2006 0518 Regular City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes: Regular City Commission Meeting May 18,2006 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida when broadcast of the Commission meetings are delayed two days and we have nothing else scheduled, there is something wrong with the concept. He said this was set up so that we could show the people within Sunny Isles Beach what we are doing, for those who cannot get out of their homes or couldn't make it. He said once a month we have the Serenade, that is not on here, we had a Fun Day with the children and he doesn't see that being broadcast here, we have other programs that we have had and he has seen people photographing/video taping it, what is happening to all that film, and why isn't it going into this scheduling. IT Director Arias said that the video that is being taken for events is being used to produce promotionals for the events in the future. He said that they have not been directed to produce those events for broadcast on the cable channel with the exception of a couple of things that we have discussed like the dance contest. Commissioner Thaler said he thinks that we are going about this the wrong way, this was set up not to have a flag raising, this station was set up to give people a chance to see what is happening within Sunny Isles Beach that we are doing, what the cultural areas are doing, what this Commission is doing, and he doesn't see that happening. City Manager Szerlag said that our philosophy is that we can do anything as long as we have the attendant resources to go along with it and he said he believes that the role of the Commission is what do you want, and the role of professional management is how it is going to be accomplished. He said initially maybe there was a communication issue. Mayor Edelcup said that where he thinks we are at is when we first started to talk about all this programming, one of the first things we suggested was that the Commission meetings get on, but we really want to move on to the full array of television events on channel 77 that disseminates to the public what is happening in Sunny Isles Beach, whether it be the Sunny Serenades, the Easter Egg Hunt, or the City's upcoming 9th Anniversary. He said we want some assurance from staff that we are ready to move on quickly now that we have tested it and found that we can get Commission meetings on, now our desire is how fast can we get everything else on that would make this enjoyable programming for the residents of the City. City Manager Szerlag said that our next step then would be to develop a business case indicating what the associated costs are to have an enhanced programming venue compared to what we currently have. He said he comes from a larger City that had top-drawer award winning cable programming but it cost a factor of probably 3 or 4 of what we are spending here for personnel. Mayor Edelcup said since we are in the budgetary process there is no better time to address this and we will have some alternatives for the budget of what our hopes and desires are and if that is too expensive, what the next layer down could achieve for us, and the Commission agreed. Mayor Edelcup said that he would also like to suggest that maybe when we finally get more interesting programs on Channel 77, that we have a contest where we name a resident's name and if they call in within 10 minutes after seeing it, we will give them a prize and maybe that will get more people to watch. Vice Mayor Brezin said that you will get a viewing audience as those who attended these functions will see themselves on television and it encourages them to tell a neighbor. Commissioner Thaler agreed with Vice Mayor Brezin and if you want to take it to the next level it will get people to watch it, so that even if we have emergencies they are going to think of this station, nobody thinks of this station today. 16