Lake County supervisors hear PEG-TV presentation as cable pass-through revenues decline

The Lake County Board of Supervisors heard the annual Public, Educational and Government (PEG) access presentation on an item brought forward by Supervisor Sabatier, who summarized staffing changes, recent equipment purchases and a plan to offset declining cable pass-through revenue by selling production services and pursuing local partnerships.

Supervisor Sabatier said the PEG board has new municipal members from the City of Clear Lake and the City of Lakeport and has filled a long-vacant public-member seat. She identified Thomas DeWalt as the PEG station manager and said Cheyenne Blue is serving as assistant station manager. "We are at our annual ... Lake County PEG presentation," Sabatier said at the start of the item.

The presentation included budget figures and capital-spending details. Sabatier reported that PEG is "looking at revenues of $52,000," mentioned a figure of "10000 dollars from the city of Clear Lake," said the City of Lakeport contributes "$2,000," and said the county currently gives "$15,000" but that amount "should probably should have said $32,000." She told the board the Mediacom 1% pass-through that funds PEG's capital budget has declined from a typical "$55,000 range" to an anticipated "around $48,000 this year," and the station spent about "$32,000 on new equipment and upgrades" in the past year.

Speakers described recent and planned activities. The PEG staff said they have provided videography and audio services for local events and organizations including the Farm Bureau, the Lake County Economic Development Corporation and the Chamber of Commerce; they said PEG produced a homeless-town-hall broadcast last year. The presentation noted a public'private partnership to equip a podcast facility in Lakeport (referred to variously in the transcript as "Kingdom Dames" and "Kingdom Games") where PEG will supply production equipment and the partner will provide space and maintenance, with content shared to the station.

To respond to declining pass-through revenue, the PEG manager and board said they plan to increase earned revenue by offering production services to nonprofits and businesses, providing one pro bono commercial to demonstrate capability, and leasing select equipment. On the idea of a PEG-produced news program, the presenter said she would "steer clear entirely of asking for any government funding for a news show" and said funding should come from private/community sources; she said PEG will aim to be "as neutral and as factual as possible."

Public commenters and supervisors praised the service and urged continued support. Angela Amaral submitted a written comment thanking Thomas DeWalt for making town halls available to residents who cannot attend. Sam Houston, who assists with technical issues, described Starlink internet as a stabilizing improvement and encouraged community membership and donations to support operations. Margo Kambara and Tom Lysik spoke in support of PEG's public-access role.

No formal motion or vote was taken on the item. Board members and speakers discussed continuing partnerships, promoting paid production services, improving community outreach and maintaining editorial independence if PEG develops original news programming. The presentation closed with the board's thanks and no formal direction recorded on the transcript.