HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996/04/08 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - RegularMinutes
Cable TV Advisory Commission Meeting
St. Louis Park, Minnesota
6:00pm April 8, 1996
at City Hall Third Floor Conference Room
1. Call to order Occurred at 6:16pm by Chairman Bruce Browning
2. Roll call Attending were Commissioners Tony Raiber, Mike Ganyo, Ken
Huiras, Joel Brand, Beth Corgan-Porth and Dobie Hunegs. Also present were
Mark Hammerstrom and Kim Roden of Paragon Cable and John McHugh and Reg Dunlap
of City staff.
3. Minutes Motion to adopt by Commissioner Huiras, seconded by Commissioner
Hunegs, and passed unanimously.
4. Adoption of agenda (add public comment if necessary)
Commissioner Huiras added Paragon complaints, and Commissioner Brand added
Channel 53 on Community TV 96 under "Other Business."
5. Old business None
6. New business
A. Franchise ordinance revision
Mr. Dunlap said that a phone conversation with Mr. Hammerstrom convinced
him that further negotiations linked to the upgrade approval and six year
extension would not be appropriate.
Staff passed out a draft of the upgrade approval and extension, which Paragon
will have their attorneys review. Staff has contracted with Brian Grogan of
Moss & Barnett to review, and it was mentioned that the City Attorney may no
longer have to recuse himself from reviewing cable tv matters.
Mr. McHugh will be the City's representative on the upgrade field testing and
inspection on April 9, and the independent engineer's report is due April 12
for review by the Commission on April 15.
B. School District request for funding
There was discussion regarding the District's request for $25,000 and
the accompanying background information describing how the funds are
used. Concerns included past Commission and Council questions of
accountability, use for cable purposes and for programming on Channel
32. Commissioner Corgan-Porth recommended that the District's channel not be
singled out from the other PEG channels and that the Commission meet at the
School District, tour their cable operation and have Carolyn Charles available
for background information. Mr. Dunlap will make the request for the District
to host such a meeting at their convenience prior to the end of the school
year.
C. Election of officers
A Vice Chair was needed to replace recently resigned Commissioner Jerry
Quilling. Joel Brand was nominated by Commissioner Huiras, seconded by
Commissioner Corgan-Porth, and elected unanimously.
7. Communications: Chairman Browning None
8. Communications: Paragon Cable
Kim Roden described unusually heavy telephone traffic April 2-5 due to a
conversion to a new computer billing system. Additional staff was on duty
in anticipation of longer phone contacts while operating the new system.
Adding to the calls for service were many subscribers whose
addressable converters unexpectedly needed reauthorization after the
channel additions on April 1.
9. Communications: City staff On April 15, plan to set the meeting
schedule for the rest of the year.
10. Other Business
Commissioner Huiras' concerns were addressed by Paragon under item 8.
Commissioner Brand asked for an explanation of the arrangements made with
Channel 53 (K53CH) for retransmission on Community TV 96, noting that channel
53 appeared to be a simulcast of the Eternal Word Network.
Mr. McHugh explained that the request came from channel 53, and that they
paid for the installation of a UHF antenna on the roof of City Hall. They
obtained two letters from local pastors requesting that channel 53 programming
be replayed on Community TV.
Commissioner Brand requested that the City Attorney review this matter to
determine if it is appropriate for the City to allow a religious
organization to place an antenna on the roof of City Hall, and for the
City or staff to be involved in the retransmission of secular religious
programming.
11. Adjournment Motion made by Commissioner Huiras, seconded
Commissioner Hunegs, and passed unanimously at 7:35pm.
Respectfully submitted by recording secretary, Reg Dunlap