Speaker 3: Three Career Technical Education Facilities Program Grant Application to establish a Community Media Center.
Speaker 0: Okay. And first of all, I would like we do have some speakers, but I was hoping staff could clarify what the ask is here and what this item is about.
Speaker 1: Do you want me to just answer questions or give you a little bit of background?
Speaker 0: Well, the title, for instance, starts with adoption of resolution authorizing preliminary and conditional commitment of 500,000 of public education and government peg fee funds for 1 to 1 match with Alameda Unified School District Career Technical Education Facilities Program Grant Application to establish a Community Media Center. And I want to clarify that the what the ask here is that the city contribute 500,000 from these PEG funds. And then what is this? And that is not a dollar for dollar match with the school district. It's actually the school district would be obtaining a grant and then those monies would be. But are the city that peg funds would be matching? So I wanted to clarify that. So the public understands the ask and there may be another.
Speaker 5: Yeah. And I would just ask maybe from a little broader perspective, as long as we've pulled this item in, it really is an important community asset. So perhaps Miss Hope could give an overview of of what this is all about, in addition to answering the specific questions posed by the mayor.
Speaker 1: Okay. So you're right that that's what the ask is, is the PEG funds, the $500,000 a peg funds is a 1 to 1 match for the grant that Alameda Unified School District is is applying for.
Speaker 5: So what are our peg funds?
Speaker 1: Oh. So peg funds. Back in 2006, the ordinance, which stands for digital infrastructure and video compliance, went into it went into effect. Yes. And with that, the city was was actually in a position to now receive franchise fees as well as peg funds. So over the years, the city has collected about $800,000 specifically for peg funds, which can only be used for capital and equipment purposes. And PEG stands for Public Public Education Government Fund. Yeah. So we've done a good job meeting the education and government needs using our PEG funds. That's how we broadcast all of our board meetings here, both for city council as well as as Alameda Unified Unified School District Board ME meetings. But we haven't done as and have used those PEG funds or the public access part of what PEG was intended for.
Speaker 0: Okay. So can you clarify what the school district will be contributing to this? Arrangement.
Speaker 1: So what this grant is going to do, it's a facilities grant and it's going to be using a portion of the industrial arts building at Alameda High School to actually establish not only a community media center, but a shared studio that both the public can access, as well as Alameda High School with their digital filmmaking and career technical education pathway program that they have there.
Speaker 0: And would it be available watt hours to the public. You know.
Speaker 1: So that if this grant is awarded, then that those details will be worked out. There's been a lot of conversation, a lot of community interest of establishing like a nonprofit to actually manage the Community Immediate Media Center. They've been successful with the Alameda Radio program having community involvement. So as we designed the area and figured out what the actual needs were for Community Media Center Center, Felicia Vargas, who's actually dropped drafted the grant application from Alameda Unified, brought together industry experts, as well as a consultant who works with different cities to establish a community media centers.
Speaker 0: Oh, thank you. And I wanted to go to our city clerk. I know there was a statement that, well, it's my understanding these are funds that can also be used to upgrade the sound that are. And we do get complaints that actually people cannot hear us, that the mikes are not necessarily the best mikes. So in regards to the long term plan of making sure that the city has a, you know, a proper equipment here.
Speaker 3: Yes. That the city is not giving away the full amount of the fund. We are keeping money back. And there are, in fact, projects that we're looking into right now. Unfortunately, you've seen me struggle with a little remote because our touch panel has broken. And so I can't control the projector from our touch and anymore. So we're getting those redone and we're looking into a new projector and, you know, constantly setting aside money for all of that will be covered. And, you know, the equipment does unfortunately break and then does need to be replaced. And there is a cost to that. But we will have.
Speaker 0: And that all comes from your department, though.
Speaker 3: It comes from the same. You monitor that. Yes. That portion.
Speaker 0: So you feel comfortable using the 500,000 if if the district gets the grant for this purpose, that you would still be able to meet the other needs.
