MINUTES
Local Station Board Meeting of February 12, 2017
Aris & Carolyn Anagnos Peace Center
3916 Sepulveda Blvd, Culver City, CA 90230
Local Station Board (LSB) Meeting
Call to Order / Opening Business 10:40 a.m.
a. Roll Call Taken. Present are KPFK LSB Members Grace Aaron, Kenneth Aaron
(Treasurer), Jonathan Alexander, Sandy Childs, Roberta Eidman, Jaime Gomez
(Chair), Ricardo Hernandez, Steve Kaiser, Maggie LePique, Ali Lexa,
Barbara Marbach, Reza Pour, Dorothy Reik, Myla Reson, Adam Rice, Mansoor
Sabbagh, Fernando Velazquez, Sabina Virgo (Vice Chair), and Lisa Wong.
Also present are LSB Secretary Michael Adler, KPFK General Manager Leslie
Radford; Sharon Brown and Ismal Parra.
b. LSB Excused absence request: Stephen Frantz, Jan Goodman, Doug Kriegel,
and Paul Song, have requested excused absences. Excused absence requests
approved by consensus.
c. Chair Recognition of Resigned Board Member: Sharon Brown.
Chair has ruled that Sharon Brown has resigned as a member of the KPFK
Local Station Board, per Pacifica bylaws Article 4, Section 2A
(Eligibility), as she holds an appointed office on the Los Angeles County
Small Business Commission.
A motion was made and seconded to challenge the Chair's ruling that Sharon
Brown has resigned. It was subsequently moved and seconded that there
should be a total of four alternating presentations; two against and two
for sustaining the Chair's ruling. A total of four presentations were
made (two opposing the Chair's ruling and two in favor). The Chair read
Pacifica bylaws Article 4, Section 2A (Eligibility) and reiterated the
reason Ms. Brown is not eligible to be a member of the board, due to
holding an appointed office on the Los Angeles County Small Business
Commission.
The roll call vote was held to sustain the Chair's decision that Ms. Brown
is deemed resigned from the LSB due to her accepting an appointed office:
12 yea; 4 nay; and 3 abstentions and the motion of the Chair is
sustained. The following is a detailed summary of the results of the roll
call vote: Yes to uphold Ruling of Chair= Grace Aaron, Ken Aaron, Jonathan
Alexander, Sandy Childs, Roberta Eidman, Jaime Gomez, Maggie LePique, Ali
Lexa, Barbara Marbach, Dorothy Reik, Myla Reson, Mansoor Sabbagh. No to
uphold Ruling of the Chair=Ricardo Hernandez, Reza Pour, Adam Rice,
Fernando Velazquez. Abstentions to uphold Ruling of Chair=Steve Kaiser,
Sabina Virgo, Lisa Wong.
d. Seating of New Board Member to replace Sharon Brown: Ismael Parra.
Mr. Ismael Parra was seated, welcomed to the board and gave a statement.
e. Set Time and Date for Future Meetings as the 2nd Sunday, 10:30 a.m. March
meeting will be on March 12th. It was noted that there may be exceptions
for holidays and the like.
f. Sabina Virgo and Steve Kaiser agree to be time keepers.
g. A motion to approve the Local Station Board Minutes of 1/8/2017 was made
and seconded and the minutes were approved by consensus.
h. A motion to approve the Proposed Agenda was made and seconded and the
agenda was approved by consensus.
i. A motion to set Time Certain to recess the LSB to convene for Delegates
Assembly at 11:45 a.m. was made, seconded, and passed by consensus.
j. A motion to set Time Certain to Adjourn the LSB at 2:30 p.m. was made,
seconded, and passed 8 yea, 3 nay, 7 abstain.
Public Comments 11:28-11:53
Public comments were heard by the Local Station Board.
Recessed for Delegates' Assembly.
LSB recess for Delegates Assembly (see Appendix B.)
LSB reconvenes 12:38 p.m.
PNB Committee Elections (STV if required)
Discussion regarding the PNB committees was held.
a. Elections Committee
Nominated: Myla Reason. Approved by consensus
b. Governance Committee
Nominated: Barbara Marbach, Ken Aaron. Approved by consensus
c. Personnel Committee
d. Audit Committee
Nominated: Dorothy Reik and Jaime Gomez. Approved by consensus.
e. Programming Committee
Nominated: Fernando Velazquez, Lisa Wong. Approved by consensus.
f. Affiliate Task Force
Nominated: Jaime Gomez, Adam Rice. Approved by consensus.
g. Archives Task Force
Nominated: Myla Reason, Roberta Eidman. Approved by consensus.
