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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005/02/03 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - RegularOFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOUIS PARK TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OF FEBRUARY 3, 2005 ST. LOUIS PARK COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Bruce Browning, Rick Dworsky, Ken Huiras, Mary Jean Overend, and Rolf Peterson MEMBERS ABSENT: Dale Hartman and Bob Jacobson STAFF PRESENT: Reg Dunlap, Civic TV Coordinator; John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator OTHERS PRESENT: Arlen Mattern, Time Warner Cable Public Affairs Administrator 1. Call to Order Chair Huiras called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. 2. Roll Call Present at roll call were Commissioners Browning, Dworsky, Huiras, Overend and Peterson. 3. Approval of Minutes for December 2, 2004 Commissioner Browning indicated on page three, paragraph three, “or if you have a converter box and subscribe to navigator services” should be inserted at the end of the first sentence. Commissioner Overend indicated on page four, paragraph two, the reply from Mr. McHugh should be “yes”. Commissioner Peterson also noted on page four, paragraph one, it should be “Meadowbrook” instead of “Excelsior and Grand”. It was moved by Commissioner Browning, seconded by Commissioner Peterson, to approve the minutes of December 2, 2004, as amended. The motion passed 5-0. 4. Adoption of Agenda Chair Huiras requested public comment be added to future agendas. Mr. Dunlap requested item 7B be deleted and add 5C – Review 2004/2005 Work Plans. 5. Old Business A. Renewal Update Mr. McHugh presented a PowerPoint presentation. Chair Huiras asked what Time Warner’s position was on the number of local channels? There was further discussion about what happens when the system is all digital, would more access channels be available? Mr. McHugh responded that currently State law provides for any additional channels, under certain conditions, and Time Warner met those requirements in the past when they added channels. Should they need to add channels in the future, they could still meet those requirements. This was a change from what the City originally proposed, which was a significant number of new channels due to the transition to an entirely digital system. Chair Huiras asked if they would be able to discuss using the School District’s studio at the May meeting, and Mr. McHugh replied yes, they would make it an agenda item. Chair Huiras asked what items were pending? Mr. McHugh replied that there were about four or five items and Time Warner had their own business points. Coming to terms on the local origination was one of the more significant things where they were trying to reach agreement. Commissioner Peterson asked about the $.40 per subscriber figure, was that a standard? Mr. McHugh replied yes, that’s what their other recent agreements have been. Currently if a subscriber looks at their bill there is an item that says access fee. Next year the access fee would include $.40, which would go to the city for equipment purchases for both the School District and the City for cable TV and technology uses. An example would be that the School district has a fiber optic network that works well for data, but as far as distributing video and audio between school sites, there was equipment that they needed to buy to be able to transport data, video and audio. The equipment grant would be used to buy those parts. Commissioner Peterson asked how they came to the figure of $.40, was that what they had before? Mr. McHugh responded no, what they had before was a certain amount of money every five years. This way it would be incremental. The actual $.40 level was suggested by Time Warner and they were quite firm about it. The City agreed to accept that and work with them on other parts. B. Emergency Alert System Update Mr. Dunlap stated that Mr. McHugh referenced in his presentation the fact that at the most recent meeting, Time Warner talked about having the City designated as one of the Federal Emergency Alert System sites and they would work with the Hennepin County Sheriff’s office on this. He had not completed the research on what that would entail, but hoped to do that before next Friday’s meeting with Time Warner. Chair Huiras asked if they were contacting the Sheriff’s Office to find that information? Mr. Dunlap replied they had Federal Emergency Alert System data available on the internet, and he would also speak with a representative from the Sheriff’s Office to see if they had any comments or information. C. Review 2004/2005 Work Plans There was discussion about the 2005 Work Plan. Using the School District studio for community TV for the May 5 meeting was suggested by Chair Huiras. Chair Huiras also asked about By-Laws amendments and the City Clerk expected to have modified language available a few weeks before that May meeting when they can approved or denied. Chair Huiras asked if a date had been set in March for the joint meeting with Council? Mr. Dunlap replied no. Chair Huiras noted franchise renewal progress report should be added to the May 5 meeting, and continue until an agreement was reached. 