Speaker 2: Yes.
Speaker 0: Thank you.
Speaker 5: Member Ashcraft I was going to say that, you know, if you note from this staff report that $800,000 of peg funds have accumulated, if I'm reading this correctly and on page two, it does note that in addition to the 500,000 that would go to this career technical education facilities program, that 200,000 would be used for continued maintenance in future upgrades to the equipment in the council chambers, and 100,000 toward equipment that would allow broadcasting from the new emergency operations center. I know we're going to hear more about the opening of that later today. And then there's another 200,000 per year, is it, of pet funds that could be allocated toward other efforts?
Speaker 1: Correct. We average over the last three years and we've collected 220,000 on average per year.
Speaker 5: And again, when you say collected, this is from the bills of Internet or cable. Cable TV.
Speaker 1: Cable TV, right? Yes. So. So those fees are being assessed to, you know, members who use Comcast. And then Comcast pays the state, the franchise, and then the state provides us the franchise fees that they collect.
Speaker 5: Thank you.
Speaker 0: Thank you. Then I'm going to go ahead and call the speakers. Alicia Vargas. John Dalton, Jeffrey Hyman, Kevin Gorham. And then then at these.
Speaker 2: That evening, and thank you for the opportunity to speak, Madame Mayor.
Speaker 1: And City Council Members. My name is Felicia Vargas.
Speaker 2: I joined the AUC.
Speaker 1: Staff two years ago as the career technical education pathway specialist. Prior to coming to Alameda, I spent the majority of my career as a program grant administrator.
Speaker 2: For the Boston Public Schools and USD created this position.
Speaker 1: Because the district needed someone to manage several career technical education grants that AUC succeeded in winning, and also to ensure that the district.
Speaker 2: Was positioned to respond to other grant.
Speaker 1: Funding opportunities that became available over the past two years. I successfully launched four new career technical pathways. The pathways include digital filmmaking and radio broadcast.
Speaker 2: Journalism at InStyle.
Speaker 1: And two pathways at Alameda High, one in multimedia.
Speaker 2: And the other in commuter commute.
Speaker 1: Computer.
Speaker 2: Information technology.
Speaker 1: Additional pathway planning is currently underway at both of these high schools and Island High as a separate city.
Speaker 2: Grant that's managed by the principal. One of the key components of its pathway is to provide employment opportunities for students to have work experience in specific industries.
Speaker 1: They are studying to recruit employers.
Speaker 2: I collaborate with the city's community development staff.
Speaker 1: To coordinate the annual citywide career fair held at annual in March. I also work with.
Speaker 2: The city's community development.
Speaker 1: Team to create a new marketing campaign for promoting our summer internships called.
Speaker 2: Island.
Speaker 1: City Interns, a program that we.
Speaker 2: Plan to kick off.
Speaker 1: This spring. This particular.
Speaker 2: Facilities grant.
Speaker 1: Was posted by the California Department of Education at the end of September.
Speaker 2: Less than eight weeks ago. It represents an exciting opportunity for AOC.
Speaker 1: And the city to partner on an.
Speaker 2: Application to secure matching funding from the California Department of Education to renovate a section of Alameda High School's industrial.
Speaker 1: Arts building that houses city pathways and also.
Speaker 2: To incorporate a community media center.
Speaker 1: The renovation plan includes upgrading the studio currently used by the career tech students enrolled in the digital filmmaking pathway and provide a professional studio that can be used by both.
Speaker 2: Students and the public in.
Speaker 1: It through a joint use agreement. Our goal is to structure a work based learning.
Speaker 2: Opportunity in the Community Media Center, where our advanced students can apply.
Speaker 1: Their skills in a variety of roles, including camera persons, editors and producers. The District's CTE Advisory.
Speaker 2: Committee reviewed.
Speaker 0: And approved.
Speaker 1: This.
