MS-246
ACCESS PIQUA TELEVISION ASSOCIATION (APTA)
RECORDS COLLECTION
INTRODUCTION
The Access Piqua Television Association Records Collection was accessioned into the Piqua Public Archives and Special Collections in approximately 2013 as a records transfer from the city to the library. The collection was deeded over to the library after the city determined the retention of the records on their part was no longer necessary since APTA had taken over the Public Educational and Governmental access channel. The collection is housed in two Gaylord acid free 1215 boxes containing 118 files. Ownership of the collection has been transferred to the Piqua Public Library and the library retains all rights under copyright laws. The collection is open to the public upon request and there are no known restrictions on its use.
HISTORY
The Access Piqua Television Association (APTA) was one of the outcomes of a community planning forum that concentrated on new methods for promoting a positive image about the City of Piqua.
Two new ideas were proposed. The first was a quarterly, community-wide newsletter entitled Pro Piqua Focus. Ruth Koon chaired the committee that worked on this more traditional communication project. The second concept was for a regularly broadcasted program on Time Warner cable Channel 13 (later moved to Time Warner access Channel 10). The partnership between the City of Piqua and Piqua Area Chamber of Commerce was chaired by longtime WPTW Radio Manager Joanna Hill Heitzman. She was supported by a volunteer board of trustees appointed by the City of Piqua, the Chamber of Commerce and the APTA volunteers. APTA aired its first program in May of 1995. It was titled Focus on Piqua and was hosted and narrated by Dale Robbins and Jim Oda. This first program featured the Piqua Arts Council’s community art show held at the Piqua Historical Museum at 509 North Main Street.
An early member of APTA wrote this description of the first year of production:
In 1995 a committee was formed to write local news stories and to air programs on an access channel. The video portion of the committee consisted of 608 people who volunteered to film, and if necessary, edit the program and then to manually enter tapes to broadcast.
Channel 10 was non-existent at the time, having to air the programs on Channel 13 at designated times for no more than 3 hours a day. The time was from 7-10 Monday-Friday.
We had one camera and 2 VCR’s. The camera was used by all the volunteers and had to be retrieved from the home of the committee chairperson each time it was used. The volunteer had to reserve the camera for the time in use. After filming, the camera and the tape were then returned to the chairperson.
If the tape needed editing, a closet in a local church was where 1 or 2 volunteers used the VCR’s to edit from tape to tape.
When the program was aired, the tape had to be manually entered in a machine at the Time Warner Building on Main Street. Because most of the programs consisted of school events, many teachers volunteered to enter the tapes, eject them and enter a new one.
We had no programming schedule and programs were played back to back.
Volunteer directors, videographers, editors, narrators, researchers and helpers pushed APTA programming onto the next level. One new show a week (broadcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays) expanded into dozens of shows ranging from historical documentaries and sporting events to school presentations and how-to-shows. Initial production work was done in a closet at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ. Editing equipment ran through the cameras since the association did not have the funds to purchase a monitor. As APTA grew production moved into the backroom at the offices of Time Warner Cable Company on Main Street.
Due to the partnership between the City and Piqua Area Chamber of Commerce, APTA was housed in the Chamber of Commerce building on the southwest corner of Main and Ash Streets in 1998. The facility featured a broadcasting set, production space and an office for the new executive director. Jan Koon came on board in January of 1998 as APTA’s first staff person. Ms. Koon’s salary, the video equipment and supplies came from the City of Piqua’s cable franchise fees. Under Koon’s strong direction, APTA began producing regular monthly programming.
One of the first programs, What’s Happening in Piqua, began in 1998 and continues to the present (2016). Other early programs included Mainstreet Piqua Presents, Focus on Industry (Spotlighting Business); Flesh Public Library Storytime; Church Net; Piqua Police Department; Report of the Superintendent; The Mayor’s Report and many others. APTA cameras became a common sight at school graduations, community events, parades and recitals as volunteers taped literally hundreds of hours of Piqua events for later broadcast. A major increase in programming led to the next big step in APTA’s history.
