---

APTV will broadcast an around-the-clock recap of 2015 starting Tuesday, board member Jeffrey Seeds announced Monday.

“Of course we have last week’s council meetings up (as covering city government is our prime directive),” Seeds said. “But the other 18 hours each day is all original programming that we created/documented in 2015.”

Titled “As Seen On APTV,” the special year’s end showcase features everything from the Springwood Avenue Park’s Groundbreaking Ceremony and the Deal Lake Watershed Clean Up to the Easter Parade and Convention Hall Tree Lighting.

“It’s a milestone for us to be able to fill our schedule with original content about Asbury Park, and it’s a nice way for people to reflect on Asbury Park over the last year,” Seeds said. “It’s an opportunity also for people to see how far APTV has come along, and to record/DVR any moments from 2015 that they’d like to save for themselves. Hopefully it is just a sign of things to come.”

The public access station began two years ago. In the beginning recorded Asbury Park City Council meetings were uploaded to its website but by August 2014 residents could view content via Verizon FiOS channel 30 and Cablevision channel 77.

The municipal funded station is supported by cable franchise fees. Its $25,000 annual budget is used to purchase equipment and software, said Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn, who also sits on the board that manages behind-the-scenes operation.

Founding Board Member Doug Ferrari will leave the board to pursue other ventures, Quinn said.

“Doug was a tireless Chairman for APTV and provided us with the ability to diversify our projects,” Quinn said.

Heera Sidhu [shown above in feature photo] has been named Chairman of the Board, with John Fredricksen serving as vice chair, Ed Salvas as secretary, and Ginny Otley as treasurer. Seeds, Quinn, Karen Heyson and Mike Sodano complete 8-member managing board.

“I look forward to see the direction Heera moves APTV in and have the utmost confidence in his vision,” Quinn said.

APTV feature programs are produced by an all-volunteer crew. A recent campaign led by Sidhu was launched to grow the volunteer roster as the public access station looks to expand its content.

“We currently have 16 volunteers from the community that are working with us in the field to become content contributors,” Sidhu said. “This year volunteers produced spotlights on Asbury Park High School’s award-winning Debate Team, the Summer Internship Work Program, and High School Valedictorian Carl Cazeau.”

Board member Karen Heyson spent the past year working with the K.Y.D.S. One Mic One Soul events at Kula Café, Sidhu said. The open mic night, sponsored by K.Y.D.S. founders Rodney Salomon and Mychal Mills, takes place on the last Saturday of every month. K.Y.D.S, an acronym for Konscious Youth Development and Services, aims to teach the city’s youth holistic approaches to life.

“One of the goals of APTV is to highlight areas that normally don’t get a lot of attention,” said Heyson, known for her PulseAP spotlights. “I think these open mics help as a platform to spread the program and their mission.”

APTV has been working with Asbury Park High School Principal Reginald Mirthil to assemble a collective of students interested in creating features showcasing fellow students. The student features will air on APTV in 2016, Sidhu said.

“APTV will serve as a support system and a vehicle to air their creations,” Sidhu said.

As for 2016 goals, they include a need to acquire studio space outside of their second floor meeting room at city hall.

“We are grateful to have a space, but we are restricted to working within the operating hours of City Hall,” Sidhu said. “We are open to explore possible opportunities where we can obtain a secure location with private access that will allow us to do more in-studio production, as well as, allow us to work outside of city business hours.”

Aside from equipment – cameras, software, and possibly laptops that allow for editing outside of office hours, APTV is looking to grow their community involvement.

“We will also continue to create opportunities for community involvement, whether it be residents or business owners,” Sidhu said. “We can always use more producers and editors and we plan to educate those interested in film – no matter their level of experience. There are also seats open on our sub-committees for 2016 for; programming, fundraising, and marketing.”

The “As Seen On APTV” programming will run from 12 a.m. Tuesday through January 18. To view the schedule, click here.

The APTV Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month at their office on the second floor of city hall at 1 Municipal Plaza.

APTV is available on Verizon channel 30, Cablevision channel 77.

For more information, call (732) 502-4584, email info@asburyparktv.org, or visit the APTV Website or Facebook pages.

—————————————————————–

Follow the Asbury Park Sun on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Asbury Park Sun is affiliated with the triCityNews newspaper.

---