Speaker 2: Plan.
Speaker 1: We also received 14 letters of.
Speaker 2: Support from the community that we submitted to the.
Speaker 1: City clerk. For the record. Thank you for your consideration of this exciting project. I will now.
Speaker 2: Use the mic to the other members of the community who wanted to express their support for.
Speaker 1: This effort.
Speaker 0: Thank you. Next step is John Dalton is also a teacher of Alameda Unified. In the past was teacher of the year.
Speaker 2: Oh.
Speaker 4: Sorry about that. Thank you for the introduction and thank you all for allowing us to speak tonight, Madam Mayor and members of the City Council. Like she said, my name is John Dalton. I am the digital filmmaking, television, broadcasting and video production teacher at Alameda High School. There's also this class being offered currently in Central High as well. This is a role I've been in right now for about ten years. My background is actually in public access stemming from Berkley, Berkley Community Media Station, based in Berkeley High School. Our model that we are trying to start operating under is the same template that they have been operation since, I believe the early nineties. So we're taking a lot of cues from them. I like she said, it was Teacher of the Year 2015, Vice President of our teachers union. I am a current homeowner here in Alameda. I'm a parent to young children who attend U.S. schools, and I'm an independent film and video producer, as well as professional musician as well. So this is something that is close to my heart and has been at the core of my professional life since the late nineties when I got into public access in video and media. So what is community media? Well, it's also known as alternative media. It's known as citizen media. The textbook sort of a definition would be any form of media that is created and controlled by the community, either by a geographic community or a community of identity or of interest. So being that we are an island community, we have a very unique cultural identity, I feel we have a very strong and lively community that is a strong voice and is always looking for new ways to share their thoughts, ideas, opinions and a community media center was a perfect place for that because it is a it's a haven for amateur hour tours, professional filmmakers, video producers and students who are youth, adult ed and college combined that would be able to produce their own television programing. It would be simulcast as well online. It would be hosted by Comcast. We currently have a channel access right now for those that have Comcast, we are Channel 29. We currently have it in the afternoons and in the evenings on weekdays and completely 24 hours on the weekends. We share it with the jewelry channel, but we are looking to get four complete hundred percent access. So the channel's place is already there. The classroom that it is now assigned to it that I'm using would be the space for this new media center. It has an alternative entrance through the back that goes to the street. It would be the public would not co-mingle with the school, except when I would bring students in for studio use that we would reserve the hours of operation to your question earlier would be open to the public as long as the place is open morning afternoons, nights and weekends. And we as a school district and as a school would not have any control over its hours. So I would hope that you guys would support this. And I have a lot more to say about it, so I will set that later. Thanks.
Speaker 0: Thank you. Jeffrey Heyman. Then Kevin Gorham.
