Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999/08/12 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - Regular Notes of the Cable TV Advisory Commission August 12, 1999 Page 1 APPROVED MINUTES ST. LOUIS PARK CABLE TV ADVISORY COMMISSION AUGUST 12, 1999 --7:00 P.M. AT PARAGON CABLE EDEN PRAIRIE OFFICE MEMBERS PRESENT: Bruce Browning, Rick Dworsky, Dale Hartman, Ken Huiras, Robert Jacobson and Mary Jean Overend MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Reg Dunlap, Civic TV Coordinator; John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator; and Shirley Olson, Recording Secretary PARAGON STAFF PRESENT: Arlen Mattern, Public Affairs Administrator and Bernie Doffing, Director of Network Operations. 1. Call to Order - Roll Call Chair Huiras called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call: All current members of the Commission were present. 3. Approval of Minutes: It was moved by Bruce Browning, seconded by Robert Jacobson, to approve the minutes of May 13, 1999 meeting of the Cable TV Advisory Commission with the correction noted below. Motion carried unanimously. Page 2, 1st Paragraph, change “emphasized” to “empathized”. 4. Adoption of Agenda: Chair Huiras recommended that Agenda Item 7: New Business be discussed before Item 5: Old Business. The Commission concurred. 5. Tour of Eden Prairie Head End Bernie Doffing, Director of Network Operations of Cable directed the Commission on a tour of the Eden Prairie Head End facility highlighting Paragon’s various equipment and operations. Commissioners asked questions of clarification and inquired about the upcoming unveiling of Roadrunner, Time Warner’s cable Internet access service. 6. Old Business A. School District funding for 2000; review School District response to Commission queries Notes of the Cable TV Advisory Commission August 12, 1999 Page 2 Reg Dunlap indicated that he had received a letter from Carolyn Charles on 6/18/99 in response to his letter to Barbara Pulliam of 5/18/99 with a list of questions about the School District’s future plans before considering a funding increase of 2000. The letter indicated that the Video Tech position had been filled by Charlie Fiss who was assessing the needs of the School District this summer and would compile a written report addressing the issues of concern. Robert Jacobson recommended that the Commission not move forward with a decision about whether or not to increase the Council’s annual grant from $25,000 until receiving a report from Charlie Fiss answering present need questions. Bruce Browning concurred. Mary Jean Overend suggested that only a written report be accepted for the record. The consensus of the Commission was to wait on a discussion regarding this issue until a report was received and then make a final recommendation to the City Council. Reg Dunlap noted that in September the City Council will address the Cable TV Commission recommendation that 1/3 of the $86,000 Paragon Cable franchise equipment grant ($28,667.00) be distributed to the School District for capital purchases for cable TV/video production. B. Needs assessment background and discussion John McHugh provided a copy of the latest version of the needs assessment survey to the Commission. He indicated that a professional poll taking company would help formulate assessment questions and complete via both a telephone survey and returned mail survey. The consensus of the Commission was that the content of the Needs Assessment was adequate. Robert Jacobson recommended that there be an enhanced appreciation and incentive for those who are being asked to provide feedback. Mary Jean Overend recommended extending the opening description to include reason for needs assessment. John McHugh asked the Commission to e-mail him recommended verbiage for revised opening description. 7. New Business A. Review Paragon Annual Filings Notes of the Cable TV Advisory Commission August 12, 1999 Page 3 Mary Jean Overend asked if Paragon was tracking any trend as to what percentage of users subscribed to a standard cable package vs. a basic cable package. Bernie Doffing, Director of Network Operations indicated that no tracking has been done to define a trend. Robert Jacobson asked what role the Annual Filings had in Paragon’s annual review and asked for clarification of how they relate. Mary Jean Overend asked how residents were notifying Paragon of their desire to disconnect. Arlen Mattern, Public Affairs Administrator of Paragon indicated that most people call directly. He indicated that the Prevue channel listings were still an unresolved issue. Dale Hartman asked if Internet access would be available through Paragon in the future. Mr. Doffing said that money was budgeted for St. Louis Park to be upgraded early next year if all franchise issues are worked out, and showed a fiber optic sample for the Commission. He stated that he was in charge of the new upgrade which would be tested this year for Internet access being provided by Paragon and that there was a separate department for Roadrunner which Time Warner is testing and getting feedback. B. Review Social Contract required annual report Bernie Doffing, Director of Network Operations of Paragon indicated that the details to upgrade St. Louis Park to 750 MHz were being completed. It was noted that many smaller systems can’t afford to upgrade to provide digital services, telephoning and cable modems to users. C. Update on Paragon Y2K status Arlen Mattern, Public Affairs Administrator indicated that Paragon was Y2K compliant and that this was not going to be an issue, although the company relies on various outside vendors whose services could be affected. D. Update on digital services offered in neighboring cities Bernie Doffing, Director of Network Operations of Paragon stated that digital services were in the early stages and this would be possible after update to 750 MHz occurred. The upgrade is in progress in Eden Prairie and Bloomington, and completed in Richfield, Hopkins and Edina. E. Update on St. Louis Park upgrade to 750 MHz See Item 7B F. MACTA Special Funds Notes of the Cable TV Advisory Commission August 12, 1999 Page 4 The Commission discussed Senator Kelley’s proposed bill to deregulate telecommunications and cable and change how franchise fees are collected. Of specific concern are the problems that may occur because the bill would require using a grant process to get funds back that currently are paid directly to the City. The Commission discussed the possibility of a resolution to approve $5,000 for a expenditure for lobbying to protect this. It was moved by Robert Jacobson, seconded by Rick Dworsky, to table this item until the October meeting in order to attain additional information. The motion passed unanimously. 8. Reports - None 9. Communications from the Chair - None 10. Communications from City Staff Reg Dunlap provided information about the 19th Annual Local Government Telecommunications Conference to be held in Atlanta on September 14th-18th. He noted that he would be attending, and asked Commissioners who had an interest in attending to contact him. Reg Dunlap provided information about the upcoming City organized Y2K meetings and encouraged Commissioners to attend. He also noted that the a recent Institutional Network meeting with Paragon engineering staff and Arlen Mattern had been very productive, opening the way for the City to add two-way interactive capacity to the St. Louis Park Recreation Center. 11. Adjournment With no other business to come before the Commission, it was moved by Robert Jacobson, seconded by Rick Dworsky to adjourn at 9:24 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Shirley Olson Recording Secretary ATTEST: Reg Dunlap Civic TV Coordinator City of St. Louis Park