By elaine van develde
Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN — They’re not saying never, just not right now.
That is how officials feel about the prospect of televising municipal meetings.
The subject was broached at the July 21 Township Committee meeting, when Alex DeSevo, the Democratic candidate for the committee, asked, "Why not televise township public meetings," so that when controversy arises, people can see the happenings with their own eyes, and make up their own minds about issues rather than relying on someone else’s word.
DeSevo brought up a recent Planning Board meeting, at which Mayor Rosemarie Peters cast the dissenting vote on the township’s affordable housing plan, June 30. At the following Township Committee workshop meeting, July 7, Peters voted in favor of a resolution supporting the plan. "You voted against the affordable housing plan, and then, four or five days later, voted for it," DeSevo said.
Taxpayers, DeSevo added, have a right, especially in tenuous pre-election times, to see these sorts of things for themselves.
Peters said she simply changed her mind about supporting the plan. She added that she had previously dissented at the Planning Board meeting only because she had questions about one component of the plan. By the time the Township Committee meeting occurred, the mayor had resolved issues she had with the plan.
This is the first time anyone had raised the question or complained about the township not filming meetings for the station, Peters said.
"We have never said never. It just has not been brought up by a single person until now," Peters noted. "We’re not saying no; we just have to walk before we run. We’re taking progress one step at a time — in increments. We have, in recent months, made great strides in improvements on the station. It went from running nothing but a bulletin board to hiring a part-time person at the beginning of the year to film events such as the 75-year anniversary of the police and fire departments, and our talent showcase."
The township has a franchise agreement with Comcast Cablevision to have the municipal access Channel 20, which has been primarily used as an informational/educational tool for the public. The operating authority for the channel is the township, Peters said.
The township, she added, has also been running school information and events. A committee, comprised of school and township officials, was formed within the past year to coordinate efforts for the station.
Recently, the township received a $200,000 grant from Comcast to make improvements on its channel. The township gave the school board $100,000 of that amount to beef up its remote access equipment for filming events. The school district has two television stations at high schools North and South.
Until recently, no one complained about the schools’ participation with use of the station for its purposes. Then, Peters said, school board member N. Britt Raynor had questioned, as DeSevo did, why meetings were not run. "Other than those two, not a single person has raised any question or complaint. I have to think their problems have some sort of political foundation, since DeSevo had not ever raised the question until he put in his bid for Township Committee," Peters said. Raynor, she said, lodged his singular complaint around the time of school board elections and reorganization.
"We have a very good relationship with the school board," Peters added. "Middletown is working more cooperatively than other townships with its school board."
Concerning possible obstacles with running municipal and school meetings on the station, Peters said, "A municipal access channel is different from a public access channel. With a public access station, pretty much anything is up for grabs to go on the air. We question slander issues when people speak at meetings, and we also have to look into costs for hiring people to film, and the fact that televising meetings could also lengthen them (the meetings)."
The mayor explained that her feeling, as well as that of other officials, is that people seeking office may come to meetings not to speak to issues, but to use the televised meeting as a tool to promote their own platform.
"We don’t want to politicize meetings at all. Another thought is that, if citizens know they may be on television, they may run out to meetings to just see themselves on television, not to speak to important issues. The whole length of the meetings would have to be run, if televised, and this sort of thing could lengthen the meetings by inordinate amounts of time. This has happened in other towns. It could be a problem," Peters said. "There are a lot of factors that have to be examined first. We’re not saying never, just not right now."