THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 21, 1995 TAG: 9509210449
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
A 20-minute film on hurricane preparedness will welcome viewers Monday to Government Access Channel 20, ending almost three years of governmental static between three Outer Banks municipalities.
But members of a committee made up of representatives of the towns of Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills and Manteo say there are adjustments to be made before Channel 20's picture becomes clear.
The channel was created as part of a 1992 franchise agreement with the three towns. Outer Banks Cable, since replaced by Falcon Cable, established the government channel as a public service.
As part of the agreement, the firm allocated $45,000 in an interest-bearing account to cover start-up costs for the channel. That account has grown to more than $47,000 and has been the major sticking point in negotiations over public access broadcasting.
In fact, some members of the Nags Head Town Council say the town should pull out its share of the money.
``That issue is still on the table,'' said Nags Head Commissioner Harry Thompson, a member of the Government Access Committee, an inter-municipal board formed to oversee operation of Channel 20. ``But we felt it was in the best interest of the public to go ahead and put programming on the air while we're working these things out. We're making progress.''
The committee must also hammer out the channel's equipment needs, as well as issues of the extent of staffing, and who will foot the bill if production personnel are hired, Thompson said.
Kill Devil Hills Commissioner Bill Morris said that after years of delay, he welcomes the debut of the channel, even if on a limited scale. So far, the Dare County-produced hurricane film, and a similar pieceprovided by the Federal Emergence Management Administration (FEMA) are to appear on the channel.
``It's about time,'' said Morris. ``It seems like this is finally ready to take off. It's taken a great deal of open-mindedness on the part of the committee to make this happen.''
Morris said he supports keeping the money in the single account, and not allowing towns to pull out their share.
``I'm adamant about that,'' he said. ``At least the committee feels that the money should be used for its intended purpose and should not be split up.''
Morris said the committee has also reached agreement on allowing governmental bodies that were not part of the original agreement - Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk and Dare County - to use the channel at no cost.
Manteo, Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills have been reimbursed a total of $61,000 for administrative and legal costs associated with negotiations surrounding the agreements.
``The thing that's been as hard as pulling hen's teeth to get across is that this has not cost the taxpayers a dime,'' said Morris. ``I think the potential for this is unlimited. I'm very optimistic.''
Thompson said the committee is looking into general interest public service programming from other governmental agencies at the local, state and federal level. It will be left to the individual governing bodies to decide if their meetings will be broadcast on the channel.
``I think it would be helpful in selling the channel if we did that,'' Morris said.``I can't speak for other members of the (Kill Devil Hills) Board. But I don't have a problem with it.''
Monday's hurricane preparedness program, put together by Dare County information officer Charles Hartig, will take viewers inside the Dare County Control Group, showing the process the governmental arm goes through in the event of a major storm. It will also provide hurricane safety tips.
Hartig cautioned that the film simulates what actually happens in an emergency.
``Viewers who tune into the program after the first five minutes may think that a storm is upon us,'' Hartig said. ``It is a very realistic portrayal.''
The film airs at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of next week. The following week, the FEMA film will air.
``I think this can be a very positive thing for all of the people of Dare County,'' Morris said. by CNB