HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007/05/03 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - Regular 1
OFFICIAL MINUTES
ST. LOUIS PARK TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
MEETING OF MAY 3, 2007
ST. LOUIS PARK COUNCIL CHAMBERS
MEMBERS PRESENT: Bruce Browning, Rick Dworsky, Dale Hartman, Ken Huiras, Kirk
Morrow, Bob Jacobson, Mary Jean Overend, Rolf Peterson
STAFF PRESENT: Reg Dunlap, Civic TV Coordinator; John McHugh, Community
TV Coordinator; Clint Pires, Director of Information resources;
Frank Landis, Broadband Coordinator
OTHERS PRESENT: Arlen Mattern, Comcast Cable Public Affairs Administrator; Kim
Roden, Comcast, Vice President Public Affairs and Programming;
Tom Marble, School District #283, Director of Information
Services
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, Hartman, Huiras, Jacobson, Overend
and Peterson.
Commissioner Morrow arrived at 7:05. Commissioner Dworsky arrived at 7:37.
3. Approval of Minutes for February 1, 2007
It was moved by Commissioner Browning, seconded by Commissioner Jacobson, to
approve the minutes of February 1, 2007, as presented.
The motion passed 6-0 (Commissioners Dworsky and Morrow were not yet present).
4. Adoption of Agenda
Commissioner Browning requested New Business be moved after Public Comment.
Clint Pires was present to address WiFi updates.
The agenda was approved as amended.
5. Public Comment – None
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6. Unfinished Business
A. Park WiFi update
Mr. Pires reported the City Council approved this project in November 2006. Since that
time, they had gone through detailed engineering design and public comment. In April
they started the installation in the Northeast quadrant of the City, Phase I. Postcards were
sent to those in the first quadrant to describe the installation and prepare them to register
for the service. They also sent letters to those whose homes were areas where the
wireless poles would be located. They received feedback from some in the first quadrant
suggesting there were some visual impact issues regarding the installation of the poles.
Construction began on April 4th and ceased on April 11th to provide the feedback to the
City Council, which was done at a study session on April 16th. At the Council meeting
on April 24th, they asked staff to look at different options with respect to the poles
location and appearance to make them more visually appealing and less distractive. One
constraint is that poles can only be in certain locations to provide the service they had
promised. There is also the solar factor and they need to have them in places where the
solar panel supporting the battery and feeding the wireless radio is in a place providing
sufficient exposure. City Council asked them to consider factors including: pole color
(currently galvanized steel), pole height (standard height is 16’, taller might be more
attractive), use of intersection locations (minimize location in front of public rights aways
aligning with residential), co-locating the street name signs and the traffic control signs
on the pole, mounting radios on buildings and other structures, locating poles in alleys
and along major roadways and increased use of City owned street lights. They were
trying to minimize the additional infrastructure they needed to add to provide the service.
City Council also made it clear they wanted to continue moving this project forward and
did not want a design that compromised performance. To provide speeds of 2.5 to 3
megabits and 98% coverage, that added another constraint as to where radios are located.
City Council also wanted to minimize cost impact as a result of the design changes. A
large part of the justification for this project was the estimate that they could get enough
subscribers to support the service. Changes add to the costs. The fiber part of the project
continued forward. City Council wanted them to minimize the delay in restarting the
work, which was important to the vitality of the project and the service. Making
adjustments now in the design criteria would be done with the intent that those same
criteria would be used in future phases of the project. They estimated there would be a
six-week delay in the project and a completion date in the middle of October. Assuming
the Council gives them the OK to go ahead with an alternative, they will try to make up
as much time as possible. City Council also asked them to ask people in the first area of
deployment for additional feedback and suggestions. They had not received a lot of
additional suggestions. They were cataloging resident comments for City Council and
completing a report that would be made public (via the web site). The feedback they had
received had been from about a dozen people, most with the sentiment to go forward with
the project and they understood the trade offs of using solar panels and adding
infrastructure. The community has asked for this service. They were trying to minimize
the negative aspects of the trade off’s and look at location, color, etc. and deliver a
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service they said they could deliver.
