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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004/02/12 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - RegularOFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOUIS PARK TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OF FEBRUARY 12, 2004 AT 7:00 P.M. ST. LOUIS PARK CITY HALL, COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Bruce Browning, Rick Dworsky, Dale Hartman, Ken Huiras, Rolf Peterson MEMBERS ABSENT: Bob Jacobson, Mary Jean Overend STAFF PRESENT: Reg Dunlap, Civic TV Coordinator; John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator OTHERS PRESENT: Arlen Mattern, Time Warner Cable Public Affairs Administrator; Charlie Fiss, School District #283 AV PC LAN Technician 1. Call to Order Chair Huiras called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. 2. Roll Call Present at roll call were Commissioners Browning, Dworsky, Hartman, Huiras and Peterson, and City Staff Reg Dunlap and John McHugh. 3. Approval of Minutes for December 4, 2003 It was moved by Commissioner Peterson, seconded by Commissioner Browning, to approve the minutes of December 4, 2003 without changes. The motion passed 5-0. 4. Adoption of Agenda Chair Huiras requested that the following be added to Item 5, Old Business: 5D Victory Sports Update. It was moved by Commissioner Browning to approve the agenda as amended. The motion passed 5-0. 5. Public Hearing: Time Warner Cable Renewal Bill Watson, 3200 Virginia Avenue, testified about a problem with security cameras and Time Warner Cable at Wyndmoor Condominiums. Mr. Watson would like Time Warner to put the security camera channel on the cable system so the residents don’t have to use an A/B manual switch box to monitor the security camera at the building entrance. Currently residents switch over to the alternate cable, the master antenna system that predates Time Warner’s cable installation, to monitor the security camera on channel 7. Time Warner has leased access channels and other channels that could be pre-empted to add the security camera channel to the cable system. Mr. Watson said they’d like to continue with Time Warner, and asked the Commission to help with this so they can continue to have a secure building. John McHugh read the comments submitted in writing or left on voice mail by the following residents: Mary Jane Shaw emailed that her service is not consistant and would like new service providers to bid and provide better service. Rich Thorn emailed that it would be great addition to add a service level between basic and standard levels of service because of the big jump in price between these services. Jane Cornelius wrote about the high cost of cable service, and suggested a senior citizen discount. Sidney Wood emailed that he was very disappointed in not being able to receive Victory Sports channel and that he’d like to subscribe to a plan where he could pay for just the channels he likes to watch. Dopoferl@aol.com emailed that the service with Time Warner was not good because he didn’t properly receive credit for a free offer for AOL Broadband, so he canceled the service. Sanjay Sharma emailed that they are completely dissatisfied with Time Warner Cable services and prices, and that it would be nice to get a different company that is better rated to replace them. Conrad Posz emailed that granting a franchise to one cable TV company is a mistake and he’d prefer competition. Also, that he was initially pleased with a special offer for digital cable until he received the regular monthly bill for over $56, which is outrageous. Lottie Harrier wrote that her cable bill increases every year, this year $5.37 per month. She intends to explore satellite service, but doesn’t like thinking about the problems of converting to the new service. Wade Carroll left a voice mail that his January bill went up $3 and they aren’t offering any additional services. Geraldine Waalk wrote that the cost for cable is out of hand and she’s considering dropping it because the reception is horrible. Donal Nielson wrote that his mother had a problem with Time Warner which was why they changed to a satellite dish, and predicted a migration by other cable customers which would cause a loss of revenue to the City. vcdoming@yahoo.org emailed that converter boxes should not be required, for a fee, to receive basic cable. Lee Ann Lanstrom emailed that she much preferred Time Warner over Paragon Cable because the service hours are longer, the customer service people have been nicer to deal with and have given good advice or quick service to correct any problems. She said the only complaint was that the rates are too high. Mrs. Winter left a voice mail suggesting a senior citizen discount for cable service since the regular service is too expensive for someone on a fixed income. Paul Evenson told staff that he’d like cable TV but it’s too expensive. Michael Younger called staff and asked why his bill went up 15%, and also wants