6. New Business A. Consider requesting Time Warner Cable revise “Access fee” price listing placement Mr. Dunlap stated this is on the St. Louis Park price list that customers can get from Time Warner at the cable stores. The access fee was listed as other charges, but that fee was part of the basic cable package and not listed near that on the price list. It should be made clear that the basic package price did not include the access fee. Mr. Mattern stated that they had made that change and had moved it up to the cable service charges. B. TV studio usage and consider appointing a publicity committee Chair Huiras stated that he had talked with Commissioner Jacobson and this went to the franchise agreement where they were talking about the use of the studio. The concern was that it was not used a lot because people didn’t realize it was available. He proposed forming a committee within the commission to publicize and also to assist the public if they wanted help using the facilities. Commissioner Jacobson volunteered to help, but because he was not present, it was suggested this be held over to a future meeting. Mr. McHugh stated the next production at the high school studio would be February 14th at 4:00. A year from now when they have more new equipment, it will be more impressive. C. Conference policy for Commissioners Mr. Dunlap reported that there was no written policy about this. There was a reference in the City’s personnel manual that says, “Conferences and workshops are to be job related and used to develop the information and skills of City staff. They may be attended upon the approval of the supervisor. Such conferences must be within budget guidelines and fit within goals and objectives set by the City.” At a point years ago an item was brought before Council to consider whether or not Telecomm Commissioners should be reimbursed for cable service. The Council did not like that suggestion, but reiterated at that time that they wanted to educate Commissioners and send them to conferences and seminars and would be willing to pay for that expense. Since then, a couple of commissioners had gone to state and national conferences. What hadn’t occurred yet was when more than one commissioner wanted to attend a conference. The amount in the budget for the last few years was for one commissioner to go and one city staff person to go. With tight budgets, there was no staff travel to conferences at this time. Commissioners were still able to go. Mr. Dunlap recommends the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) conference, typically held in September. Commissioner Dworsky said that having two commissioners go would be more effective at covering the concurrent sessions, and it was a great way for commissioners to increase their knowledge. Commissioner Browning said he liked the idea of having more than one commissioner attend. Commissioner Overend asked what was reimbursed? Mr. Dunlap replied they reimbursed air travel, transportation from the airport to the hotel, meals that weren’t provided, conference registration and hotel costs. Basically everything it took for a commissioner to attend for three or four days. Chair Huiras stated that the 2005 budget had been completed. Was there only one person for 2005? Mr. Dunlap replied that they might have it budgeted for one staff and one commissioner, but he would need to verify that. It was moved by Chair Huiras, seconded by Commissioner Browning, to request staff to revise the 2005 budget, and include in the 2006 budget, that one additional person be able to attend a conference. The motion passed 5-0. D. Update on municipal wireless systems like Chaska and Buffalo Mr. Dunlap stated that Clint Pires, the Technology and Support Services Director, had an informational meeting with the City Council and shared that St. Louis Park was beginning to consider studying whether or not to go forward with some kind of wireless internet access. Many large cities such as Philadelphia, San Francisco and Minneapolis, were looking at this. A Grand Rapids, Michigan article stated that the purpose for them going forward was to ensure that all neighborhoods had equal access to the system. A couple different kinds of systems were proposed. Ones that had already been built out included the WiFi 802.11 transmission system. WiMax hasn’t been deployed yet, but offers more range and bandwidth. There are several models. Cerritos, California waived their pole attachment fees to allow a private company to build a city-wide network. Verizon had been touting their broadband access, which is available in a number of cities and airports. The City of Chaska built their own WiFi network expects to pay for their system within three to four years. Commissioner Browning asked what type of 802.11 they were using in Chaska? Mr. McHugh believed it was “G”. Mr. Dunlap said that the City of Buffalo, Minnesota also offers a Wi-Fi service, and that Windom just built their own fiber optic to the home system for 4,200 homes and businesses and would