03-06-2017 Council Work Session Minutes

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CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION March 6, 2017 APPROVED 46 Council Member Kusterman remarked that it is helpful to have this testimony because he 47 knows there are people who don't know the community work that's going on at the Legion. 48 The mayor noted additionally that there is positive energy and good momentum and that is 49 bringing in many new people to the Legion; the organization is running well. 50 51 Council Member Rafferty noted that he is thankful to hear about the good community work 52 of the Legion as well. As they have noted, the Legion receives discounts for certain 53 services in recognition of their community base but that is from private companies, not the 54 public dollar. Mayor Reinert noted that, with the extra revenue that could be created with 55 growth, they are talking about doing even more that will benefit the community. 56 57 2. Update from North Metro TV Executive Director —Heidi Arnson, North 58 Metro Television (NMTV) presented. She reviewed a handout that outlines the 59 improvement of services they are providing to city government and their respective 60 television channels. Their services include programming as well as technical assistance. 61 The project to update the local government channels is a priority for NMTV because they 62 have heard from cities that it is needed and wanted. They are also providing assistance in 63 the city's quest to upgrade the council chambers technology. She explained the availability 64 of a new program for government channels that they are using and that they will be 65 providing for local governments in about eight weeks. 66 67 Mayor Reinert noted that he's been interested in more capability for the city's cable channel 68 and wants to see more ability to cross over to other programs. How much will cities need 69 to provide in the way of staff for this new effort? Ms. Arnson noted that NMTV has talked 70 about creating a position that will deal with programming for local channels. A position 71 for a municipal producer is already established and will be filled soon. The mayor 72 remarked that there is much information out there for the residents and he's excited about 73 improving the information on that channel. He recalled that this discussion began when he 74 offered a challenge to NMTV and he didn't intend that to be offensive; he wanted more and 75 is excited about getting to that goal. He asked for a more in depth description of how 76 content on the city channel will change. He's envisioning some regular content such as a 77 public safety update, comprehensive plan news, public services information, etc. Also he 78 sees advantage in investigating what other cities are doing on their channels. Ms. Arnson 79 said it will be helpful to have that new producer on board who will lead the new content. 80 Mayor Reinert called for a way to bring the government channel to more than just cable 81 subscribers; Heidi mentioned streaming and the Mayor suggested getting the channel onto 82 Direct TV and Dish TV. 83 84 Regarding the council chambers upgrade project, Council Member Rafferty wondered why 85 there are so few vendors being considered. Ms. Arnson said that there is limited expertise 86 in the area and it's advisable to stay with someone who knows the work well. Council 87 Member Rafferty noted that the city is seeking design services for a system as an initial 88 step, but he is curious about how that process fits into the actually bidding down the line. 89 Should the design engineer be eligible for bidding also? If they get the bid, as they 90 probably would, who would do the checks and balances on them (if it's all their work, all 2