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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011/07/14 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - RegularUNOFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOUIS PARK TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OF JULY 14, 2011 ST. LOUIS PARK COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Dale Hartman, Toby Keeler, Mike Mulligan, Rolf Peterson MEMBERS ABSENT: Bruce Browning, Rick Dworsky, Jenna Sheldon (youth member) and Bill Theobald STAFF PRESENT: Reg Dunlap, Civic TV Coordinator; John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator OTHERS PRESENT: None 1. Call to Order Chair Mulligan called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. 2. Roll Call Present at roll call were Commissioners Hartman, Keeler, Mulligan and Peterson. 3. Approval of Minutes for May 19, 2011 It was moved by Commissioner Keeler, seconded by Commissioner Hartman, to approve the minutes of May 19, 2011, without changes. The motion passed 4-0. 4. Adoption of Agenda It was moved by Commissioner Peterson, seconded by Commissioner Keeler, to approve the agenda. The motion passed 4-0. 5. Public Comment - None 6. New Business A. Fiber optic long range planning ordinance update Mr. McHugh said he sent an Email summarizing what had taken place. The City received four responses to the request for qualifications and the subcommittee reviewed those and chose two that responded to the questions well. The finalists are Columbia Telecommunications and Tellus Ventures. They will interview the finalists later this month, will study their bonafides, and talk with other governments they’ve worked for and check references. The committee is putting together a list of questions to ask the consultants, and would like input from other Commissioners. For example, Mr. McHugh recently found reference to micro-trenching, which was the first he had heard of it, which is installing fiber less than a foot below surface. It’s an interesting concept that is worth further study. Commissioner Keeler said he’d also give an overview on the Future of cable TV item, and that some pieces dove-tail with the fiber optic study, including the possibility to generate additional revenue from the fiber optic side. Commissioner Hartman said he saw an email survey about putting a value on each cable station, and wondered who was behind it. The intent seemed to be to find out about paying to view or connect. Commissioner Keeler asked Commissioner Hartman to forward the link to the rest of the Commission. Chair Mulligan asked Mr. McHugh to resend the industry articles, and asked of the four consultants they looked at, did they feel one would be in a good position to carry out the study? Mr. McHugh said he felt the references would give good insight, and the quality of the first responses shows how seriously they’ll address the topic. He said rather than a scientific survey, it would be good to have all neighborhoods represented in the study and then find out where the holes are. B. Future of Cable TV subcommittee update Commissioner Keeler said they’ve had two meetings and were looking at the history of cable TV in St. Louis Park and the current state, and want to summarize that to set the stage for City Council. They are also looking at; an analysis of the revenue generated through the franchise, so Commissioner Keeler will put together graphs and spreadsheets of the monthly revenues through 1998; looking at Legislative issues in terms of state- wide franchising around the country; how broadband relates to cable TV, because they are becoming merged to a great degree; what the CAP Act looks like at the Federal level; and, future community access programming options for the franchise, which is up in 2021 and planning for a new agreement in 2018. It looks like the landscape is changing rapidly, for example, Hulu has just announced reaching one million subscribers soon and is an alternative to watching traditional cable TV. The subcommittee is looking at other options for the City to generate revenue through broadband. Other municipalities, perhaps in Illinois, are charging monthly fees for a router for broadband service, although this is being challenged by cable providers. There will be another meeting in August and September, and hope to present at the City Council Study Session on November 14th. Mr. Dunlap noted the sub committee should have an outline or draft report to the Commission at the October meeting to show the direction they are going. Chair Mulligan said it sounded like there were many options and other mediums to get the content and it would be interesting to see where it goes. The next big thing in TV technology will be content access, like gaming counsels with apps or widgets to sign up for services like Netflix, Hulu or music like is done with a smart phone. Mr. McHugh wondered what the tipping point would be before the brand name services likes Arts and Entertainment would say yes to a smaller list of subscribers at a lower rate. The programmers, if they were not owned by the satellite or cable companies, would need to make a decision if they would sell to individuals. Commissioner Keeler said we need to look at everything before the next franchise talks begin in 2018. Chair Mulligan asked if there was potential in the long-range plan to leverage our fiber to provide their broadband service to St. Louis Park? Mr. Dunlap replied the consultants would be asked about it. 7. Unfinished Business A. City Attorney’s opinion regarding Comcast audit notice Mr. Dunlap indicated the Commission passed a motion at the last meeting to get an opinion from the City Attorney about Comcast and audit notice. Commissioner Dworsky told Mr. Dunlap that he’s comfortable deferring the audit to 2014. Mr. Dunlap said he didn’t want to postpone an audit review that long, and suggested revisiting this next year. Chair Mulligan said there is an advantage to keeping companies honest, but it was also prudent to recognize the revenue loss in the past audit. Commissioner Peterson said it could be deferred to May next year and they would miss one year at the most, but not three or four years. Commissioner Keeler agreed they should bring it up next May and determine if they wanted to audit the previous three years. Chair Mulligan agreed. Commissioner Keeler made a motion, Commission Peterson seconded to defer the audit to May 2012. Commissioner Peterson suggested that if other communities audits find anything, that could be a trigger for us to consider doing another audit. Mr. Dunlap stated the last audit was done in conjunction with other cities, and that MACTA contacts also track and share that type of information. Comcast does vary methods somewhat from region to region, based on the specifics of the franchises. The motion passed 4-0. B. Grand Stadium Agreement for High School Sports Sectionals coverage Mr. Dunlap noted that the motion at the last meeting was to table until the next meeting. Staff requested a motion me made that would not “bind” the City or prevent staff from signing the contract if that had to be done with short notice to cover a specific event. Chair Mulligan was in favor of the route suggested by staff. Commissioner Keeler made a motion, Commissioner Peterson seconded to table the decision on the agreement to the first meeting of 2012 with the caveat that the City could react to any situation that necessitates some means to cover games if necessary. The motion passed 4-0. 8. Reports A. Complaints Chair Mulligan said he was glad the first complaint was resolved and felt the list was shorter than usual. Mr. Dunlap noted that complaint was about the new DVR software changes, and the learning curve for new software is uncomfortable, but after mastering the changes, we wonder how we could have done it any other way. Mr. McHugh said that if Comcast wasn’t doing a good job, our phone would never stop ringing. Commissioner Peterson said customers are getting used to the DTA’s and that’s a good thing. 9. Communication from the Chair - None 10. Communications from City Staff Mr. McHugh discussed a programming report about online playbacks of Park TV programs. He brought up the recent residential survey of residents, and only 50% or fewer have broadband, and 12% have dial up. So that’s a significant number that can’t watch online programming. That will change over time. Chair Mulligan asked if staff was happy with the results. Mr. McHugh said the City can do more to publicize our cable channels and online videos, and that he hoped next year the numbers would be even better. Mr. Dunlap said as an example of growth, July 2010 had 505 program viewers, and July this year was over 1,300 by the middle of the month. That growth is driven by the demand to see the new Aquatic Park obstacle course video, and a number of controversial issues in the community in the last year have driven people to watch Park TV coverage. Commissioner Peterson said it supports that he’s noticed more video links on Facebook, and that Patch is also helping a lot. Commissioner Keeler asked if the survey showed that Park TV and web site statistics are higher. Mr. Dunlap said that the survey results are all great and will forward the link to the Commission. 11. Adjournment Commissioner Keeler made a motion, Commission Peterson seconded to adjourn at 7:55. The motion passed. Respectfully submitted by: Amy L. Stegora-Peterson Recording Secretary