be turning that on in a couple of months. Moorhead is also looking at getting a wireless service. Commissioners Dworsky and Browning requested further information for both Chaska and Philadelphia. Commissioner Peterson asked if they knew what Chaska was charging? Mr. McHugh said it was between $15-20. They didn’t say what the equipment charge was. In Buffalo they had three tiers of service, the lowest being $10/month for 160 kilobits/second, however that didn’t include the modem or the receiver which could be leased at $10/month for five years or purchased for $400 (approx.). He didn’t get a comprehensive list of pricing from Chaska. Commissioner Browning asked if someone was going to offer it free? Mr. Dunlap replied he had read articles about cities that had talked about having a citywide “hot spot” with no charge for service, but he was unsure where that was. Mr. McHugh indicated the reference he heard at the conference was to Dayton, Ohio who would have a “hot spot” in their downtown where it was free to connect, but there would be an advertising pop up every eleven minutes. Chair Huiras asked if the service offered in Chaska affected Time Warner? Mr. Mattern said he wasn’t aware of any effect, and that it was a slower service than what Time Warner offers. Mr. McHugh didn’t believe they would be competing for the same customer. People that subscribed to Road Runner liked the premium service with fast speeds, and that was not what Chaska was offering. Mr. Dunlap said Road Runner had improved their speed to five megabits/second at the end of January. Chaska.net was one megabit/second. E. Elect Officers for 2005 (effective next meeting) Commissioner Overend nominated Commissioner Dworsky as Commission Chair. Commissioner Dworsky accepted the nomination. Approved. Commissioner Browning nominated Commissioner Overend Vice Chair. Commissioner Overend accepted the nomination. Approved. 7. Reports A. Complaints Chair Huiras requested that the number of phone service subscribers be included on the monthly franchise report from Time Warner. Commissioner Browning asked when they began offering telephone service? Mr. Mattern replied the first of the year. They had some beta testers during the fall and early winter. Commissioner Browning asked if someone had a TiVo unit and had phone service through the cable company, would it work? Mr. Mattern replied he did not know, but would check. Chair Huiras requested that customers be polled when canceling their service as to why. He asked if the Commission could get names of customers who were canceling cable service and do it themselves? Mr. Mattern replied he could check, but didn’t believe they could provide the names because of privacy issues. Commissioner Browning asked if he had any idea why they lost subscribers, if it was a cost issue? Mr. Mattern replied that typically it could be cost, and customers that move out of the service area. Commissioner Dworsky asked if 911 were tied into their phone service to show locations? Mr. Mattern replied yes. Commissioner Browning believed Federal law required that. Mr. Dunlap noted that was why Time Warner’s architecture was superior for emergency purposes to Vonage, because Time Warner had a certificate with the State PUC and had worked with them to provide 911 services, whereas Vonage could be plugged in anywhere, but wasn’t able to identify the emergency location. Mr. McHugh stated at the conference, someone showed on his computer how he could connect to Vonage and on the opening screen there was a place where you have to click to sign in for 911 service when you initiate each session, otherwise there was no way to know where you are. Mr. McHugh asked about the December 9 letter talking about the two new channels on the digital variety pack. Those were the paid programming on 119 and 120 and designated as Time Warner TV. Was that designated leased access channels for Time Warner or some other category of programming? Mr. Mattern replied it would be considered leased access. Chair Huiras asked if there was more information about usage of the facility on Beltline Blvd? Mr. Mattern replied he didn’t have figures about how many people went there, but it was being used. Chair Huiras asked that more information be provided. Commissioner Dworsky asked when they would have the revised channel line up in the St. Louis Park office. Mr. Mattern replied he would talk to someone the next day. Commissioner Overend asked if there was a way they could be more specific on the bill about the access fee and what it was for? Mr. Mattern replied that it was on the bill and that it helped to maintain the access channels. They were required to maintain the public access channels, so they were showing what it cost each subscriber per month to do that. Mr. McHugh noted that the same Federal law that mandated the access fee be shown on the bill as a separate item, also allowed franchise required costs to the cable company be bundled into the access fee. Mr. Mattern stated he would see what could be done to clarify that. They were limited on what could be put in the bills. Commissioner Dworsky noted that the access fee was