[music] [music] [music] Hello everyone. Welcome to the second episode of Committee Confidential. I'm Lily Marvel. Today our guest is Steve Walker of PAC. Would you like to introduce yourself? >> Yeah, my name is was just said, Steve
Walker. I'm the chair of public access cable committee. Um, we're the committee that looks after uh the interface between uh the cable system of the town and the channels that are given to the ch town uh for us to put local
programming on. So, it's public access cable committee. Yeah. What do you guys do on a dayto-day >> when you're meeting? >> Day to in our meetings, we typically meet once a month. >> Okay. >> Uh we typically meet on the first Monday
of the month unless it's a vacation. >> And we um generally meet at the library because they have air conditioning and uh it's much more comfortable. Um we're sitting in the studio right now which is fine for the studio but for meetings
less comfortable. So we meet there typically we have an agenda which is posted and we go through that. Uh key parts of the agenda typically are communications. Um Joe the manager will bring her report
in. Um we that includes financials as well. So we go through those. Um if there are problems coming up and we can be of help, we try to do that because the committee presently is four people
and uh it's supposed to be five. So what we uh try and do is spread the talents out. So whatever committee members bring then Joe can also use them as a resource if they have a particular expertise. >> Yeah. Huh. You said you guys try and
manage it if problems arise. What kind of problems do you face? >> Um there are the principal ones that we would get involved with would be the technology. >> Um we have a server uh which we used to call Cactus but it's really called
Castas and we get the occasional typo in our minutes which is fun. the um Castas is getting elderly and we're going to have to uh change it. We're putting it in the budget for the uh uh 18 months
time from now. Um in the meantime, we have to nurse it some, which uh Joe is good at, as well as some of her staff, and keep that running properly. Um but it's heading towards being less reliable
than we would like. Um, also when we look at stuff that's around, um, if we can make suggestions, um, uh, we do and we help Joe and her people like creating this environment that we're in at the moment. Um, we used
not to have this gantry system with the lights on it. Um, which makes a a great difference. So, >> yeah, for sure. Yeah, it all looks very professional. Um, it all works well together. What inspired you to get involved in PAC?
>> Well, interesting. I I used to live in Malbor. >> Okay. >> And uh I retired. I used to work for the phone company, but my job there was video systems. So when I retired
uh we found it was expensive living in Malbor and moved here trying to reduce our mortgage. Um, I knew nobody here. So, the best way to find someone and we still have one space open on the
committee is go to the town hall and get a talent form. So, my background being video, both sides of the camera systems and using a camera. Um, I signed up for pack and lo and behold, I started
meeting interesting people in the town and in parallel, I trust I brought some experience to them. Uh, that's been helpful. >> Yeah. >> Um, in that lane before we started filming, Joe made a reference to the fact that you're rather popular and
you're always getting calls and talking to people. Um, is that something? Is that a lot of what you do for pack is you manage calls and talk to people? >> No, re we stay away from the detailed management. >> That's good. >> Um, we help Joe, we help the studio, we
help the technology as much as we can, >> but we do not interfere with day-to-day running. >> Uh, we do not interfere with scheduling of programs and personnel problems. while um Joe might ask for some advice
possibly. Uh but she's the manager. So Joe and the town people uh manage personnel type problems, but my delight is technology. I do not like working
with personnel. No offense, [laughter] >> but in general. Yes. [laughter] Um, so you mentioned that you guys are working with Castis right now. Is there any other big projects that you're working on? >> No. Well, we're not we're we're nursing Castas. Um,
>> uh, it's managing it occasionally does something a wee bit curious. >> Um, what we're looking to do as we look forward, we're getting close to the point where we need to uh, renegotiate our franchise contract. We only have one
cable provider in town which is Comcast and every 10 years or so um actually precisely every 10 years we go through and negotiate a contract. Uh right now what we have uh we have a franchise fee
and they also uh somewhat reluctantly give us money for capital expenditure which we try to manage carefully. um that's about to come up. And one of the things that we would all like to do um if you're watching this on TV, the
quality of the picture is what's called standard definition TV. That's what it used to be a long time ago. Um pretty much everyone now has high definition TV. Our systems are all high definition. So from the camera there right through
everything through the uh management and right into casters it's all high definition and from there we have to put converters on to make it into standard definition which is what TV used to be. Um, we I hope are going to do everything
we can to get at least one. And it would be really nice to get all three channels in high definition >> because people tend not to look around standard definition channels. So, um, old channels frequently use like the
Game Show Network and Hallmark and things like that. uh they tend to use old videos that they've had for some time and they are not in high definition but everything we do high definition everything that's on the cable system
standard definition. Um, the other thing we would like to get in, probably impossible, is the electronic program guide because when you go onto your cable system and check uh, it just says public access television or something
local programming I think it says. And um, we're on channels 8, 9, and 22 if I remember correctly. Um, so we have a a government channel, we have an educational channel, and we have a
public channel. Um, that's where PEG comes from. We're also referred to as PEG channels sometimes. So, we put our programs on whatever's appropriate. The busiest one likely is the government
channel because we video um not only directly video a lot of committee meetings but we also uh take Zoom meetings if it's just done on Zoom we can introduce those into casters we can edit them if
necessary government ones we do not edit that's not allowed it's strictly against the law so whatever happens comes in a government one we just take it and uh put it up there. Um a side effect from
that is uh two side effects. One is fewer people are showing up at some of the meetings members of the public and secondly people are getting well educated on what's going on because they can actually watch it on TV or in fact
on YouTube as well where it it's also put up. We'll be putting together another committee. it doesn't exist yet, which is a cable advisory committee. >> Oh. >> And that's one that strictly deals with the contract. Um, and what PAC ends up
doing is preparing information uh for that contract. So, they have a good argument to get uh the proper franchise fee and hopefully some capital money. So well closely related and almost certainly one of our committee
members will be on cable access committee but that's not been formed. Our contract runs out on February the 28th at 11:59 at night roughly. >> Oh wow. >> Coming up. [laughter] >> So that's we got three years to do it
in. So >> yeah. >> Uh two years. Okay. Whatever. Not good at math, right? So, you've got this cable access coming up. Um, does PAC work with any other committees? Do you guys end up crossing wires with anyone else?
