In an effort to bring back a local public access TV channel, the Bainbridge Island City Council is now considering a proposal that could total almost $1 million in equipment costs alone.

Public feedback during Tuesday’s council meeting, however, convinced  city officials to steer away from overspending on the “HD dream” and keep sustainability at the forefront.

“This study points to a very, very lovely TV solution which is probably more than this little community needs,” said former councilman Barry Peters, who is also a member of Bainbridge Community Broadcast.

At the request of the council earlier this summer, CBG Communications, Inc. was hired to assess what the city would need to restore the island’s public access channel to cable television.

The needs assessment recommended the city purchase upgraded equipment, have a control room built into the city council chambers and consider adding a mobile production vehicle for off-site coverage.

The cost of the equipment plus installation, training and warranty costs would sum up a shopping list at $929,600 to be paid over a 10-year period.

The cost of the proposed state-of-the-art production — which does not include the potential staff salaries needed to support the new program — some said, could cause the city to repeat the downfall of the island’s last public access channel.

Due to budget cuts triggered by the 2008 recession, Bainbridge’s last public television program folded in December 2010 after 25 years.

“What happened was that we didn’t focus enough on sustainability, both in the equipment costs and in the labor costs,” Peters said.

“What caused us to lose BITV was the labor cost, among other things, went from a budget of $40,000 in 2002 to close to $300,000 in 2009.”

Since its closure, the city has earmarked $250,000 to one day bring BITV back.

“I’m really happy that your city manager and you as a council are considering the fact that you have some money in trust for us,” Peters said.

“But I also want to just urge that we not let happen again what happened in 2009.”

Peters, who was a councilman at the time of BITV’s closure, asked the council to bear in mind that the same thing that happened with landline telephones is happening to cable TV.

More and more people are going to the Internet for their television, he said.

If the number of Comcast subscribers on Bainbridge remains the same, CBG Communications reported that the city should receive $50,000 per year in revenues, which come from a $1 per month charge that’s tacked onto subscriber’s monthly bills.

In the same 10-year period the city would need to pay the $1 million start-up cost of the production, revenue generated by having the program would cover just half the bill.

Peters explained that since the federal law prohibits municipalities from making money from the Internet, the move to the Internet over cable TV could lead to an ever shrinking source of subscriber revenue.

“We have a diminishing supply of these $1-a-month charges, so please use them frugally,” Peters said.

Bainbridge resident Carol LaFever also asked the city council to consider less expensive options.

“I’m a passionate advocate of television, but there are so many more ways to do it that are cost effective that utilize intelligence, innovation and existing resources,” she said.

LaFever has been in the broadcast business for 25 years and has helped construct 20 stations around the U.S., all in standard definition. She has also consulted for the city of Bellingham and the city of Bainbridge Island during the debate over BITV’s paid contracts.

“My first reaction on seeing that proposal was that it’s 100 to 200 percent more costly than it needs to be,” LaFever said.

“I don’t think the city has to fall for the kind of HD dream right now. It just needs to be right-sized.”

LaFever suggested the council bring in broadcast experts from the community who could either form a volunteer advisory committee, staff the production or both.

City council meetings are currently broadcasted on city-owned equipment by one staff person. The city pays $30,000 per year to produce the meetings.

By bringing back Bainbridge’s own public access channel, content could be broadened to cover K-12 education, community events, public and city meetings.

The Bainbridge city council will further discuss options for restoring the public access channel in the coming months.