services are not subject to paying. As part of our ongoing effort

to ensure financial transparency and accountability to preserve public access to public meetings

and afford access to unique local programming, we plan to conduct a complete audit of program budgets.

We started with the Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission budget with the goal of creating

a complete financial picture. Our next steps will include reviewing channel licensees budgets.

We appreciate their help in reviewing and verifying program financial records. The starting point will be

their most recent auditing records. Licensees, I thank you in advance for your cooperation and support.

We will set meetings to discuss your insights or concerns that may support the audit process. The plan is to develop a

complete financial picture for the budget priorities ad hoc committee.

Internally, we are going to continue to look at our budget. In the private sector, you might hear the term

zero-based budgeting. I want to just go through and make sure that we're spending every one of our dollars

as efficiently as we can. And are there any legacy issues that it might be time to let go of just as your Metro team?

And then the final thing is a big thanks to my team, all of them, on both the production side and the admin side.

I had a vision for what I wanted this presentation to look like, and they were able to help me put that

into a PowerPoint that I shared with you today. But there were so many hours and so many data points that needed

to be collected to complete that picture. And I just think Kristen Schaap and Jillian Schaap and everyone sitting

behind me right now, thank you for being as supportive as you've been. That concludes my presentation. Thank you.

Well, and briefly said, thank you, Sean. As always, expressing my sincere appreciation to our MetroCable staff.

I can't say enough after having been in meetings with y'all and seeing the work that you've produced,

I have never had any doubt that it's the most exceptional possible quality. You are appreciated,

and I sincerely look forward to that audit going through and reviewing the results. Thank you, Sean.

Is there any commentary or discussion from the commission? Director Sloan.

I'd just like to thank our staff for both their passion and their commitment to making sure that

we're able to continue to provide programming. And I hope that you trust us that we will do our best

to make sure that those resources continue to be available to the best of our ability. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Any other discussion? All right. Seeing none, is there any public comment on this item?

No. Thank you so much. In that case, we have received and filed your report. Thank you so much, Sean.

Our final item, Board of Director comments, reports, and updates. Anything to add or anything from the commission?

Yes, Director Munoz.

I just wanted to say thank you. When you introduced me, I was a little bit nervous, didn't realize it.

But I wanted to say thank you to the staff who briefed me and helped me get to this point.

The chiefs who support me every day in the office and the board members here for welcoming me so kindly and warmly.

Thank you very much. And I look forward to continuing.

We are so happy to have you here. Thank you.

Any other comments, reports, or updates? Going once? Going twice? Hearing none?

I am going to go ahead and adjourn this meeting of the Metro Cable Commission at 4.39 p.m.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.