>> We uh not sure crossing wires would be the right description, but I know exactly what you're saying. So, [laughter] >> um, recently I was basically called into the Lunenburgg Municipal Building Committee because they are uh trying to
find space for us to get a permanent studio. Um we've been shuffled around in I've been here for 11 years approximately. Um we this is the third room we've ended up in. We have to move all our stuff on
a regular basis it seems. Um the municipal building group are trying to fit all the towns people, all the town offices and all the uh employees and things um and make better use of the
buildings we have and make the way it all works together better. But importantly from our perspective, they're also doing what they can to make sure we have a permanent studio. Now, if we put a permanent studio in, well, this
gantry system looks technical and you walk in here and you know perfectly well this is a studio. Uh we would put proper pipe work um hanging from the ceiling and that would hang lights, it would hang drapes. So, you can have a green
drape, you can have the dark blue we're using here. Um, but we can't invest that money very well until we know where we're definitely going to be. So, right now, we've come a long way, I think, in the 10 or 11 years I've been doing this.
Um, but there's still a long way we could go. Um, the good news is we have money which we've been putting aside for a new studio. Um the bad news is uh what's called
uh cable cutting which is a misnomer. People stop taking video services. They still use cable >> and our franchise fee only comes from the video services. So if you keep your cable and get your internet access, we
see no revenue from that. Um, if you're still watching what's referred to as linear TV, then that's um, uh, that generates this 5% of that fee comes to us.
Um, that's the legal maximum from a cable act of what 1984 I think. So it's um so the um uh if we can get the permanent space, if we can get it properly soundproofed, if
we can put in all this kind of stuff, we can use whatever money we have left. But because of the uh streaming uh not getting paid for which comes over the internet, >> um Massachusetts is trying to bring in
basically a franchise fee on streaming. In the meantime, our franchise income has been going down year by year, quarter by quarter. Um it used to be around about 200,000. I think we're down
to about 160,000 per year. We're a small town, you know, we're 11,000 people or so. Um, so we're going to have to start tapping into that money, but very carefully because we need to keep our
employees, of whom you are one. Thank [laughter] you. And we need to uh keep doing the work we're doing because hopefully people think it's valuable. Um, but we mustn't use too much of that
money because when they give us a sp brand new space, >> then we need to do one time a proper job of creating it as a studio. Soundproof pipe work, electricity, air conditioning. >> Yeah.
>> And my personal favorite, the wet bar, but they won't let me do that. [laughter] So, >> well, we've got some time. Hopefully, you can talk them into it. >> There we go. That that would be fun. [laughter] Um it sounds like this is something that you guys have to prep for are prepping for well in advance.
>> It it'll be a slow process. >> Yeah. >> Um what we've done um actually you can blame the committee for this one because we had this chunk of money put on one side. Um through the treasurers
department we uh invested it in short-term bonds. um that's been generating somewhere around $30,000 a year, which uh has been very useful because that's building up, but it's still not quite enough as uh
things change. I don't know where the new contract will put us at the end. But uh give us the space. >> We'll find a way of making it work. It will be incredible and that will encourage people to come in and be
interviewed or bring their own production ideas in um which can either be studiobased or outside. >> Is there anything that your committee could use help with from the public? >> Well, there are a couple of things. One,
we do have an opening. Um I would love someone to go to the town hall uh fill up a talent form and ask to come on to pack. Um the select board will check them out and hopefully we will get
complimentary uh skills uh to come in. Uh the other thing they can do is come up with an idea to make a program uh or do something like this if they have a a particular hobby they want to share or a particular experience that they've been
through. Uh really needs to be people from the town and something kind of to do with the town if at all possible. Um we can use volunteers all the time anyway. We the videographers
um do get some pay. Um but it's a tough job. I think I'm happy I'm not doing that part of it, but [laughter] uh essential. We definitely need that. And uh a lot of
people really respect what's done. Um and a lot of people have no idea how much effort goes on behind the scenes to make these things happen. Mhm. >> So >> yeah, that's a good answer. So go to down to town hall. Um fill out a form.
You can join pack, >> please. >> Thank you so much for coming on. >> Oh, you're very welcome. >> Really, really appreciate it. You've been a delightful guest. >> Well, thank [laughter] you. You're you're a good interviewer. So appreciate that. No, no, that's >> it. It has to work both ways. A lot of
these things >> Yeah, >> they're not solo jobs. So >> it's true. Thank you to Joe behind the camera. >> Yeah. >> Um [laughter] anyway, this has been our second episode of Committee Confidential. Um Steve Walker from PAC. Everybody,
>> you got a live studio audience [laughter] getting a real cheer. >> Um >> thank you as well. >> Thank you. >> Really appreciate you not asking me those really tough questions. >> Yeah, the ones that I had written down that [laughter] were really really going to twist the knife. >> Thank you. Good. Good job.
>> Thanks. [laughter] Um, thank you all so much for watching. Um, make sure you check out our all of our channels and go down to pack, fill out a form, turn on your public your local public access, which is us. [laughter] Thank you.
[music] [music]