NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 19, 1998

CARY P&Z MEETINGS MAKE IT TO CABLE

CARY, NC -- Starting this week, the Town of Cary will add another program to its government access television line-up--Cary Planning & Zoning Board meetings. Beginning tonight, regular meetings of the P&Z Board will be cablecast live and unedited on Cary’s Town Hall TV at 7:30 PM on cable channel 11. P&Z meets on the third Monday of each month, and officials plan to carry the meetings live as well as rebroadcast them during that same week on Tuesday morning at 7:30 AM and Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 PM. Because of the way Time Warner’s cable TV system is designed, customers in and around Cary, Apex, Morrisville, and parts of Holly Springs will be able to see the Cary meetings.

"The Town’s decision to begin cablecasting Council meetings in June has met with widespread interest and support," said Cary’s Public Information Officer Susan Moran, "and we believe that P&Z meetings hold the same potential."

The Cary Town Council agreed in September to cablecast P&Z meetings for a one year trial period. The decision came after a recommendation from the Town’s Information Services Advisory Board, a citizen group which advises the Town on ways to effectively communicate with Cary residents.

According to the ISAB, cablecasting P&Z would be a good idea because the issues discussed at P&Z meetings are important to citizens as they impact quality of life and property values. Additionally, P&Z discusses important issues at a level of detail not generally repeated at Town Council meetings. The ISAB also felt that rebroadcasting the meetings would give citizens an opportunity to experience and analyze discussions on complex issues more than once.

In February, the Cary Town Council voted to appropriate $214,000 to install a television studio in Council Chambers. These funds came from cable TV franchise fees paid to the Town by the cable company for use of the public rights-of-way. Costs for bringing P&Z to TV are estimated at $5,500 which includes additional supplies, equipment, contract staff, and promotions.

The Town currently cablecasts Town Council meetings live on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month, with rebroadcasts those same weeks on Fridays at 7:30 AM, Saturdays at 7:30 PM, and Sundays at 3:00 PM. Adding the P&Z meetings to the channel line-up brings Cary to about 36 hours of live and taped programming per month.

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PRIMARY CONTACTS: Bill Coleman, Town Manager, 469-4002
Susan Moran, Public Information Officer, 460-4951