In February of 1999, APTA expanded to twenty-four hour a day programming on Time Warner Cable’s Piqua Access Channel 10. APTA also took over the live broadcasts of the Piqua City Commission meetings which had formerly been broadcast by the cable company for several decades. Various churches submitted their Sunday services and were broadcast on Sundays. Added to the regular schedule are programs sponsored by groups as diverse as the Chamber of Commerce, the United Way, the Piqua Parks Department, Edison State College and the Upper Valley Medical Center. Today, local citizens groups continue to submit dozens of videos on topics ranging from Piqua High School boys and girls soccer games to dance recitals and from Christmas programs to fishing shows. In August of 2007 Time Warner moved APTA to Piqua access cable channel 5. APTA also broadcasts a message board in between programming to provide viewers with updates on upcoming shows, a schedule of city meetings and local obituaries. A number of the original APTA programs have been preserved as an archive of Piqua’s history and the tapes are available at the Piqua Public Library.
In 2009 a series of discussions began with the intent of broadening the scope of APTA to include more partners. The meetings included representatives from the Upper Valley Joint Vocational School, the City of Piqua, Piqua City Schools, Edison State Community College and the Piqua Public Library. As a result of these discussions, in October 2010 the Western Ohio Television Consortium (WOTVC) was created. Broadcasts were changed from analog to digital and by September 2011 WOTVC had taken over all programming on the Time Warner access channel 5.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The Access Piqua Television Association Records Collection is divided into the following twelve series:
SERIES I: Documents Allowing the Creation of APTA – Box 1, Files 1 & 2
SERIES II: Constitution, Policies and Procedures – Box 1, Files 3-10
SERIES III: Access Piqua Television Association Board of Trustees Minutes, Membership Meeting Minutes and Accompanying Documents – Box 1, Files 11-25
SERIES IV: APTA Financial Reports and Records – Box 1, Files 26-41
SERIES V: Purchases of Equipment and Supplies – Box 1, Files 42-50
SERIES VI: Other Financial and Finance Related Documents – Box 1, Files 51-53 and Box 2, Files 1-8
SERIES VII: APTA Programming 1995-2011 – Box 2, Files 9-32
SERIES VIII: Equipment Instruction Manuals – Box 2, Files 33-44
SERIES IX: Miscellaneous APTA Files and Documents – Box 2, Files 45-55
SERIES X: Photographs – Box 2, Files 56-58
SERIES XI: Documents relating to the creation of the Western Ohio Television Consortium – Box 2, Files 59-61
SERIES XII: Documents found in collection but having minimal relation to APTA or WOTVC – Box 2, Files 62-65
CONTAINER LIST
SERIES I: Documents Allowing the Creation of APTA
BOX 1
File
1 Piqua City Commission Resolution No. C-6235 – dated February 20, 1978 – granting permission to Valley Antenna Systems, Inc., to televise the Piqua City Commission meetings. The letter from Valley Antenna Systems making the request – dated February 10, 1978 – is included in this file. Also included in this file is the 2001 renewal of the Cable Franchise Agreement between the City of Piqua and Time Warner Cable.
2 The Cable Communications Act of 1984, Public Law 98-549 – October 30, 1984 – this act created the Public-Educational-Governmental (PEG) Access whereby U.S. Citizens have access to cable television channel(s) for individual expression of ideas as protected by the First Amendment of the United States.
SERIES II: Constitution, Policies and Procedures
File
3 Constitution of the Access Piqua Television Association – adopted October 26, 1995 – two copies.
4 APTA By-Laws, Policies and Procedures – adopted in 1995 and updated in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007.
5 APTA Policies, Guidelines and Forms – booklet dated June 1995 – 2 copies
6 APTA Chain of Command chart – 2 copies
7 Working papers used in the development of the revisions to the APTA Policies and Procedures
8 Legal opinions on the topic of Obscenity and Political Programming and Political Advertising. The opinions were written by Grant Kerber an attorney with the law firm of Shipman, Dixon & Livingston Co., L.P.A. in Troy, Ohio. 2003-2006
9 Legal advice on APTA Committee Policies and Procedures written by Daniel E. Ramer an attorney with the law firm of McCulloch, Felger, Fite & Gutman Co., L.P.A.
10 Sample rules, policies and procedures from South Portland Community Television, South Portland, Maine; Missouri City Television, Texas; Bedford Community Television, New Hampshire; Accessvision, Battle Creek, Michigan.