fairly well explained on the rate card that they talked about earlier. Mr. Mattern responded since they moved the access fee, they had taken away that explanation. They could consider putting that definition back in. Chair Huiras clarified that the access fee covered the maintenance costs of the local channels. The franchise fee (5%) is the fee paid back to the City on a quarterly basis. They were two different things. Mr. Mattern indicated there is also a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) user fee on each bill that the Federal government receives to help regulate the cable industry. Mr. Dunlap said that he could do a segment on the “Park Perspective” cable TV show on the access fee as another way of helping to explain the bills, to address Commissioner Overend’s concern. Chair Huiras asked if information could be put on Time Warner’s channel? Mr. Mattern replied they could look into it. Chair Huiras asked if the Commission could request an insert in the billing for St. Louis Park customers to publicize things that were available? Mr. Mattern replied it costs quite a bit of money to do that and he was not sure the City would be willing to pay for that. Mr. McHugh asked if there was a standard rate? Mr. Mattern was unsure, but could ask the marketing department. Chair Huiras referenced the complaints that were received with the packet and one was a complaint about rates going up and the way that it was presented in the billing. It was a poor notice of the rate increase and was buried in the paperwork. Previously they received separate mailings on rate changes. Mr. Mattern was unsure why they did the notice differently. Commissioner Browning stated that there was a complaint about cables left lying on the floor from installation work. That typically would not be a normal occurrence would it? Mr. Mattern replied no, they should clip it to the wall. That is not the way they should do the installation. Commissioner Browning asked how much leeway a homeowner had when someone installed cable, for example if someone wanted to run a cable through a vent rather than drill a hole in the wall? Mr. Mattern replied it depended on what type of a vent. If it were a heating vent, they may not allow that to happen. There may be custom charges depending on the work that needed to be done. When a technician initially goes out for an install and a customer needs custom work, it would be referred. The customer would then need to make arrangements for the work to be done. Commissioner Browning asked if Road Runner service was separate from the traditional cable installs? Mr. Mattern responded it was the same company. Commissioner Dworsky noted he had custom work done and was satisfied with their work. Chair Huiras added he had also been successful with the third party workers. Commissioner Overend wondered if customers would know if they needed customer work done? Mr. Mattern responded Time Warner would inform them. Commissioner Browning asked if a flat rate is charged or if it depended on the work needing to be done? Mr. Mattern replied it was an hourly fee. Mr. McHugh added for an unwired home it would cost $43.82 for conventional installations and additional outlets would be $18.81. Chair Huiras asked if the Beltline office had the ability to do a billing audit, could he sit down and talk with someone and have the bill explained? Mr. Mattern replied that they wouldn’t to do that there because typically there is only one person there. Their customer service could provide that information. 8. Communication from the Chair - None 9. Communications from City Staff Mr. Dunlap reported on Channel 17 program hours. They had been cutting back on programming after 9PM and before Council Meeting replays at 8AM because they had a snow emergency alert page that could be activated by Public Works staff. . Senator Steve Kelly had introduced a bill addressing Article IV, mentioned last fall at the Minnesota Association of Community Telecommunications Advisers (MACTA) conference and there was a split within MACTA about whether Article IV was a great idea or not. But right now MACTA as an organization opposes Article IV, which pertains to a level playing field for new entrants if they were to build new cable systems or to offer video service over a telephone system. They had a conference call coming up on February 8th and if Commissioners wanted to be a part of this, he would provide information. He had received an email from NATOA about the possibility of Federal Legislation and House leaders pledging to revise telecommunication laws by August. He would forward information as it became available. Representative Joe Barton outlined raising fines for broadcast indecency, setting a firm deadline for switching to digital television, and updating the telecommunications bill as it pertains to competition between telephone companies and cable television companies for information services like internet access. 10. Adjournment Commissioner Browning made a motion, Commission Peterson seconded to adjourn at 8:40 p.m. The motion passed. Respectfully submitted by: Amy L. Stegora-Peterson Recording Secretary