Public Comments #2 12:52 p.m. - 1:09 p.m.
Public comments were heard by the Local Station Board.
Reports
a. Directors Reports
Directors' report was presented.
b. Treasurer Report
Treasurer's report was presented.
c. Q&A for Directors and Treasurer
Q&A was held. Directors responded to LSB questions.
d. General Manager Report (see Appendix C)
General Manager presented her report.
e. Q&A for GM
The Q&A for the GM was held.
f. Strategic Planning
Adam Rice reported on strategic planning.
g. Outreach
Reza Pour reported on Outreach.
Closing Business
a. Meeting adjourns at 2:11 p.m.
Appendix A - Required Notices
Proper notice of this meeting was posted on the KPFK Calendar and at the
Pacifica Calendar as required.
Appendix B - DELEGATES ASSEMBLY MINUTES
KPFK Delegates Assembly Meeting of February 12, 2017
Aris & Carolyn Anagnos Peace Center
3916 Sepulveda Blvd, Culver City, CA 90230
Call to Order / Opening Business 12:03 p.m.
a. Roll Call: Present are KPFK LSB Members Grace Aaron, Kenneth Aaron
(Treasurer), Jonathan Alexander, Sandy Childs, Roberta Eidman, Jaime Gomez
(Chair), Ricardo Hernandez, Steve Kaiser, Maggie LePique, Ali Lexa,
Barbara Marbach, Reza Pour, Dorothy Reik, Myla Reson, Adam Rice, Mansoor
Sabbagh, Fernando Velazquez, Sabina Virgo (Vice Chair), and Lisa Wong.
Also present are Michael Adler (Secretary) and Ismael Parra.
b. Seating of New Delegate: Ismael Parra to replace Sharon Brown
c. Approve Proposed Agenda.
Moved and seconded. Approved by consensus.
d. Approve 12/11/16 and 01/08/17 Delegates Assembly Minutes.
Moved and seconded. Approved by consensus.
e. Approve STV Tellers: Fred Blair and John C. Garry
Approved by consensus.
Election of 2017 Pacifica National Board (PNB) Directors
Listener Election to replace Sharon Brown
a. Nominations
1. Mansoor Sabbagh
2. Reza Pour
b. Candidate Statements
Each candidate presented a statement to the LSB.
c. Board Questions of Candidates
LSB Q&A of candidates was conducted.
d. Teller Instructions/Voting
Tellers provided LSB with Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) system instructions,
since there is only one position. LSB members may also write in a
candidate.
e. Chair announces results:
Mansoor Sabbagh: 14 votes
Reza Pour: 4
Blank: 1
Not voted: 1
Mansoor Sabbagh: Elected.
Adjourned Delegates Assembly and returned to LSB Meeting 12:37p.m.
Appendix C - General Manager's Report to LSB
Report to the Local Station Board
12 February 2017
PERSONNEL
There are no personnel changes to report.
BUDGET AND FINANCES
As anticipated, January was a difficult month. We have managed barely to stay
current with our bills and make the settlement payment. As indicated on the
payables report, we have delayed some bills on our payment schedule until this
fund drive.
There has been no progress on budget approval, and the amount of the monthly
Central Services fees is waiting on PNB approval. According to the National
Office we are current on our Central Services fees from October 2015.
Letters acknowledging 2016 charitable donations are at the printer and will be
mailed this week.
We have reissued checks and provided explanations as necessary to replace those
refused by the bank during the December-January holds on our operating
accounts. The hold was lifted on January 10.
We have less than $30,000 remaining to pay on the settlement agreement. We paid
about $9560 for premiums in January.
The operating bank account balance is $76,709.72 as of February 10. The income
statement through
December is attached.
OPERATIONS
In late January, we had signal problems. The chief engineer's explanation
follows:
On Friday January 20, we started to take some audio hits on our on-air
transmissions, not on the
Internet.
I drove to Mount Wilson, in heavy rain, and found that the road had been closed
at the 5000 foot level, because of the snow shower; I had to leave.
On Saturday January 21, I drove to the transmitter site through the ice and
snow. At that time, the signal sounded normal; there was no rain or snow
falling. The STL signal looked normal and the Comrex (via Internet) was normal.
