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White Plains Cable Commission Committing to Historic Move to Library Wednesday Night. From Clockwise, lower left, Bice Wilson, Jim Kenny, Executive Director, Reverend Everett Parker, Kelli Higgs, Chairman Bill Brown, Chris  Marothy and John Vorperian.

WPCNR  MEDIA MONITOR. By John F. Bailey. June 12, 2013:

America’s first state-of-the-art community public access station is officially moving to the White Plains Public Library, effective possibly by mid-2014.

The White Plains Cable Television Commission voted 7-0 Wednesday evening to authorize up to $75,000 to hire a design/architect consultant or firm to design new studios in the White Plains Public Library. The action amended the budget to add the $75,000 commitment to the consultant budget line to enable the hiring of a design professional.

The commission after a year of discussion has, for the first time, officially committed to move the 1993-vintage studios from the Four Seasons Condominium underground studios, where they currently pay $40,000 in condo carrying charges.

The $75,000 was approved as part of the Capital Projects budget in the 2013-14 city budget passed May 27.  The $75,000 will be drawn down from the Cable Television Commission capital fund balance.

Bill Brown, Chairman of the Cable Commission after a long and critical discussion of the need to get busy planning what the studios will actually require, decided to submit the Memorandum of Understanding between the Library Foundation and the Cable Commission on August 1.

He said that an Operations Plan that the commission would be meeting to flesh out on a Saturday morning later this month. Details of equipment purchases, rough design and functions of the space would be discussed and roughly suggested at that meeting. At this time, it is unclear whether Brian Kenny, Library Director will be included at that meeting

Brown told WPCNR the television stations, Government Access 75, Public Access 76, and White Plains Schools Channel 77 would not go dark at any time during the move. A target date for the move would most likely be in the spring of 2014 when Phase II of the Library first floor plan is expected to start covering the area where the first floor television studio is planned.

Bice Wilson, member of the Commission and the nationally known studio design/architect was asked by Reverend Everett Parker, cable commission member  to take the lead with Cable TV Executive Director Jim Kenny in designing the Operations Plan.

Mr. Wilson hesitated, and said he was honored but that he could not because he had decided to resign from the Commission. After a long stunned silence, Wilson explained he felt his extensive suggestions of what the commission needed to do with the studios and consider in executing an effective move had been ignored by the commission and not acted upon. He said the move to the library could result in a great studio or a very banal one and at this point he saw banal as being likely due the lack of a detailed plan from the commission or the library. In a further development Thursday morning, Mr. Wilson has e-mailed his resignation to the Mayor’s Office and the Cable Commission Thursday morning.

Wilson has for months warned that the cost of building a modern studio(s) in the library would cost from $1.5 Million to $1.8 Million. 

Currently the Cable Commission only has $300,000 in capital fund balance. In a clarification sent WPCNR. Thursday, Kenny, the Executive Director said existing  rent  comes out of current operating budget. Kenny, at the meeting, said any rent increase should it occur,  would have to come out  of commission fund balance, which would require a transfer.

Mr. Brown said he was dissappointed in Wilson’s resignation (which is not effective until Wilson writes a letter of resignation to the Mayor). Three members of the commission, Mr. Vorperian, Ms. Higgs and Mr. Marothy asked Mr. Wilson to reconsider. His departure leaves only Executive Director Jim Kenny as the technical expert the Commission has to rely on for formulating the Operating Plan.

Brown speculated to WPCNR, he expected to put out an RFP for a design/architect in the next two months, having the firm or individual in place in the fall.