Indian Wells Valley TV Booster, Inc.

Minutes of the February 2, 2009 board meeting

A. Opening
1. Call to order
In the president's absence, Vice President Middlemiss called the meeting to order at 5:08 pm.
2. Attendance
Board members present: Katzenstein, Longo, Manos, Middlemiss, Starr, Wetzel
Board members absent: Ash, Blazek, Cole
Visitors: Roy Mayhugh
3. Approval of minutes
The minutes of the January 5 meeting were approved as corrected (Wetzel's motion, 2nd by Manos, passed on a voice vote, 5 ayes, no nays, no abstentions).
4. Treasurer's report
Katzenstein distributed the final financial report for December 2008. In addition to the amounts reported at the last meeting, this report confirmed the receipt of $8,000 in NTIA upgrade grants for the eight analog TV channels remaining on "B" Mountain. Thus the total of all account balances at the end of 2008 stood at just under $19,275. The Treasurer reported further that the mailing of our annual Boostergram early in January has so far resulted in receipt of $7,655 in donations, but the final January report was deferred pending reconciliation with the bank statement, which had not yet been received at the time of this meeting.
5. Correspondence
Katzenstein distributed a report summarizing 51 responses to the survey solicited in the Boostergram. Twenty respondents commented on the Booster's TV service, the same number on our FM radio offerings, and eleven commented on both. Among the analyzed responses: the largest number of TV-related comments concerned PBS station KCET, followed closely by KCBS, KABC, and KNBC. The largest number of FM-related comments concerned KCNV, the classical music station, followed by the NPR stations (KCRW and KUOR/KPCC). A number of respondents mentioned the lack of a mainstream jazz station.
6. Announcements
A proposal to postpone the mandatory digital-TV transition date from February 17 to June 12 was reported to be up for Congressional vote later in the week. Nevertheless, Hawaii executed a test-case transition during the last week of January, and it was said that about half of the affected households went over to cable or satellite subscriptions.
B. Committee reports
1. Standing committees
b. Operations
Wetzel reported having successfully rebuilt the power supply for "B" Mountain analog Channel 13; he said that all of the other power supplies there need similar upgrading. A Laurel Mountain work party was to be arranged as soon as the new pre-amp arrives.
2. Ad hoc committees
b. City council liaison
Longo reported that the city seemed favorably inclined to grant the Booster a spotlight for a public forum at City Hall concerning the digital TV transition. The Board's consensus was that such an opportunity should be pursued.
D. New business
1. It was suggested that the Booster not renew its annual membership in the Community Broadcasters Association, but formal action on this matter was deferred until the next meeting.
F. Closure
1. Next meeting: 5:00 PM, March 2, 2009, Vaughn Realty Meeting Room, Ridgecrest
2. Adjournment: There being no further business, Vice President Middlemiss adjourned the meeting at 6:45 pm.

Valid HTML 4.01!