Speaker 4: Thank you, Mayor. Council members. Members of the public staff. I'm Jeff Hayman and I'm a neighbor of John's. I live over on Regent Street. And I see a lot of you around town when I'm walking my rescue greyhounds. So I'm right here and I'm a homeowner. You said that. I forgot. That's an important thing here. I'm here in support of the community media project. And as some of you know, I'm also executive director for Communications, Public Information and Media at the Project Community College District. And I've been overseeing the community radio and television stations there for 18 years. By the way, I'm getting over calls of kind of breathing heavy here. You may also know that I write the College Notes column in the Alameda Journal, and I produce a radio program for the for Alameda Community Radio. I previously set up radio stations for the United Nations and ran conflict resolution television production for non-governmental organizations. Peralta's own TV station is a partnership, sort of like what we're talking about here. So it's a good model partnership with the City of Oakland's Pegged Funds and PERALTA Colleges own funds. And since that station was founded, it's the oldest college cable station in 1981. It's been providing educational career opportunities for students and media access to the public. In many ways, it's a model of what we're being what's being proposed here between with the Alameda Community Media Center. Okay. I knew this was going to happen. I've also worked to create a dual enrollment broadcast communications course with internal high school, where students at NC now can take broadcast classes at both College of Alameda, where they have the radio station and also sorry, at Encino High and at College of Media using our radio station so they can receive both high school and college credit. And I see this proposed community media center as a natural continuation of this effort. It will provide Alameda students with career technical education. The broadcast field and housing IT at Alameda High School is an ideal location since you already have the radio station audience now. It's going to be nice to have something over there at Alameda High and it will allow the current program there, which is an award winning program, thanks to John. I mean, he's done amazing stuff and it will provide them with state of the art broadcast facilities and a way to to use the latest technology, which will give them the hands on experience they're going to need to get out there in a career. Importantly, too, and I think this this is this is going to affect you guys. I think the construction of this CMC would allow the city to improve the quality of your own governmental broadcasts. The audio of the council meetings and other meetings would be improved. In fact, I went out there and listened in the outer room, You need some help? Okay. Yeah. Sorry. Anyway, so we could, you know, that that would be part of this project improving, that we could also help improve the distribution of programing, produce other programing, get it out more widely throughout the city and other channel and other and other media. The city would have a remote capability too, so that all manner of government programing from anywhere could be broadcast. But here's the thing. Moreover, Alameda High School students would learn to eventually hold jobs at the CMC and help produce programs. So I believe so much in this concept and I've been helping pro-bono to help, you know, do some of the consulting on and stuff like that. I truly believe it's a win win win for our students who will obviously get the career technical education, training for the public, who will finally have media access in Alameda and to the city, which will be able to finally have a state of the art broadcast facility to help people know what you guys are doing. So thank you for considering it. And I appreciate your. Yes.
Speaker 0: Thank you. Kevin Gorham, who is the current teacher of the year, not just for the city.
Speaker 2: But also for the county.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Thank you for saying that, because I didn't really want to.
Speaker 0: And that is that I do that.
Speaker 4: As Mayor Spencer said, I'm also just a month ago, I was recognized as the Alameda County Teacher of the Year. And I just as a sidebar, I wanted to thank you, Mayor Spencer. I was one of 18 teachers in the county as candidate for this award, and you were the only mayor to offer accommodation for for this . And I really appreciate it. And then I didn't know if you also know and I again, I'm embarrassed to say this, but I was two weeks ago, I have been named the United Nations Global Citizen of the Year with the theme of education for all. So I don't need a combination.
Speaker 0: I was going to say I could do another commendation for you.
Speaker 4: And I'm here to tonight to support this effort. And I'm not I'm not going to take it from the TV side because I may take it from the radio side and show how a joint venture works with the community. I am also a resident. My son goes to internal high school. I work collaboratively with John. The ventures that we have done together have been a joint effort from Alameda High and it's now we are here for kids in the community and we serve it at both ends and we see us all as unified, not as one or the other. I am also I'm here to show that that the radio side works. And again, I'm a I'm a radio guy. I spent 25 years doing morning radio in San Francisco before I became a teacher. I have the face for radio, so that's why I went there. But the this joint venture works. Six years ago, I worked with a group of members from from the Alameda and I worked with Alameda Community Radio. And together we apply a two year working relationship of applying for a joint license from the FCC. We got that. We collectively worked together, built the studios, built the transmitter. And on March six, 2017, we started our first live broadcast broadcasting to the community of Alameda. And this joint effort could not have worked with a bunch of a group of educators and a group of community members coming together to serve the Alameda community. And I want you to say that I want I'm here to say that it works brilliantly. It works collaboratively. It's good for kids and it's good for the city. And I can't think of another next step as to doing this venture, this joint venture at Alameda High. And I can't wait to bring our kids and our TV guy colleagues and working with Paul and bring in our kids to be a part of this venture. It is an exciting time and this is an exciting time for the city. And I really, really hope that we can work and collaboratively do this together because Mayor Spencer and Councilwoman Ashcroft have seen the radio station in action and see how amazing it is and how these kids broadcast and how the community comes together. So thank you for being so supportive of that, and I hope that you will continue to support this next effort because it's good for all of us. Thank you.
