IVGID explores ways to broadcast board meetings

Incline Village General Improvement District officials are looking into the possibility of broadcasting future Board of Trustees meetings via the Internet.

Ramona Cruz, Finance, Accounting and Information Technology director for IVGID, said last week the project is in its infancy.

"We're looking into it all - it will probably be a week or two before we get into it," she said. "We'll most likely write a report to present to (IVGID) once we look into it. It all depends on funding - how much it will cost. But it's going to take awhile."

IVGID officials have long wanted to provide an alternative to citizens who can't make the trek to 893 Southwood Blvd. to view the board's bi-monthly meetings, said Chuck Weinberger, IVGID trustee.

Weinberger said live, streaming Internet video may be the best option for two reasons: Constant population fluctuations in Incline Village/Crystal Bay and the ability to archive the broadcasts on the IVGID Web site for people who can't catch the live version.

"Half of Incline's residents don't live here year-round - I wasn't quite sure how effective (broadcasting meetings on TV) would be," Weinberger said on Friday. "So I talked with Ramona to have her look into what it would cost to stream meetings over the Internet, and (to) be able to archive the stream.

"That would be a much better solution."

It originally was planned for Washoe County and Charter Communications to partner and provide IVGID with a closed-circuit loop to broadcast meetings via public access television, said Kathy Carter, Washoe County Community Relations director.

Carter said she has been working with Charter for more than three years on the TV project.

"Our first option was to get the ability to send a live feed to Incline, but Incline is such an isolated community that it's almost impossible to bury fiber optic cable all the way up the mountains," she said Friday. "Charter estimated it would cost $3 million to $5 million for the fiber optic cable."

The second option, Carter said, was for Charter to provide the IVGID board room with the closed loop system, where a channel would be provided for viewing only in the Incline/Crystal Bay area.

"They said 'yes', and were willing to provide for certain service fees - around $10,000 or so," Carter said. "(IVGID) would still need to come up with funding for cameras and a control board, but we felt good about it."

However, a bill approved on June 4 in the Nevada legislature all but crippled IVGID's chances for TV broadcast, Carter said.

The bill - AB 526 - makes it so companies have to go to the state to obtain a video franchise agreement, Carter said. In other words, the bill allows Charter to terminate any local agreements in favor of a state franchise agreement, Carter said.

AB 526 hurts counties, which in turn hurts places like Incline, Carter said. In Washoe County's instance, since Charter has to obtain a franchise agreement through the state, it is more apt to target Reno and Sparks because they are the high population areas.

"It's just more cost-effective to provide cable to a big city than it is to a smaller development like Incline Village and Crystal Bay," Carter said. "Until the market drives it to smaller communities, Charter isn't going to do anything. As long as Reno and Sparks continue to annex out, Charter's going to grab all those customers up."

After AB 526 was approved, Charter pulled out of its agreement with the county and IVGID, Carter said.

That's when the focus turned to the Web, Weinberger said. In order to broadcast meetings on the Internet, Weinberger said IVGID would need to invest in camera equipment, which is what Cruz and her staff will investigate. Carter estimated it would cost about $50,000 to outfit the board room with new camera and control board equipment.