Airport Authority Plans to Tape Meetings for Cable TV

The Burbank Airport Authority took steps Monday to hire a firm to videotape the panel’s bimonthly meetings, despite objections from some authority members who said such a program would have few viewers and would be too troublesome to produce.

In a 6-2 vote, the authority instructed its staff to solicit bids from firms interested in recording the meetings and airing them on public access cable stations in surrounding communities.

The program’s first-year costs could range between $50,000 and $75,000, according to initial proposals from the city of Burbank and a Pasadena-based video production firm.

The action, which was requested by newly appointed authority member William Paparian of Pasadena, would allow residents to watch the panel’s meetings on the same cable channels that show meetings of their local city council.

“There are a number of people who would be interested in what is going on in local government,” Paparian said.

Authority members Robert W. Garcin and Carl W. Raggio Jr., both of Glendale, voted against the action.

Garcin said he was opposed because the authority is more of a business entity than a government agency and the information generated by the meetings is “narrow in scope” and not of general interest to the public.

“We are not dealing with daily issues affecting people within our cities,” he said.

Raggio said he opposed the motion because he suspects that the cost of the program will increase substantially above the estimated $50,000-to-$75,000-a-year range.