Ken Stomski, director of Channel 15 in Southwick, prepares for the live broadcast of the Southwick 250th Celebration Parade.
Republican file photo
SOUTHWICK — A month after Select Board member Russ Anderson proposed overhauling the town’s public access channel, including pausing and restructuring Channel 15, its director updated the board about what he does to keep town residents informed.
“I’ve proven that I’m easy to get along with and to communicate with, and I’ve been professional … I’m open to any changes or improvements you would like to do,” said Kenneth Stomski, the channel’s director, at the end of PowerPoint presentation outlining his duties and responsibilities during the Select Board meeting on Jan. 5.
Stomski was responding to Anderson’s proposal in early December to redesign how the town utilizes its public access channel by temporarily pausing its programming, retrieving the town’s audio-visual equipment from him, and considering the Land Use Room in Town Hall as a potential studio.
About pausing programming on Channel 15, Anderson said that when watching Channel 15, “it’s all about Westfield … I looked today, and there’s still stuff on there from June on our [information] board. It doesn’t change.”
Stomski addressed that proposal.
“Perhaps instead of shutting down a functioning department to pause for a while, would it not be beneficial to keep a functioning department functional while a study can be done as to what it would actually take to build and create what Mr. Anderson was looking for,” he said.
About the content, Stomski conceded that not only Southwick, but several communities in the area run Westfield content from 6-10 a.m., because it is local and mostly live.
“We’re unique now. A lot of local community television stations don’t do that,” he said, but added that local programs like “All Things Southwick” show and “The Joe Deedy Show” are part of the channel’s programming.
Stomski pointed out earlier in his presentation that he produces “Southwick Stories,” which preserves the oral history of the town and has proven to be a well-liked series.
He also said that he always responds to requests from the community to film local activities, but the town doesn’t maintain a calendar of community events, which would help him create local content.
“You know, it would be appreciated if the Select Board or other groups or organizations would inform me of things they would like filmed. I actually like the interaction with the other folks when I’m doing so,” Stomski said.
Peter Cowles, the media systems specialist for Westfield and heavily involved in Channel 15, offered the board a more detailed reason for the Westfield-heavy content.
He said the directors of the public access channel for Westfield, Southwick and Agawam work together on programming because of the lack of staff.
“We’re working together because we realize we’re one person in each town … we’re working on programming together,” Cowles said. “That’s why sometimes you’ll see Westfield programming and Southwick and Agawam programming in Westfield, or vice versa … we all share programs.”
Stomski also addressed Anderson’s concern about where the AV equipment the town owns is, because he couldn’t find it in Town Hall.
“Where is all the equipment?” Stomski said.
“I got into the habit of keeping all the gear at my place because I’m diligent at cycling the batteries to ensure that any piece of gear is ready to go. I see that was a concern [so] I brought all the gear back to the Channel 15 room [in Town Hall],” he said.
However, he added that with the equipment and gear not at his residence, he needed to know who would be using it and that it be locked up in Town Hall with a list of those who have a key to the room.
As for installing studio-quality AV equipment in the Land Use Room, Stomski said he had suggested installing cameras in it, and that he provided a quote last year that was “poo-pooed” because of the cost.
He added that using the room as a studio would also mean having someone to operate the equipment during meetings.
Cowles said the cost of installing a studio in the room could cost as much as $250,000, but could be done for as little as $30,000.
Later in the meeting, Board member Douglas Moglin, who didn’t dispute Cowles’ estimate to build a studio, said that the technology is moving so fast it’s gotten inexpensive.
“The barrier to entry is much lower than it used to be,” he said.
Anderson’s proposal also included getting the regional school district involved, which Moglin echoed.
“I’d love to see the schools get involved in this, and I’d love to see … whether it’s a studio or some other forum where they could do better content creation,” he said.
Stomski welcomed getting students involved and said that he had purchased equipment that would work for beginners
“… so that you have something … [that] if you drop it into the river, I’m not gonna cry but it still gets the job done.”
Along those lines, Cowles suggested offering students workshops on how to use their cellphone cameras.
Stomski said that if anyone films anything in town that they want shown on Channel 15, just give it to him.
“I don’t care what the footages look like. I’ll work with it and I’ll put it up. I’ve been saying that for several years,” he said.
As for Anderson’s proposal to pause Channel 15, board member Diane Gale didn’t weigh in where she stood, but Moglin hinted that he wouldn’t necessarily want to.
“Let’s move forward instead of starting here and moving back and then recasting everything to start over. I think we’ve got a kind of a foundational base,” he said.
Anderson made it clear that he thinks the discussions overhauling the channel are needed.
“I’ve seen you say that we could do a better job,” he said, referring to Moglin. “Everyone says we can do a better job. My goal is that; to do a better job, whether that’s equipment, whether that’s programming, whether that’s people that we have. I feel we have to go down a road to up the game a little bit, wherever that is.”
