Come down tonight to the City Council meeting at 7:30pm to express your thoughts on Channel 10 and public access TV in Ojai. Following is the executive summary from a city report (emphasis mine) (PDF download):

Time Warner Cable has notified the City of Ojai of its intent to convert to a statewide franchise agreement for the provision of video services to its customers. The City should see no reduction in its current revenues as a result of this change, and has the opportunity to adopt a special ordinance that will provide additional revenues to support a local government channel. Time Warner will upgrade the existing video equipment at City Hall to industry standards prior to expiration of the local franchise agreement. Following that, the City will be responsible for future maintenance and upgrades to this equipment. Time Warner will discontinue its management of the current local channel, Channel 10. In order to continue broadcasting on this channel, the City will have to assume responsibility for its operation. Staff believes it is in the best interest of the City to operate this channel as a government only channel.

Update 11:44am: here is an article from January outlining the possible draw-down or outright closing of Ojai public access (OVN).
Update 3:31pm: My prepared comments for tonight’s meeting after the jump…

I’m Tyler Suchman, [address redacted], founder of The Ojai Post and CEO of Emergencity, Inc.
An administrative report dated October 16th stated – quote – Time Warner will discontinue its management of the current local channel, Channel 10. In order to continue broadcasting on this channel, the City will have to assume responsibility for its operation. Staff believes it is in the best interest of the City to operate this channel as a government only channel.”
In my opinion, limiting PEG programming, which stands for Public, Educational and Governmental, to simply Governmental, does a disservice to the entire community.
Now, I understand that with limited budgets and a full plate on everyone’s desk that a robust public access channel may feel like more trouble than its worth. But before the City Staff makes a judgment purely based on what is easiest to implement for the municipality, I implore the Council to engage with the community before taking any actions and limiting the opportunity presented by localizing a public access channel.
The report specifically notes the time and resources to review each piece of content that would go up on public access, to meet appropriate obscenity and libel thresholds.
My suggestion is to begin the Public component of PEG programming with regular content providers, who would be reliable in their ability to provide content that meets appropriate community guidelines. Those providers would sign a brief contract which would include liability and indemnification clauses. Organizations that would be well-positioned to provide content and meet these guidelines include: the Film Festival, the Music Festival, the Green Coalition, the Chamber on behalf of its members, public access stalwarts like Lee Fitzgerald and John Wilcock, the Youth Foundation, video programs within the Ojai Unified School District, and on and on. Clearly we can tap into a wealth of content without the narrow acquisition process outlined in the report.
The report also assigns the City the responsibility of posting public announcements and emergency information. Again, we can provide data feeds from multiple vetted sources at no cost. I would be happy to provide data feeds from OjaiEvents.com. Emergencity, Inc. is launching a network of sites for Ventura County, which are designed to deliver actionable information to citizens during a crisis. I would be happy to provide a data feed of information that is, for example, specific to the Ojai Valley, and comprised entirely of reports from official agency sources such as PIO’s.
Just a bit of thinking outside the not-so-proverbial box shows that we have a wealth of content, information, technology and expertise that can be brought to the table by citizens in support of maintaining the P and E of PEG programming.
I encourage the Council to engage an interested set of citizens, who can work through the issues that City Staff has identified, and move forward with a robust public access channel that Ojai can be proud of.