Chair Huiras asked if those who had provided feedback were from the area that was
being installed now? Mr. Pires replied they solicited feedback citywide.
Commissioner Browning noted there was an example of the existing pole in front of City
Hall. If they go higher, was the intent to be under the tree canopy and will the transmitter
stay at the same height? Mr. Pires replied the transmitter stays at 8-10 feet. What would
go higher would be the solar panel, which would probably give better exposure to the
sun. When you go with a higher pole, there is a wind sheer factor and they would need a
more stable pole. They do want to stay under the tree canopy.
Chair Huiras asked if they would run into conflict with the City’s sign ordinances moving
the solar panel up? Mr. Pires replied they had checked and it would be OK.
Chair Huiras asked by moving the panels from mid block to the end of the block, is that
going to increase the number of panels and transmitters? Mr. Pires responded they
believed they could stay within the 400 wireless poles they were looking at originally.
They were aiming for 50% of those to be at intersections and for those to perform well at
the intersections. They were looking at locations relatively close to intersections or other
sign poles and see if they could reengineer in a way that did not compromise performance.
Commissioner Browning asked how large an area each transmitter would cover? Mr. Pires
replied they were looking at every 400-600 feet. They would be overlapping signals.
Commissioner Browning asked how much fiber was in the system? Mr. Pires replied
they were adding eight miles and between what the School District put in and what the
City put in, they would have a total fiber optic network in the area of 22 miles. Every so
often, there is a cluster of wireless radios that are communicating with each other that
need to hit a point that get them to the fiber back bone and that will happen at 20-22
locations throughout the City. If they were to try to carry that signal wirelessly
throughout the entire system, they would not get the speeds they were looking for. It was
a way of load balancing as well as getting the backbone speed.
Commissioner Browning asked how does this compare with what Chaska did? Mr. Pires
responded there were some similarities and some differences. Both systems are wireless.
One of the unique features of this system was the solar power technology. One of the other
differences is that the City of Chaska owns a municipal electric utility and they didn’t have
that luxury. They have the additional challenge of trying to find mounting assets.
Commissioner Browning asked if they were going on a quadrant-by-quadrant basis? Mr.
Pires replied the activity that is going on in the subsequent quadrants was related to the
fiber. The fiber backbone can continue to be installed in phases II, III and IV, while
activity is happening in Phase I and service is coming alive. When they move to the
subsequent quadrants, the fiber work is already done.
Commissioner Peterson asked if the pilot system was still working? Mr. Pires replied yes, it
is going in the four areas it was going before. It is conventionally powered. It raised
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another issue whether you own your own streetlights or trying to get pole access
attachment agreements. They mounted the radios on the streetlights. Those locations are
not necessarily the ideal locations from the perspective of wireless coverage. That was
what they had available at the time. If they are looking at a robust system that has
overlapping coverage, which was not necessarily where the street lights already exist. One
of the advantages of putting up your own poles is that they can more efficiently locate the
radios and minimize the number of radios to locate. One of the options they were looking
at was what do they do if they abandon poles all together and use existing street light poles
from Xcel. That would be much more expensive because they were not always in the ideal
location and therefore you have to over compensate by adding more radios.
Commissioner Huiras asked how many panels were installed before this problem came up?
Mr. Pires replied they didn’t complete installing any. They wanted to respect citizen
feedback and concerns, and the City Council wanted to take those comments into account.
Commissioner Browning asked the band of frequencies these operate on and if there were
interference problems? Mr. Pires replied 2.4 gigs and yes there can be interference. One
of the advantages of a system like this is the opportunity to work it on different channels
within that frequency and they can make adjustments.
Commissioner Jacobson asked about the cost difference of the panels versus electricity?
Mr. Pires replied in the study they looked at the energy costs and the pole attachment
costs and fees paid to Xcel. If they were to use conventional power versus the solar, the
costs are reduced by about $40,000 a year using solar instead. They would be using very
few with conventional electricity.
