Who gets to speak?

NORTH CANAAN — A deal to turn over control of the public access cable television station CATV6 from Tri-State Public Communications (TSPC) to Northwest Corner Public Access fell through in August when Tri-State withdrew its support.How Tri-State sees itMarshall Miles, who founded Tri-State (a nonprofit media company) with Jill Goodman, runs the television station and the WHDD-Robin Hood Radio NPR station in Sharon. In a statement released Monday, Sept. 19, Miles said that the stumbling block was a lack of support from first selectmen in the towns of Salisbury, North Canaan, Sharon and Falls Village, which with Norfolk form the Comcast service area that is the CATV6 audience.Miles’ statement says that “a key requirement, not according to TSPC, but to Comcast, was extensive community support.” The statement goes on to say that at an August meeting of the cable advisory board, Northwest Corner Public Access executive director Mike Flint “stated to the Cable Advisory Council, to Comcast and to TSPC that he had that support.“Three days after that Cable Advisory Board meeting two selectmen called to state their opinion that just handing over the access channel to Mike’s nonprofit was not fair and above board; it should be opened up to other applicants. “TSPC then set up a meeting with [North Canaan First Selectman] Doug Humes, [Salisbury Selectman] Bob Riva and [Salisbury First Selectman] Curtis Rand and separate additional meetings with [First Selectman] Pat Mechare of Falls Village and [First Selectman] Bob Loucks of Sharon. All expressed the same view. “At that point Tri-State contacted Comcast and told them of those meetings. Comcast then informed Tri-State that they too had heard from local and state government officials who serve our area, voicing similar concerns. “TSPC, with the full agreement of Comcast, decided to take the proposal off the table.”The other side of the storyFlint and Northwest Corner Public Access President Terry Cowgill then released a statement of their own, in which they dispute Tri-State’s version of events.They claim that at the Aug. 18 meeting of the Cable Advisory Council, the board (with Miles in attendance) endorsed Northwest Corner Public Access’s plan to take over the television operation.“On Aug. 23, 2011, Tri-State Public Communications issued a letter of their withdrawal of support to Comcast’s John Bairos and emailed a copy” to Flint, they said.“The letter described communications from first selectmen in four of the five towns on the system. Northwest Corner Public Access has determined through direct interviews with two of the four that the events described in the letter are not accurate. The board of Northwest Corner Public Access was never contacted by any of the four first selectmen nor by anyone from Tri-State Public Communications prior to this sudden withdrawal of support.“Tri-State consistently supported this effort for 10 months.”The rule of lawNorthwest Corner Public Access plans “to continue its effort for the operational responsibility of public access television in the franchise area” and “will take its case to the Connecticut Office of Consumer Council and the Public Utility Regulatory Authority.”The state law regarding community access stations (Connecticut General Statutes 16-331a) includes the recommendation of the advisory council and the towns in the service area as the first item in a list of criteria. The law also states that the state Public Utility Regulatory Authority (formerly the Department of Public Utility Control) may hold a hearing “on the ability of the organization to continue its responsibility for community access operations” and, depending on the result of the hearing, “may reassign responsibility for community access organizations.”Who’s in charge of accessFrank Francisco of the Public Utility Regulatory Authority provided some background. Cable television providers used to undergo regular franchise renewal proceedings, during which third parties could intervene and the then-DPUC could consider competing applications. Part of the renewal process concerns community access operations.But effective October 2007, the law changed, and cable companies now have no specific term of service. Thus Comcast has authority over its operations as long as its certificate isn’t revoked.Francisco said the net effect on community access stations is that “legacy” stations have remained constant since the law was changed.An organization such as Northwest Corner Public Access , he said, is “free to make a request to investigate.“What the Public Utility Regulatory Authority does, however, I can’t speculate on.”The Public Utility Regulatory Authority is conducting an investigation on community access programming and operations in the state.(The docket number is 11-08-06, opened in August.)A July 28 memo gave the reason for the investigation: that since the law changed, “the Public Utility Regulatory Authority has not conducted a formal review of any of the state’s community access providers [CAP] nor their operations.”The memo states that the Public Utility Regulatory Authority intends to develop a schedule and agenda to evaluate the CAP’s “performance as a substitute to the formal reviews of community access operations that occurred during cable franchise renewal proceedings between 1986 and 2005.”The state agency will look at “compliance with applicable state and federal statutes and regulations; adequacy of studio, control room, editing suites and equipment, including the adequacy of facility operating hours; review of the CAP’s operating plan; a determination of the adequacy of staffing; a review of the CAP’s budgeting and financial management; an evaluation of the adequacy of promotion and outreach activities, including outreach to educational and governmental entities in the CAP’s service area; a review of the adequacy and frequency of training provided; a review of the amount of programming facilitated or produced.”Northwest Corner Public Access could conceivably challenge Tri-State’s continued operation of CATV6 as part of this inquiry, or ask the Public Utility Regulatory Authority to open a separate docket.Anna McGuire, who heads the Cable Advisory Council, said, “Mike has the right to petition.”Comcast’s Bairos, who handles government and community relations, referred The Lakeville Journal to Kristen Roberts, a public relations person, who emailed a general statement: “Comcast has an obligation to fulfill community access programming through the allocation of channel capacity for public, education and government access programming, as well as technical support. In Lakeville, we work with Tri-State Communications, an independent third-party organization, that runs the community access studio and provides meaningful community access for our customers.”