Speaker 0: Thank you. I just want to add, vice mayor was also there at the radio station, Nanette Dietz, to give her credit.
Speaker 2: For being out there.
Speaker 6: They have been supportive.
Speaker 2: Oh, thank you. I'm very honored to be here and speak on behalf of this wonderful project. I say to all my taco yay shantay watched to not be a user play non Nannette na dakota lakota shall aggie not Alameda a martha hall and what I just said was hello my relatives from my heart I offer you my hand and say welcome. I am Dakota Cherokee and I live in Alameda and I'm just so honored to have been a part of the radio station development working since, I believe, 2012 on the project. And it is such. Cessful. It's wonderful. And I have myself a background in theater arts from UCLA. I appeared in the original version of Carrie. For those of you that are my age or older, and I danced in 1941 with John Belushi, I have done tons of theater, more than film. From the time I was 11, my first teacher was Buddy Ebsen and his wife, Nancy. So I am very honored to be here, and I so support this project. I have a program myself called Celebrating Native America, and I have been trying so hard for a long time to get it made, but it's very difficult to go all the way down to Chicago College and use the studios and I don't have the funding. I could go on and on and on about how hard it is and I spend all my time in front of the camera rather than behind it. So I need all the help I can get from our wonderful students, from the community. And it's here in Alameda. There's so much talent here, not only among the students, but within the community that I would love to see all of our programs on cable television out there so that our many voices from many different backgrounds can be heard. And I think that this is a project that I know I, for one, and my Native American community here would very much like to see I've already been offered and people reached out from United Indian Nations offering theirs their interns, and they said, we'll even pay them if you let them come and help you. And I said, Wow. Okay. So I mean, there's a lot of support from everywhere, is my point. And I think that this is the city that really should go ahead and do that. And thank you very much for letting me speak.
Speaker 0: Thank you. And she's our final speaker on this item. Any comments or questions? Sims Council member.
Speaker 5: ASHCROFT Thank you. Wow. Really impressive speakers. Thank you all for enlightening us with all you've done. And I'm Kevin Gorham is right. I am, you know, is just this past April. So the radio station was only a month old. And I wouldn't have guessed that because Mr. Gorham does an amazing job with his students. He's always trying to show them various career opportunities. And in April, my daughter, who is with the State Department and currently in Cairo, was home for a visit. And so Mr. Gorham arranged for her to speak to his government in U.S. history classes. And but we got there a little early. So we one of the students took us to the radio station and we got to listen. You would have thought you were in a professional radio station. They were so polished. And now I just found out they'd only been in operation a month or so. So very amazing. And it's just it is so true. I think a number of us have attended the career fair that the school district in the city put on every year, and it just keeps getting bigger and better. And what we're trying to do is give these students this career, experience and training before they even get to college. It's going to help them or whatever they do. Not everybody's headed for a four year college. Maybe you're headed for a vocational program. It's great. But we want you to be trained. You've got to be competitive and there's so many skills out there, skill sets to develop. And so I'm wholeheartedly behind this. And then when you talk about the space at Alameda High, I'm an Alameda High graduate from a long time ago, and I know the industrial arts building, my homeroom is there. But also back when I was going to high school, the guys took shop and the gals took home EC and I would have loved to have been in there doing woodworking, but I it's great to see that space repurposed and for such a current and forward thinking kind of a space. And it was brought up, I think in, in some of the speakers that because these are programs for students, there are certain laws that have to be observed in. So they're needed. It needs to be a separate entrance for students and for the public. They can't co-mingle. There needs to be a separate restroom and all that is either there or is being adapted to be done. So I think this is a wonderful use of these funds and and and the remainder is going to go to useful purposes to help in this city. So I can't wait to support this. Thank you all for coming out and sharing your stories.