Commissioner Jacobson was concerned about complications with sunlight and lines of
sight. With electricity they would eliminate some of that and the pole cost. Mr. Pires
replied they would more than make up for that in electric fees as well as pole attachment
fees that Xcel would charge. There are some parts of town such as Lake Forest where
there isn’t solar exposure and they would look at conventional energy in that situation.
Commissioner Overend asked if there were options for customers? Mr. Pires replied
options would be presented to City Council and if they make the choice to move forward,
they would begin notifying people about the options selected by the City Council. They
will present options for pole color, height, etc. They will try to leverage existing assets to
the extent possible and minimize the number of new poles.
Commissioner Hartman asked how housing complexes were handled? Mr. Pires replied
one of the parts of the project is to meet with managers and owners of multiple dwelling
units, which had been occurring. They had gotten great response about this possibility,
including allowing them to put radios on their property if that provides the best reception.
Commissioner Morrow asked if there would be a map available with pole locations? Mr.
Pires responded yes, after meeting with the City Council, there will be a map for the first
phase. They will then continue to finalize the locations in the remainder of the City.
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Commissioner Huiras assumed they were still having residents sign up? Mr. Pires replied
yes, there are about 3,000 pre registered for the service. The goal is to have 6,000
customers after a year.
Commissioner Browning asked how robust the system is as far as bandwidth? Mr. Pires
replied up to 3 megabits per second. There will be three tiers of service, with most in the
middle tier.
For more information and to provide input, visit stlouispark.org/parkwifi.
6. B. Comcast complaints
Chair Huiras stated he requested this because when they received their reports, he noticed
that the complaint level seemed to be the same and not improving. What is being done to
address this by Comcast? Kim Roden, Comcast, replied she wanted to address some of
the issues they had been trying to move toward combining the two cable systems. On
August 1st, Time Warner was acquired by Comcast in the Twin Cities. Whenever you
integrate two cable systems, you go through a number of transitions and migrations.
Their customers had experienced massive changes and many people see changes they
don’t like or have experiences that surprise them despite the best attempts to provide
advanced notice (billing system migration, telephony platform change, Email migration,
incremental channel line up changes, migrating packages and prices). On the video side
they have approximately a quarter of a million customers and each of them had some
level of change affect them. Comcast is still going through the migrations and working
through changes regarding personal web pages, eight months after the transition.
Comcast anticipates having all of the migrations completed, which will diminish the
number of contact points that the customer experiences and the number of changes they
experience. Once it is totally complete, there should be a downward trend in complaints.
The goal is to have zero complaints or historic levels.
Commissioner Browning noted a lot of complaints related to cost. What drives the costs
and how much is driven by programming? Ms. Roden replied their products were driven
by a number of things. One is capital investment they make in the system. In order to
stay competitive with satellite, one of the many investments they have made was both in
the cost center technology. They were in the process of adding more capacity to their
system to launch more HD television. They were migrating from analog to digital and
one of the components of the price as a result was the technology investment they had to
make to do that. The box charge with Comcast is lower than with Time Warner cable.
Programming is another big driver. The price of gasoline drives the costs. They have a
fleet of approximately 800 trucks. Beyond those are the costs of energy, health
insurance, competitive pay scales and labor costs. With regard to pricing, they do
provide choices for their customers. Basic cable continues to be a fairly good value.
They were sensitive to costs and addressed that by offering various packages. Bundling
is a huge driver for customers and provides discounts.
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Commissioner Browning stated there is friction between analog service and digital service.
Was that costing them money to maintain both at this point? Ms. Roden replied the best
way to describe where they were with analog and digital was that analog service was a
precious part of the real estate, but was becoming undervalued by their customers. HD
channels are expected to be available in the hundreds soon, which was part of what had
driven migrations from analog to digital. Eight out of ten new customers chose digital.
They were also in a transition from analog to digital and over time more of the products
and services will be on the digital tier. The only way to do that was to move some channels
off analog to accommodate the new HD channels and 8,000 VOD channels. She hoped the
price value relationship would be more evident to customers at that point.
