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Regular Session 1941 December 6, 2004 do it right takes funds for equipment. It behooves us to set aside some funds for this purpose and to purchase the best studio equipment available. Mr. Wagner described himself as "torn on this issue". There is no doubt about the benefits, but he does not know quite how to advise members of the public about how the ten cents will be used. He does not want to make the decision before there is a plan stating how much money is available and how it will be used. Mr. Ollendorff said at the very least, the money will be used to sustain a community bulletin board and Mr. Wagner said it was a good answer if it was true. Ms. Welsch directed a comment to Mr. Wagner stating the City Council has had the authority to ask for this funding for years and if the City had collected this sum from each subscriber, there would be money in place to erect a government access channel, but the City did not collect it. Delaying this decision will delay the government channel even longer. Charter Cable does not have to separate this amount and does not have to charge it to their customers. The City can, she believes, make a healthy argument that this is how cable can benefit a community and that our community should be using it. We need to accumulate a fund now. Mr. Sharpe said government access will enable citizen-input as well, but we need funds to purchase first-class equipment. He dislikes telling citizens that it will cost them ten cents to do so. Mr. Wagner directed a comment to Ms. Welsch indicating that he does not favor delaying the decision ad infinitum, but if it has been delayed this long, it can be discussed at the study session meeting this coming Saturday. Ms. Welsch agreed with Mr. Wagner but said there will probably not be firm plans in a couple of weeks, and mentioned some budget figures and equipment and a plan for how the access channel will be used. She sees it important as an educational tool for community and sees the yearly total as the amount of under $12,000 a year to build up funds for a program that may take three or four years to begin. Mr. Wagner agreed and said he does not want a long delay; he just wants to be able to advise constituents how this money will be used. He said the discussion could be accomplished quickly and the decisions made about how to use the funds at the next study session. Ms. Welsch described Mr. Wagner as "optimistic" about moving forward; she sees the need for a long, detailed discussion and one in which the community needs to be involved and she mentioned the tight budget as a consideration. The measure was approved with six AYES and one NAY (Mr. Wagner). COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS Sandy Schenck, 7301 Stanford Avenue and representing the University City Dog Play area, came to update the City and to present to it a check for $394, which is the City's share of the Puppy Pool Party held in September. He then shared an article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the event and presented a brief up-date of the group's progress. He suggested that perhaps the City might think of making this event an annual one, and the Mayor directed him to approach the Park Commission as a first Page 12