to receive Victory Sports channel. Sharon Corriveau emailed that other cities have cable company choices, but not in St. Louis Park, and that if we had a choice of companies maybe the rates would go down. Julianne Sixel emailed these answers to issues noted in the St. Louis Park Sailor: Disclosure of personal information: No disclosure Local office: Yes Local channel of value: Yes Option to view basic cable without a cable box: YES! Concerns about TWC current business or future plans: Not at the moment Arlene Silvernail emailed that she’s had some billing problems with Time Warner and is thinking of switching to a satellite dish because she’s so upset with the service and poor reception. Kevin Sorenson emailed these answers to issues noted in the St. Louis Park Sailor: Disclosure of personal information: Absolutely not! Local office: No Option to view basic cable without a cable box: Yes Concerns about TWC current business or future plans: Cable companies know they have a captive audience and are taking advantage. I would like ala carte channel selections and to purchase broadband without buying cable service. Jon Kuskie emailed these answers to issues noted in the St. Louis Park Sailor: Disclosure of personal information: Aren’t we being shared enough already? Local office: Not terribly important Local channel of value: Not terribly important Option to view basic cable without a cable box: EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. I really do not want them to have more control than what they already do. Concerns about TWC current business or future plans: Like to see expenses decrease somehow. Rhesa Schwartz emailed these answers to issues noted in the St. Louis Park Sailor: Disclosure of personal information: Strong feelings, very wrong to let a company sell/use private information. Local channel of value: Concerned that unless one has cable, they can’t see local programming like the Council meetings. Time Warner is a monopoly & we have no choice. Duane Ager emailed that he wants Victory Sports. Phyllis Olsen wrote that the fees keep going up and maybe there’s another service available instead of renewing Time Warner. Emily McLellan emailed that she likes community TV offerings on the whole and particularly likes Music da camera (a show on Community TV 15). Robert Ball emailed these answers to issues noted in the St. Louis Park Sailor: Disclosure of personal information: No disclosure Local office: Yes Local channel of value: Yes, and there should be a cooperative effort to allow school staff to also use company equipment to tape school/community events. Option to view basic cable without a cable box: YES! Sean McDonnell emailed these answers to issues noted in the St. Louis Park Sailor: Disclosure of personal information: No, an opt-in mailing list would be better. Local office: No Local channel of value: Yes Option to view basic cable without a cable box: Yes Concerns about TWC current business or future plans: No Mr. McHugh said that at the Council’s first meeting in April, they will decide to conclude the renewal proceeding or extend it. 6. Old Business 6A Renewal Update Chair Huiras asked about the current status of renewal negotiations, and Mr. McHugh said there have been no meetings in the last month, to collect the public comments. The next step is to update new City Manager Tom Harmening and set new meetings with Time Warner. Mr. McHugh said collecting public comment has been going on more than a year, including the surveys last year of the business community and residents, which revealed that the local channels were valued by subscribers. 6B Bylaws Review Mr. Dunlap said that City Clerk Cindy Reichert said the Commission’s Bylaws are fine for now and that she will have to postpone any review to assure conformity with other Boards and Commissions until after the Presidential election. 6C Emergency Alert System (EAS) Update Mr. Dunlap said there had been some intermittent problems with the analog EAS in tests, so Time Warner’s techs had pulled the unit out of service for additional servicing. Chair Huiras asked about the digital EAS system and Mr. Dunlap said that Time Warner was still working on it. 6D Victory Sports Update Arlen Mattern, TWC’s Public Affairs Administrator, said there was nothing new on this, that TWC wants to carry Victory Sports but it’s too expensive. Commissioner Browning asked if any metro area cable systems carry it, and Mr. Mattern said no, but that some out-state systems had signed up for it. 7. New Business 7A Review & comment on draft 2003 Annual Report to Council & Work Plan for 2004 The Commission was encouraged to contact staff after reviewing the draft. 