Commissioner Browning stated AMC was a big issue recently and the average consumer
wonders why they can’t have it in both places? Ms. Roden replied it was moving from
the analog world to the digital world and accommodating the space they needed to add
new services. There are added benefits for the digital packages for a reasonable price.
Chair Huiras asked if there was something the Commission could do to educate the
people and customers and let them know what was coming and why they were doing
this? Ms. Roden responded the management team of the Twin Cities region had a
planning session and looked at 2006 and 2007 and they want to improve on
communications on where they are heading and why they are making changes.
Commissioner Hartman noted in Chicago Comcast removed half of the analog stations.
Ms. Roden replied they did make changes in Chicago and Time Warner was doing it in
New York for the same reasons. When you make changes, it will drive questions and
concerns. They plan to focus more on the reasons why they are making changes.
Commissioner Browning asked how long it would be before analog goes away? Ms. Roden
replied she couldn’t speculate. Theoretically it was 2009, but dates keep changing.
Commissioner Jacobson asked if all 800 trucks in the area are dispatched from one
location? Ms. Roden replied they have a four-corner strategy in the Twin Cities region,
meaning they try to have them geographically dispatched. They had launched pilots with
home garaging and also a hand held device, which allows the technician to leave their
home and go right to the job. They are hoping to move toward something that would
allow for more efficiency.
Chair Huiras noted another problem was hold time. Ms. Roden apologized for any delays
and would research the issue. On occasion if there is something in the system, that will
drive a number of calls at a given time. She recommended if someone had a problem to
call herself or Mr. Mattern. Because of the nature of the amount of change, they have
had an increase in number of calls. They have also been working on first call resolution,
meaning trying to address the issue permanently on the first call.
Chair Huiras indicated he had a problem watching a Wild game and the HD was not
getting picked up. The customer service reps didn’t believe it was a problem, but he knew
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a number of people were having the problem. The same thing happened for a Twins
game and there was a problem at the Dome. The customer service reps were not aware of
the problem and there needed to be communication that there was a problem. Ms. Roden
stated typically if there were something in the system, there would be a flag put out and
information briefings. On those occasions, she was not familiar enough to discuss the
issue. They want to get information to the call center representatives so they are
equipped to answer the questions. Sometimes it can take time to get the information out.
On occasion they do an IVR message, when a customer calls in there will be a message to
customers stating the issue so they don’t need to wait for a rep.
Chair Huiras asked about channel 408 on the digital tier and he hadn’t recalled seeing any
information about the change. Ms. Roden and Mr. Mattern replied they were not aware
of the change and would look into it.
Mr. Dunlap noted the last several times he had to call customer service with an issue,
there was someone answering the phone late at night. Ms. Roden responded there are a
number of mechanisms for customers to call day or night. They also want to focus on
having more web-based applications.
Commissioner Jacobson suggested regarding the wait time, to have a “roll back” so after
a few minutes, the call would go back to the operator. Ms. Roden was unsure that would
address the issue, but would make the suggestion.
Commissioner Browning stated there was a complaint regarding less expensive service
and the customer service rep suggesting the family tier, which wasn’t available in St.
Louis Park. Ms. Roden replied she didn’t know about the issue, but would look into it.
Mr. Mattern noted they would be introducing a family tier later this year, but it hadn’t
been determined when.
Commissioner Peterson asked if there were any more planned migrations from the analog
tier? Ms. Roden replied yes, but she was unable to discuss which channels and when.
Commissioner Peterson asked if there would be a change in rates when they lose
channels? Ms. Roden replied that was a disappointment they have because they planned
to provide additional products at the same time as the change, but those products will be
rolled out in August and beyond. There is no immediate change in pricing, but the
additional products will be launched and many at no additional cost. She was not able to
predict the rates. How and why channels were changed was a function of the
programming contracts and what could be moved and what it would free up for added
capacity for new products.