I set the STL to be the primary audio source. About an hour after I left the
transmitter, the audio started to take some hits, for a short time.
On Sunday January 22 during a heavy rain shower, we were taking audio hits
again. I worked on the STL (microwave) transmitter at the studio and replaced
two cables, to increase the transmitted power. The on-air signal improved and
returned to normal for the rest of the evening.
On Monday January 23 the signal again was distorted. I was told that an
automobile wasn't able to get to the mountain top safely, but I was able to get
a ride with a friend of KPFK, in a four wheel drive rugged truck.
There were high levels of interference with the STL signal. Tests revealed that
there was interference on our microwave channel. I went to the Comrex Internet
feed. The audio was again normal for the rest of the day.
On Thursday January 26 again work up to audio hits. Went to the studio to check
than end and drove to the mountain. Found that the STL was clear but the Comrex
feed was taking digital hits, so put the STL on the air.
On Friday January 27 once more woke up to a noise on-air signal. Went to the
studio and then
to the transmitter. Had to force the STL to the transmitter because the Comrex
had been on the air and it was distorted. Went back to the studio, because
after I left the mountain, the noise started again.
On Saturday January 28, again noise in the morning, but cleared up as the
morning went along. Removed the audio feed to the Comrex to for only the STL on
the air. It has been quiet ever since.
Apparently the Orban stereo processor has been trying to switch back to the
Comrex audio feed, without any human intervention. There is supposed to be a
remote control to switch the audio
in the Orban processor but it isn't working. There was hardware at the
transmitter for a proper
audio remote controlled audio selector, but it had never been installed; it
will be very soon. The STL signal has resulted in excellent audio since I
disabled the Comrex. The interference to the STL has not reappeared.
It is my conclusion that we suffered from two different problems during this
period. Our
Internet DSL is provided by AT&T from their central office on the mountain. It
would appear that during heavy rain and morning clouds their digital signal as
compromised and would not provide us with an error-free stream. There also was
interference on our microwave STL frequency with caused similar digital audio
hits.
I worked yesterday (February 6) with two technicians who service the Mount
Wilson telephone central office for AT&T. At that time, the DSL lines (which
are underground), which provide the Internet to the Comrex, were in normal
condition.
--Stuart Landau
We have completed transferring the Studio A phones to Telepacific and will be
dropping the Jive
Communications expense next week.
We have a problem with flying ants and have signed an agreement with Terminix
to handle those and provide monthly treatment for pests in the break room.
PROGRAMMING
The Interim Program Director sorted out the program grid to make the 4:00p.m.
slot available for "This Is Happening." In the process, we lost Strategy
Session with Antonio Gonzales. The remaining programmers and producers have
been remarkably patient, flexible, and understanding.
We aired Inauguration coverage from Democray Now! and from our sister station
WBAI in Washington, D.C.
Our news department has provided actualities from the inauguration protests,
the Women's March, and the ICE sweep protests.
FUND DRIVE
We have a strong start to our fund drive. As I write this, we're averaging
$28,802/day, $6,302/day over our budgeted goal and $3,802/day over what we're
asking our listeners for.
We have contracted with Christine Blosdale to produce 2.5 hours of all-pitch
programs, and we are replaying some of her more successful programming from her
employment at KPFK. We have the option to contract more hours.
Although there have been gaps especially in the morning, the phone room has
overall has had enough, and sometimes more than enough, volunteers, thanks to
Adam Rice, Community Relations Coordinator, volunteer Beth Kempf, and the
current students from the People's School of Broadcasting, who've made the
calls that have brought the volunteers in. And I want to thank all those phone
room volunteers who have come in, especially those who've been away and have
come back.
OUTREACH, FUNDRAISING, DEVELOp.m.ENT
Our media sponsorships for the month include the Jazz Bakery, Haiti at a
Crossroads, the LA Women's March, the Pasadena Playhouse, the Pan African Film
and Arts Festival, 626 Golden Streets, the Brazilian Carnaval Celebration, Live
Nation, and The Barclay.
We tabled the Kingdom Day Parade. KPFK was also represented at two NoDAPL
protests and the L.A. Women's March.
We've resumed the People's School of Broadcasting and have about nine active
participants. And I invite you to go to Cuba with KPFK in May, a benefit for
the station in conjunction with HeTravel.com, with thanks to Cary Harrison.
We have completed our portion of the annual CPB report.
Respectfully submitted,
Leslie Radford
General Manager, KPFK
10 February 2017