7B Background on proper uses of Social Security Numbers & privacy policies Set Meetings for 2004 Deferred to the next meeting to allow Commissioner Overend’s participation, since this is an important issue for her. 7C “Pasadena” court case & bill itemization background Mr. Dunlap said that Time Warner collects revenue that doesn’t come from subscribers that they pay 5% franchise fees on, like revenue from selling advertising. The City of Pasadena brought the case through the courts. Mr. Dunlap said the bottom line is that St. Louis Park residents will pay between 20 and 28 cents extra per month because of this legal decision, when Time Warner implements this fee. Mr. Mattern said the fee would show up on next cable statement. Chair Huiras asked if it would be a separate line item, and Mr. Mattern said yes. Commissioner Dworsky asked how it would be labeled, and Mr. Mattern said as franchise fees. 7D Staff proposal for Time Warner $100,000 equipment grant Mr. Dunlap said staff conferred with the department supervisor who said to hold off on any proposal for a couple of months until further into the City’s budget process. Last year several community grants were adjusted or cut, including the School District’s franchise fee grant. Chair Huiras asked if the grant had been received from Time Warner, and Mr. Dunlap said yes, and that there is a separate line item in the budget for it. 7E Elect Chair and Vice Chair for 2004 After calling for nominations, Commissioner Browning nominated Ken Huiras for Chair and Commissioner Dworsky seconded. Chair Huiras was re-elected 5-0. Chair Huiras nominated Bruce Browning for Vice Chair and Commissioner Peterson seconded. Vice Chair Browning was re-elected 5-0. 8. Reports 8A School District Quarterly Programming Report Charlie Fiss, School District #283’s AV PC LAN Technician, brought the quarterly programming report to the Commission. He said they have looked for equipment racks to rack-mount studio equipment but suffered sticker-shock and will consider having staff carpenters make some storage shelves. He said the High School studio has one good camera but the other two cameras from the 1980’s are unreliable and need to be replaced. He said that a character generator is needed for titling of studio programs and School Board meetings but hasn’t found a great price yet. School District staff have talked about giving students a stipend as an incentive to do productions like tonight’s “Battle of the Bands,” but that proposal hasn’t been fully developed yet. There was a student intern for about 7 days but the student has run into a busy period and can’t continue. Intern guidelines were developed so they expect to try that again because it would be a good experience for the student and the department. Mr. Fiss has produced two episodes of a program called “Art Watch” involving Beth Johnson, a parent and 15 junior high school kids. Commissioner Peterson asked about scheduling “Art Watch” a bit later in prime time than 6:00 p.m., and Mr. Fiss said that time slot was selected by the students involved in the production. Chair Huiras asked about the productions listed on the report from Susan Lindgren and Cedar Manor, and Mr. Fiss said there was a technician on hand at those schools to help with computer and audio/video needs, and that the tech produces programming when there is time. Commissioner Dworsky asked if the local studios had been contacted for equipment or studio furniture that is no longer needed? Mr. Fiss had contacted the local television studios and got a set from KSTP TV channel 5, and that Time Warner has some equipment racks to donate. Commissioner Dworsky said those donors should be recognized for their contributions. Commissioner Browning said Brown College had obtained sets from a station in Mankato, so ask out-state TV stations for equipment donations. Mr. Fiss said there was a complaint about the audio level at a School Board meeting and intermittent problems with the audio on educational channel 98 which runs NASA satellite programming. Mr. Fiss said Time Warner technicians replaced a modulator which has eliminated the hum in the audio but occasionally there is no audio being sent from NASA. Chair Huiras asked about the uninterruptible power supplies that John McHugh asked to be added to the District’s inventory, and Mr. Fiss said he had done so on this report. Chair Huiras said the audio was fine when he’s watched the School Board but that the lighting was dim. Mr. Fiss said that some lighting has been added but some Board members had mentioned that it was already too bright. Chair Huiras thanked Mr. Fiss for the report and said they had come a long way in the last few years. 8B Complaints Chair Huiras said that some of the testimony read by Mr. McHugh seemed to be billing complaints, and asked if those cases had been turned over to Time Warner. Mr. McHugh said yes. 9. Communications from the Chair None 10. Communications from City Staff Mr. Dunlap said there would be a staff report on renewal at the City Council Study Session on February 23, and that the new DVD playback equipment hasn’t come in yet so perhaps it will be installed in time for the next Commission meeting. 11. Adjournment Chair Huiras adjourned the meeting at 8:19pm. Respectfully submitted by: Reg Dunlap Civic TV Coordinator