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Residents and Civic West ask West Fargo commission to restore public-access cable channels, propose advisory committee
Summary
Speakers at public comment urged the commission to rescind a March 17 decision to discontinue the city's public-access cable channel and asked that a citizen–city committee develop options for programming and management, citing franchise-fee revenue and community services.
Lana Rakow, chair of the Civic West steering committee, urged the West Fargo City Commission on April 7 to rescind a March 17 motion that discontinued use of the city's public-access cable channel and to allow time for a community committee to prepare a new plan.
Rakow said the city is entitled to at least two channels from Midco and Sparklight and that the companies pay a 4% franchise fee that flows into the city's general fund. "These channels are an asset to the public and should be a benefit to cable subscribers who are paying for them," she said, asking the commission to form a committee with Civic West, city staff, the park district, the library and the school district to draft a proposal on use, management, content guidelines and funding.
Larry Lubin, a volunteer who said he has worked with local public-access efforts for more than 40 years, told commissioners the city should study upgrades with the cable companies — for example, moving from standard definition to high definition — and explore how to measure viewership. "I just wanted to pursue if we could ... check into this further," Lubin said.
Resident David Withy urged the commission to preserve the access channel as a cost-effective communications tool for municipal departments and community organizations. He suggested the commission replace its prior decision with a motion asking a group such as Civic West to organize a committee with a city staff liaison and return a formal proposal.
Speakers proposed sample programming including senior classes, historical series, library services for shut-ins, public works and safety explanations, and youth-produced content.
No formal action on the public-access channel occurred at the meeting; the remarks were part of the public-comment portion of the agenda. Several speakers requested that the commission rescind the March 17 motion and give Civic West and city staff time to develop a program and management plan for the channels.