SERIES III: Access Piqua Television Association Board of Trustees Minutes, Membership Meeting Minutes and Accompanying Documents
File
11 1995
12 1996
13 1997
14 1998
15 1999
16 2000
17 2001
18 2002
19 2003
20 2004
21 2005
22 2006
23 2007
24 2008
25 2009
SERIES IV: APTA Financial Reports and Records
File
26 1996 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
27 1997 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
28 1998 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
29 1999 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
30 2000 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
31 2001 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
32 2002 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
33 2003 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
34 2004 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
35 2005 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
36 2006 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
37 2007 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
38 2008 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
39 2009 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
40 2010 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
41 2011 – Treasurer’s Reports and Budget
SERIES V: Purchases of Equipment and Supplies
File
42 Equipment purchases, quotes and invoices
43 Documents relating to the purchase of the Applied Magic Editing System
44 Purchase Orders for equipment and supplies. Also supporting documents to go along with the purchase orders.
45 Studio Sets – designs, quotes and invoices
46 Design drawings and quotation for the television setup in the commission chambers of the new city building and lobby. Also, an agreement for Time Warner Cable to take over responsibility for televising the Piqua City Commission meetings.
47 Invoices and receipts for the purchase of supplies for APTA, primarily video tapes
48 Dave Cook – DC Enterprises – invoices for computer and electronics equipment repairs.
49 Petty Cash records and receipts 2005-2010
50 Invoices and receipts for food for board meetings – August 2004 – June 2008
SERIES VI: Other Financial and Finance Related Documents
File
51 Lease and Services Agreement between The City of Piqua and APTA for studio space inside the City of Piqua Municipal Complex at 201 West Water Street, Piqua. The lease is for one year from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
52 Application for a Director and Officers Liability Insurance Policy from ALTRU/Arch Insurance Company through the Reed Mote Staley Insurance Company. May 2006
53 Grants – grant applications and awards in the years 1995, 1996, 2000, 2005 along with accompanying documents.
BOX 2
File
1 Invoice from APTA to Mainstreet Piqua, Piqua Area United Way and Piqua Arts Council for monthly Time Warner Road Runner internet access service. The four agencies listed were all located in the Chamber of Commerce building at 326 North Main Street. The Time Warner bill came to the City of Piqua which charged the amount against the APTA account. APTA then billed Mainstreet, United Way and Arts Council for their share of the internet access fees. The Time Warner Road Runner bill accompanies each invoice. The invoices in this folder are dated from June 3, 2004 to December 1, 2005.
2 Invoice from APTA to Mainstreet Piqua, Piqua Area United Way and Piqua Arts Council for monthly Time Warner Road Runner internet access service. The four agencies listed were all located in the Chamber of Commerce building at 326 North Main Street. The Time Warner bill came to the City of Piqua which charged the amount against the APTA account. APTA then billed Mainstreet, United Way and Arts Council for their share of the internet access fees. The Time Warner Road Runner bill accompanies each invoice. The invoices in this folder are dated from December 30, 2005 to December 18, 2007
3 Invoice from APTA to Mainstreet Piqua, Piqua Area United Way and Piqua ArtsCouncil for monthly Time Warner Road Runner internet access service. The four agencies listed were all located in the Chamber of Commerce building at 326 North Main Street. The Time Warner bill came to the City of Piqua which charged the amount against the APTA account. APTA then billed Mainstreet, United Way and Arts Council for their share of the internet access fees. The Time Warner Road Runner bill accompanies each invoice. The invoices in this folder are dated from January 18, 2008 to February 16, 2010.
4 Invoice from APTA to Mainstreet Piqua and Piqua Area United Way for monthly Time Warner Road Runner internet access service. At the end of February 2010, the Piqua Arts Council relocated their offices to 427 North Main, Piqua and contracted for their own separate internet access service. The invoices in this folder are dated from February 2010 to March 14, 2011.
5 Invoice from Western Ohio TV Consortium to Mainstreet and Piqua Area United Way for monthly Time Warner Road Runner internet access service. In April 2011 APTA was transformed into WOTVC. The invoices in this folder are dated from April 20, 2011 to August 16, 2011.
6 APTA Equipment and Facilities Committee Meeting Minutes, equipment requests and equipment purchases 1995-1996.
7 Blank forms used by APTA: Program Proposal; Request for Cablecast; Equipment Reservation; Equipment Loan/Assessment
8 Request for Cablecast and Equipment Reservations forms that have been filled out – 2002-2005
SERIES VII: APTA Programming 1995-2011
File
9 Access Piqua Television Association’s Program Content and Ownership policies – published on the reverse side of the Request for Cablecast form.
10 APTA – Access Piqua Television Association logos to be used with programs – also a series of comic variations on the meaning of the letters “APTA,” and an introductory slide to precede the program “Mayor’s Report.”