7. New Business
A. School District quarterly report
B. School District funding for 2007
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Tom Marble, Director of Information Services St. Louis Park School System, reported he
met with the Commission in December and at that time was working on coordinating
with City staff opening the studio at the high school for public use. That was started in
January and Mr. McHugh had used the studio with groups a few times since. They
recently purchased and installed new camcorders with rear zoom controls with the grant
dollars that were given to them. They were moving forward on buying additional pieces
of equipment for editing. They were also moving forward with the live streaming of
channel 14 and were still in the testing phase. The May 14th School Board meeting will
be the first attempt to stream. It was not yet public. They would determine if they
wanted to have their archived video and links alongside the City’s information or if they
would host it on the School District web site. There would probably be a link off the
City’s web site to theirs. They were looking at the possibility of transitioning the
Districts I-Net system off of Comcast and using some of their fiber optic as the transport.
They were hoping to work on that this summer.
Commissioner Peterson asked if the meetings would be available on demand? Mr.
Marble replied Channel 14 would be streamed live 24/7, similar to the City. On nights of
Board meetings, there will be no difference. Events will be captured to a file that would
be available for later viewing.
Commissioner Peterson stated one of the complaints he had recently gotten was that the
minutes didn’t always reflect what was happening and all of the dialogue. It would be
helpful to have the meetings tied into the website for those who have questions. Mr.
Marble replied that was what they would be doing. The School Board meetings are
played back at other times as well. With streaming, people can view it whenever they
want. There would also be a table of contents and markers and people can go to whatever
item they are interested in.
Commissioner Jacobson asked if it would be a DVD file? Mr. Marble replied it was a
media file, not a DVD.
Mr. Dunlap noted the programs that are played back on the cable TV channel are DVD
quality, but streaming is a compressed file.
Mr. Dunlap commented that the School District recently applied for an Arts and Culture
Grant. The School District’s specific video production grant in the amount of $6,800 was
not approved. That was to establish a junior high video club, with staff and some
additional equipment. Mr. Dunlap said that funding the Arts and Culture Grant amount
from franchise fees would be a good idea. The proposal for this spring was a Junior High
Video Club with an activity fee of $60 and no students signed up for it at that rate. If the
grant were approved, they would be able to offer the same club in the fall for a small or
zero activity fee.
Commissioner Morrow noted he was involved in that club and found it to be a valuable
experience.
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Mr. McHugh asked if the outcome of the grant resulting in programming on channel 14?
Mr. Marble replied anything they do results in programming on channel 14. Mr. Dunlap
added the people that would be trained at the junior high would help cover events at the
junior high (plays, concerts, etc.).
Commissioner Browning asked if they had talked about buying a video switcher? Mr.
Dunlap replied yes, part of what they wanted to do was to take the different camcorder
signals and use a video switcher to be able to do a multi camera production. But that the
video switcher wasn’t as important as the staff time coverage.
Commissioner Overend asked what they were doing about training and replenishing of
the staff? Mr. Marble replied a few years ago the senior high school media production
courses were cut due to budget reductions. The staffing of a program like this is key,
otherwise there isn’t adult supervision to move it along. This would fall under the lines
of a coaching position and would be an extra curricular activity. They were trying to
rebuild interest in the program. Starting at the junior high level made a lot of sense
because the kids could move onto the senior high school and they could look at
continuing that type of project there.
Chair Huiras asked if there was a class at the senior high? Mr. Marble replied there had
not been a class for the past couple of years.
Chair Huiras asked if the Commission granted what Mr. Dunlap suggested, will there be
a budget in the following years, or would they get more requests? Mr. Marble replied if
the program was successful, they would probably include it next year as part of their
franchise fee grant proposal. It was easier to have an extra curricular activity than to
recreate a class in the high school, which required a certified teacher.
Commissioner Jacobson asked if there was a list off what was needed to make this
happen and what could the Commission do to make it happen? Mr. Marble replied the
grant that was done for the junior high school would be a good step.
Commissioner Jacobson believed the Commission should have that as a goal or an
objective and requested further information.
Mr. Dunlap suggested he could get more information to the Commission before the next
meeting to consider the funding.
