Mayor's pick withdraws, city posts part-time CAR25 job

Update 2: Here's a report from Monday night's meeting:

After approving the previous minutes, the Cable Commission opened up the meeting for comments from the public, which is the usual procedure. An Alderman and two citizens spoke giving comments that were at times pointedly against the idea of a consultant, and at other times more vague, but seemingly meant to oppose the consultant. Then Mayor Dickert dropped the bombshell of the evening saying that Sandy Petrykowski had withdrawn her name from consideration, and he was then opening up the whole process to the Cable Commission for their input.

This was like throwing the ball into the air and having it explode into a hundred pieces. The Mayor wants an RFP process with the stipulation that if anyone presently on the Cable Commission wants to apply, then they have to resign from the commission. There was a long, far-reaching, usually cordial, discussion that followed, even though a couple of exchanges between the Mayor and Alderman Coe and Alderman Shields might be called animated.

The Mayor scored the point that the $40,000.00 had always been for a personal services contract and that if the Cable Commission did not want a PSC then the money would have to be legally moved. Most of the commission members wanted additional part-time city employees to assist Scott Nelson, the only CAR 25 employee. There was some disagreement in the math about the cost of additional city personnel. Chase Hendrix, Chair of the Cable Commission, said that a consultant is an impossibility, because of the legal definition of contract workers and the requirements of the position.

The atmosphere was very electric considering that this committee labors mostly in total obscurity. Five aldermen, the Mayor, three founding members of CAR 25, a couple of media personalities, and a county board candidate all firing facts, opinions, and hyperbole around the room like a bad game of beach volleyball. After a non-stop hour of discussion some got a little sand in their face even when they had come just to sit in the bleachers. And as with every step of this process, the Cable Commission will convene in two weeks to sort out the twists and turns of the evening. It's going to take them that long to get the sand out of their teeth. They will then give their recommendation.

Update: The consultant withdrew her name for the $40,000 no-bid contract to overhaul CAR25.

Original post: We're a bit late on this, but here's the job posting for a part-time job working for CAR25, which was posted earlier this month. The Cable Commission met tonight to discuss the $40,000 contract Mayor John Dickert hopes will go to Sandy Petrykowski, a professional TV journalist who worked for ABC News, CNN, National Geographic and others. If you were at the meeting, we'd like to hear what went down.

Here's the CAR25's open job posting, which is entirely separate from the $40,000 consultant's contract:

The City of Racine will be accepting applications and resumes for the position of Cable Communications Coordinator with the Cable Access Racine channel (CAR25) until filled. This part-time position is approximately 10 to 15 hours per week and reports to the City of Racine's Information Systems Director. Responsibilities include bulletin board announcements, program playback editing and video content program production. Salary for the position is $16.30 per hour. A complete job description can be found by clicking here and an application can be found by clicking here. A resume without an application may not be considered. Interested applicants should send both a resume and a signed application to:

The City of Racine Attn: Human Resources Department
730 Washington Ave.
Racine, WI 53403
or FAX 262-636-9585
or e-mail jobs@cityofracine.org