Speaker 0: Wonderful member.
Speaker 6: Thank you. And I have a couple quick questions who I directed. So. I mean, for one, we had an all star cast speaker, so I'm not going to vote no on this, but I just have some ideas and some questions going forward. So this is, I think, a very appropriate use of these PAC funds to to build this facility. But know what happens after it's built. I mean, like, who pays for the maintenance? Is that a school district thing? Is that a city thing?
Speaker 1: Well. So and those are the details. If it does get awarded, then what we will probably do is contract with the consultant that Alameda Unified School District worked with to work out those details. And we would also see how other cities do it. Like I said, you can't can't use peg funds for operations, but there's other ways to actually staff like creating a nonprofit, having membership dues to help support. So there's different models that we would explore at that time.
Speaker 6: Because I guess my concern is, you know, we don't have a crystal ball, so we don't know. But, you know, the the last time the last big thing we had with the school district on funding something, the pools, I mean, there always seems to be a tug of war. Who's going to pay those? Want us to pay even though it's on their property and they get primary use. And this is an amazing program and it prepares students at an earlier age than than college. And, you know, those are the unfortunately, the type of things that districts cut first. So I would just like to make sure that if if when we do come up with some long term, you know, plan on how to do this, that we make sure that this stays because I mean, it's it's it's super needed and super critical. And I think it's exciting for the students that can actually take advantage of it. And I hate to see it, you know, get the ax the first time, you know, the school district comes around and then we have this huge empty space that we paid, you know, money for. And, you know, it's just sitting there idle.
Speaker 1: So and those are the details that would be part of the joint use agreement, similar to internalize a shared pool agreement. It will be coming to council and it will be conducted. Arts Council.
Speaker 0: Vice Mayor.
Speaker 1: I will also be supporting this. I think one of the speakers noted this is a win win win. I agree. I think it's also a much needed first step. But I do want to make sure that we're putting in appropriate resources towards making sure that operationally this stays put and that it's funded as it needs to be funded so that we really do make it a sustained kind of win, win win for everybody involved. And so, you know, I think we have a lot of different community partners. I'm looking forward to hearing more about that when staff comes back.
Speaker 0: I want to thank. The stuff from a USB that came out and really has supported this. Mr. DALTON. Mr. GORE. And then I also want to thank Mr. Heyman for being part of this and the work that you do at the college. Of course, we have our community partners that we work with all the time, and this to me is exactly the work that we want to do as a city with the school district for the benefit of not only the students, but also the community at large. And this is I know something that people have been asking for for a long time. Just like the radio station. And honestly, I'm just going to tell you, I'm very proud to be mayor during the time that we will be moving forward on both of these huge efforts. So I do want to thank our staff for working on this school district staff, and then I am confident that we will and I do wish the district the best in getting this grant. I think that will be huge. And that, of course, will work. We will work well together to continue it and make it and make it work somehow.
Speaker 5: With that mayor, I would love to make the motion.
Speaker 4: Back and.
Speaker 0: All those in favor. My motion carries unanimously. Thank you all for coming out on that item. Then I believe that that. I believe that that completes our consent calendar. So now we're on. Like I said in the on the there were some people here on the cannabis issues five that won. The vote was 3 to 2 with member matter SC and member Ashcroft voting No. Five K passed unanimously. Correct. Right? Right. All right. So now we're moving on to so those of you that are here for that, you don't want to hang out longer. You can. Otherwise you're dismissed than happy Thanksgiving. Next six, a.
Adoption of Resolution Authorizing Preliminary and Conditional Commitment of $500,000 Public, Education and Government (PEG) Fee Funds for One-to-One Match with Alameda Unified School District Career Technical Education (CTE) Facilities Program Grant Application to Establish a Community Media Center (CMC). (Information Technology 701.5)