Chair Huiras asked if it were approved in July, would there be time to put it together in
the fall? Mr. Marble replied part of the issue would be initially they look at existing staff
that were already taxed and they may need to find another individual.
Commissioner Dworsky asked if the $9,000 equipment grant would encompass the
$6,800 Mr. Dunlap was talking about? At some point is there money to cover that along
with the requested $35,000 in the budget? Mr. Dunlap replied yes, he believed that was
an amount that could be handled from the budget this year.
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Commissioner Jacobson asked if that money would include staff time? Mr. Dunlap
replied yes, approximately 1/3 of the $9,000 would be for staff time.
Chair Huiras noted the $35,000 had been in place for five years with no change and it
was four years since an equipment grant was funded. He thought it would be in order to
increase it. What has the increase been on franchise fees over that time? Mr. Dunlap
replied he hadn’t checked, but they had been going up each year.
Mr. Marble stated prior to that they were at $25,000 for several years.
Mr. Mattern indicated in the third quarter of 2006, franchise fees were $118,482, and the
fourth quarter were $122,904.
Mr. Dunlap stated another agenda item was about school district accountability policy
proposal. The Commission could specify where the money was to go in the motion to
approve the grant, and could round the amount to $44,000 for the recommendation to
City Council.
Commissioner Jacobson asked if City Council would know the break down? Mr. Dunlap
replied for a large number of years they have put the School District funding on the consent
agenda, partially because they trust the Commission’s judgment and because the amount of
money being recommended was considered appropriate for the consent agenda.
Commissioner Dworsky made a motion to accept the request from the School Board for
the $35,000 renewal and for a $9,000 equipment fee, Commissioner Jacobson seconded.
Chair Huiras stated at some point he would like to discuss further the option of changing
the operating grant from $35,000 upwards.
Commissioner Jacobson asked what they wanted to have for a guideline? Was there
input from Mr. Marble that would help them make their decision? Mr. Marble replied he
would need to research and come back before the Commission. It would be staffing
dollars to operate channel 14 and also the smaller amount of materials that they purchase.
Commissioner Jacobson asked if there was a long-range plan in place for the activities
and studio use by the city? Mr. Marble replied at this point there is an agreement with the
City for the long term unless another studio becomes available. They are planning for this
facility to be used by the public.
Commissioner Jacobson asked if it would be OK without any changes or additional
funds? Mr. Marble replied they had two equipment grants in the past few years and the
majority of those grants have gone into the studio. At the present time, they were looking
at the studio facility being very well set for a couple of years. They were confident it
would be a well-equipped studio facility for anyone to use.
Commissioner Jacobson indicated there was a question about supervisory time at
different hours when he was not there, school was not in session and being able to use the
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studio into the evening after school is closed. Can there be a person hired and money
created for that? Mr. McHugh replied the studio had already been permitted on a
document the City has for time reserved during weekdays for the balance of the year.
Mr. Marble added they were trying to be flexible and had permitted the space Monday
through Thursday 4-8 P.M.. They did it that way to build in flexibility and there would need
to be a staff person present to use the facility, which was worked out in the agreement.
Mr. Dunlap asked if the Commission could add to the $9,000 equipment grant, “and
Junior High video club staffing,” to help track the specifics of the grant.
Commissioner Dworsky added, “and Junior High video club staffing” as a part of the
motion, Commissioner Jacobson seconded.
The motion passed 8-0.
6. Unfinished Business
C. Using High School studio for Community TV productions
Mr. McHugh distributed the agreement for community use of the studio. Two new
cameras are in place and three cameras are available. In June, the City plans to do
promotion for local channels and studio availability. That will serve as the kick off for
the availability for the community and subsequent training for use of senior high school
television studio for the community.
Chair Huiras asked if the Commission would receive a report advising what usage the
community put to the studio? Mr. McHugh replied yes, they could summarize it.
Mr. McHugh said they were trying to finish an additional agreement for School Board
coverage, which would have School District staff cover the School Board meetings and
allow Park TV 16 staff to be available on that day or during the week to do Park 16
programming.