11 APTA program development teams – June 13, 1995 the APTA membership was divided into six teams of five persons each to develop and produce finished programs ready to be aired on APTA Channel 13. Included in this folder is a program schedule for June, July and August 1995 and a time line and staffing needs list for the three months. A team roster and membership list with addresses and phone numbers is included in the file.
12 APTA program schedules, production schedules and programming materials – 1996
13 APTA program schedules, production schedules and programming materials – 1997
14 APTA program schedules, production schedules and programming materials – 1998
15 APTA programs aired in 1999 – a list
16 APTA programs aired in 2000 – a list
17 APTA programs aired in 2001 and production materials for the program, “The U.S. Constitution and You”
18 APTA programs aired in 2002-2008 – lists of programs, one list for each year.
19 APTA programs aired in 2009 – a list – also a detailed schedule of programs aired during the week December 21-27, 2009
20 APTA daily program schedules for the month of January 2011 [December 27, 2010 to January 30, 2011], also the daily program logs of programs actually telecast and their running times.
21 APTA daily program schedules for the month of February 2011 [January 31, 2011 to February 27, 2011], also the daily program logs of programs actually telecast and their running times.
22 APTA daily program schedules for the month of March 2011 [February 28, 2011 to April 3, 2011], also the daily program logs of programs actually telecast and their running times.
23 APTA daily program schedules for the month of April 2011 [April 4, 2011 to May 1, 2011], also the daily program logs of programs actually telecast and their running times.
24 APTA daily program schedules for the month of May 2011 [May 2, 2011 to May 29, 2011], also the daily program logs of programs actually telecast and their running times.
25 APTA daily program schedules for the month of June 2011 [May 30, 2011 to July 3, 2011], also the daily program logs of programs actually telecast and their running times.
26 APTA daily program schedules for the month of July 2011 [July 4, 2011 to July 31, 2011], also the daily program logs of programs actually telecast and their running times.
27 APTA daily program schedules for the month of August 2011 [August 1, 2011 to August 28, 2011], also the daily program logs of programs actually telecast and their running times.Note: Access Piqua Television Association ceased programming at the end of August 2011 and all activities were taken over by the Western Ohio Television Consortium.
28 Catalog of the Access Piqua Television Association Video Tape Collection located at the Piqua Public Library Archives and Small Collections – MS(AV)-141. Also, Loan Agreements between APTA Channel 5 and the Piqua Public Library Local History Department by which APTA borrowed videotapes from the collection to air on Channel 5.
29 “Youth For Justice” Team slides used in the report on their survey of views of sexual activity and abstinence at Piqua Junior High School – the project was recognized as the most outstanding project in the state – May 2003.
30 Eye On History – schedule of air date and program materials – 1999-2002
31 Focus On Industry – list of programs and their running times
32 Materials on independently produced programs to be aired on APTA: City of Piqua Fair Housing Program – 2003; Westminster Presbyterian Church – African Children’s Choir – March 2001; Piqua City Schools, Celebrate Education Day – 1999.
SERIES VIII: Equipment Instruction Manuals
File
33 Editing controllers and mixers – [1] Panasonic AG-A96-P Editing Controller;[2] Panasonic AG-A350-P Edition Controller; [3] Panasonic WJ-MX50A Digital AV Mixer; [4] APTA Editing Equipment Schematics – D. Cook, 6-19-2000.
34 Panasonic S-VHS Pro Line video camera instructions manuals (2)
35 AC Adaptors for use with the cameras – [1] IDX Technology IA-60a Camera AC Adapter [2] Panasonic AG-B6 AC Adaptor
36 Owner’s Manuals for wireless microphone systems: Azden 111 Producer Series VHF Wireless System (2); Samson UHF Series One True Diversity Wireless System; Vega U2020 UHF Wireless Microphone System; Edcor Electronics Operator’s Manual for Q-Series Microphone Mixers.
37 Camera tripod manuals: Bogen #3063 tripod head; Manfrotto Video Dolly
38 Operating Instructions for Video Cassette Recorders: Panasonic VHS Model No. AG-1350; Panasonic VHS Model No. AG-1330; Panasonic SVHS Model No. AG-1980P; Panasonic Hi-Fi Professional/Industrial Video Model AG-DS555P and AG-DS545P; Mitsubishi HS-U130 Video Cassette Recorder Owner’s Guide
39 Owner’s manuals for compact disc changers: Optimus CD-8150 5-Disc Compact Disc Changer; Technics Compact Disc Changer SL-PD988/SL-PD888/SL-PD788.
