By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

The Moapa Valley Television District (MVTVD) Board of Directors, at a meeting held on September 6, discussed the possibility of purchasing a used vehicle for the use of the district and also providing a small increase to Board member salaries.

In reference to the vehicle purchase, MVTVD Chairman Daniel Pray explained that there is a regular need to go up onto the district transmission site at Beacon Hill to perform system checks and maintenance. The road is rough and requires a four-wheel drive vehicle, Pray said But the district does not currently own a vehicle.

“Usually (Board member) Roy Wilmer has taken his own vehicle up there to take care of these things,” Pray said. “But Roy has recently been attending to family matters and has been unavailable to do it.”

Pray said that there are currently a couple of signals down that require maintenance and there is no way for him to get on the mountain to get things fixed.

“There is always something that needs doing up there,” Pray said. “It would be nice if we didn’t have to arrange for transportation every time something happened.”

Pray suggested that Board Member J.D. Hudrlik had offered to sell his 4WD truck to the district for $1000.

“It needs a few repairs,” Pray said. “But if we put another $1000 into repairs it would be good enough to use for district business.”

Board member Craig Fabbi said that the district ought to shop around and see if any comparable vehicles were available for the district to purchase.

“Since J.D. is a member of the board I just don’t want any appearance of impropriety,” Fabbi said.

Fabbi also urged the board to set clear policies on the use of any purchased vehicle so that the truck only be used for district business and that all mileage be fully documented.

Board members decided to shop for similar vehicles and discuss the matter with a final decision at the October board meeting.

Also discussed at the meeting was a proposed raise in board salaries. Currently MVTVD board members are paid $25 each month for their services. The proposal would raise that to $45 per month.

Pray pointed out that board member salaries had remained unchanged for more than a decade. He added that the duties of board members included a great deal more time than just the monthly board meeting. This has included going out to homes of residents and helping them configure antenna equipment to enable them to receive the signal.

“Right after the switch over to digital I was going out to do about 10 visits a week helping people with their equipment,” Pray said. “I think that other board members have had experiences like that as well.”

While that number has declined in the recent months, Pray said he still is called out once or twice a month on district business.

Board member Bob Lyman said that he did not agree with the proposal to raise the board salaries.

“I was against the tax assessment altogether in the first place,” Lyman said. “I’d rather cut taxes than spend.”

Fabbi suggested that, since only three board members were present at the meeting, that the item ought to be tabled until more board members were present for further discussion.

During the board meeting, it was reported that the district is on track with its five year improvement plan. It is now starting into year four of the plan and the district is transmitting six digital channels which is bringing 19 stations of programming to Moapa Valley residents, Pray said.

This year, the district plans on bringing up four more digital channels and installing a new transmission tower at the Beacon Hill site. The final plan is to have a total of 30 stations broadcasting to the community over digital channels, Pray said.

The district also plans to establish a community channel in year five of its plan.