D. School District accountability policy proposal
Mr. Dunlap stated he hadn’t prepared anything, but that it was on the work plan. He felt
the equipment grant and junior high staffing motion took care of it for this year.
Commissioner Jacobson asked what the school accountability was and what was
supposed to be accomplished? Mr. Marble replied part of the accountability was
including in the quarterly reports the break down of where the dollars went.
Commissioner Jacobson felt the report of what was being done was all the Commission needed.
Mr. Marble indicated if there were suggested changes in the format, they could look at that.
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Commissioner Peterson believed it was putting a policy in place to have consistent reporting.
Commissioner Jacobson stated it was fine the way it was being done.
E. Park TV update
Mr. Dunlap stated Park TV was working hard and it was a busy time of year with spring
sports and sectionals. They are doing a great job.
Chair Huiras noted that Park TV was the “old” local origination.
Mr. Dunlap clarified it was channel 16, the same van and staff.
F. Fiber optic ordinance update from staff
Mr. Dunlap reported that the Council was excited about the Commission coming up with a
fiber optic ordinance and anything that could improve technology choices for residents. He
was unsure that he and Mr. McHugh were the best staff to write the ordinance. He
proposed that the Commission get a concept draft with bullet points that they wanted to see
in the ordinance and if the Commission approves the concept, they would consider finding
a consultant to make sure St. Louis Park’s interests were reflected in the ordinance.
Commissioner Browning asked if Fiber First Minnesota would be helpful? Mr. Dunlap
replied they had provided materials, and there were a handful of communities, such as
Monticello, who were doing fiber to the home.
Commissioner Jacobson stated WiFi seemed to be depending on fiber optics for the
backbone and would it be appropriate for the new broadband hire to work on this and
visit or communicate with the other communities? Mr. Dunlap replied yes, in addition to,
the Public Works Director and several other staff who should be involved.
Chair Huiras asked if Burnsville had moved forward? Mr. Dunlap replied they were still
studying it.
G. Federal Communications Commission rule making update
Mr. Dunlap stated a couple Commissioners attended the broadband seminar in St. Louis Park
where information was presented on this. The FCC action talked about national franchising
of cable companies and telephone companies to offer video service and to take the authority
out of the local hands of the City. That decision has been challenged in court, so there won’t
be any immediate resolution, but there were plenty of resources and local communities
working together to oppose this action and overturn it if possible. The description is
available on the web site. There is also a video on demand version of this seminar.
Chair Huiras recommended anyone who didn’t attend view the video. The presentations
were excellent.
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7. New Business
C. Bylaws amendment: adding holidays
Chair Huiras noted the information was in the packet.
It was moved by Commissioner Dworsky, seconded by Commissioner Huiras to amend
the Commission Bylaws to add holidays.
The motion passed 8-0.
D. Web mapping demonstration
Mr. Dunlap indicated the demonstration would be at the next meeting. The Police
Advisory Commission is involved with this and are thrilled about the way the new tool
would work. It would map incidents using a google map to look for disturbances, arrests,
etc.
8. Reports
9. Communication from the Chair
Chair Huiras asked about the emergency messaging, a year ago they spent a lot of time
working on the emergency management system to people on cable. Had that been tested?
Mr. Dunlap replied he had seen the occasional monthly test. During franchise discussions,
one of the things they were trying to do was maintain the City’s ability to break into the St.
Louis Park system to be able to do emergency messaging. As part of those discussions, it
became clear that it was a big technical hurdle. That capability is currently in the hands of
the Sheriff’s Office as a county-wide service. The test messages (and for recent storms)
were activated from the Comcast Central Station for Hennepin County. Comcast seemed
to have this handled and improved on how Time Warner had done them.
10. Communications from City Staff
11. Adjournment
Commissioner Dworsky made a motion, Commission Browning seconded to adjourn at
9:15. The motion passed 8-0.
Respectfully submitted by:
Amy L. Stegora-Peterson
Recording Secretary