40 Monitor/Receiver instructions manual: Panasonic Color Monitor/Receiver Operating Instructions for programming the remote control; Panasonic Color Monitor/Receiver Operating Instructions CT-1386YWD, CT-1386YD, CT-1386VYD, CT-2086YD, CT-2086VYD; Avanti 5: Black/White Television Model: TV-52W Owner’s Manual
41 Event manager – to sequence programs – hardware and software: Leightronix, Inc. WinEM-LT Pro-Bus Deck Interface Installation Manual and Operator’s Manual
42 Studio lighting equipment, gel instructions, replacement parts: Lowel-Light Manufacturing, Inc.
43 Sales brochure for a Canon Mini DV GL2 3CCD Digital Video Camcorder and an accessories catalog for the camera.
44 Miscellaneous manuals and brochures: Porta Brace Quick-Draw Professional Camera Case; Display Vision Solutions, LLC advertising sheet with business cards; Panasonic AG-DS555/DS545 Set-up Menu List; Wipe Patters for Editing Controller RS-422.
SERIES IX: Miscellaneous APTA Files and Documents
File
45 Future Piqua, 191-92 Report – some of the findings of this study led to the creation of Access Piqua Television Association.
46 History of Access Piqua Television Association – documents tracing the history of APTA from 1995 through 2007.
47 APTA News Releases and Articles
48 Correspondence
49 Donations and Deed of Gift for transferring videotapes from APTA to the Library Archives and Special Collections
50 Access Piqua Television Association Piqua Channel 10 Survey responses – October-November 2002
51 APTA Volunteers – names and addresses – blank volunteer time cards
52 Volunteer information and outline of responsibilities in the absence of the Executive Director – March 10-18, 2005 and July 11-24, 2005
53 APTA Volunteer Dinner 2001
54 Job Description for position of APTA Executive Director. Also, City Commission resolutions funding the position of Communications Coordinator/Executive Director for the year 2001 – 2007
55 Amended Substitute Senate Bill No. 117 – 126th General Assembly Regular Session, 2005-2006 – a bill affecting cable television and cable access channels.
SERIES X: Photographs
BOX 2
File
56 APTA Staff, volunteers and Chamber of Commerce officials toasting (with liquid in Styrofoam cups) going live with APTA broadcasts – c. 1998. Individuals in the picture are (l to r): Sharon Kirk, Marilyn Jones, Kim Small Powers, Holly Trombley, Debbie Stein, Lorna Swisher, Jan Koon, Cheryl Steifel Francis, Mike Caldwell, Dave Vollette and Lucy Fess.
57 14 – 3 ½” x 5” color photographs of Jim Oda and Cheryl Steifel Francis on the set of “What’s Happening in Piqua” with Jan Koon as videographer. Photos are dated September 18, 2001.
58 Jan Koon, Executive Director, “Access Piqua TV 10” – business card
SERIES XI: Documents relating to the creation of the Western Ohio Television Consortium
File
59 Minutes, notes, budgets and other documents from APTA/PEG meetings held in 2009 in which the main topic of discussion was the formation of and transition to the Western Ohio Television Consortium (WOTVC)
60 October 1, 2010 minutes of the Western Ohio Television Consortium Incorporation Meeting and the Western Ohio Television Consortium Board of Director’s Meeting. The documents included in this file include: Memorandum of Understanding as to Creation and Operation of Western Ohio TV Consortium; Initial Articles of Incorporation; A Resolution Appointing a Member to the WOTVC Board [Resolution No. R-96-10, Piqua City Commission]; WOTVC Proposed Budget; Job Description, Program Coordinator WOTVC; Committees and Members; Information, Consortium Members and programming; and WOTVC Membership Categories
61 Miscellaneous documents concerning the appointment of Guy Fogle as WOTVC Executive Director
SERIES XII: Documents found in collection but having minimal relation to APTA or WOTVC
File
62 Pro-Piqua – Piqua Area Chamber of Commerce
63 Presentation to Troy Council meeting – May 22, 2007 – on impact of APTA in Piqua.
64 Pages to be used in the APTA section of the 2007 Piqua bicentennial book, An Encyclopedia of Piqua, Ohio.
65 Residence Pride Committee documents, 2005-2011