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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009/08/13 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - Regular 1 UNOFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOUIS PARK TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OF AUGUST 13, 2009 ST. LOUIS PARK COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Bruce Browning, Rick Dworsky, Dale Hartman, Toby Keeler and Mike Mulligan MEMBERS ABSENT: David Dyer and Rolf Peterson STAFF PRESENT: Reg Dunlap, Civic TV Coordinator; John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator, Clint Pires, Chief Information Officer; Jamie Zwilling, Communications Coordinator OTHERS PRESENT: Arlen Mattern, Comcast Cable Government Affairs Professional 1. Call to Order Chair Keeler called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. 2. Roll Call Present at roll call were Commissioners Browning, Dworsky, Hartman, Keeler and Mulligan. 3. Approval of Minutes for May 7, 2009 It was moved by Commissioner Browning, seconded by Commissioner Mulligan, to approve the minutes of May 7, 2009, with one change; Mr. Mattern’s title is now “Comcast Cable Government Affairs Professional.” The motion passed 5-0. 4. Adoption of Agenda Mr. Dunlap requested the additions of 7c. DTV Transition Update. The agenda was approved as amended. 5. Public Comment - None 6. New Business A. WiFi deconstruction update Clint Pires reported that the solar panels, radio, access equipment, etc. was removed at the end of last year. All poles will be removed by the end of August. Only a few calls were received for restoration (seed and dirt). 2 B. Proposed Park TV & School District #283 agreement Jamie Zwilling presented the proposed Park TV and School District agreement background. The City and School met to discuss collaboration. The Cable TV fund could be in jeopardy over the long term and one solution could be to eliminate School District grants, and assume some of the cable TV duties for the School District. The District expressed interest in this happening in 2011, with the possibility of transitioning sooner. Business Points: The City is looking at a formal agreement with the School District to include: taking over the live broadcast of Board of Education meetings, assuming programming responsibilities for cable channel 14, having Park TV 16 crew cover some concert and school events, and training students enrolled in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program to cover other events. Studio Use: The City would assume control of the studio and share with IB classes and no longer pay for use. The City would maintain and replace equipment, offer staff as technical experts to the IB class, and utilize students as production assistants for programming. School Board meetings would be covered by the City’s production staff. The District would no longer need to provide staff support for its cable channel. Students would receive training from in-house professionals and create more programs. The City and School District would have more flexibility in the amount and type of programming. The next steps are to develop an Operation Agreements based on the business points, receive approval from City Council and School District, continue studio training, begin Board meeting coverage in August, and develop a comprehensive plan for all channels and programming. Mr. Pires said that the School Superintendent has expressed strong support for the proposal. Commissioner Browning made a motion, Commission Mulligan seconded to support the Proposed Park TV and School District #283 agreement. The motion passed 5-0. Commissioner Dworsky said that he would like to have progress reports for the Operations Agreement so the Commission can give staff the input they are requesting. Chair Keeler said he’d like an update at the next meeting. C. WiFi hot spots at Lenox Community Center and Westwood Hills Nature Center Mr. Pires stated they have studied the established WiFi in the City at City Hall, the Rec Center and Westwood Hills Nature Center. The next challenge is Lenox Community Center. Signals are difficult because of the building construction. After they have completed Lenox, they will consider other locations. D. Park TV production van update 3 Mr. Zwilling stated that they had been budgeting funds for a replacement since 2007, but it is no longer safe for staff to operate the van. They will be advertising for bids and hope to complete the process by January 2010. There are funds available through the franchise agreement. For now they will be covering productions differently and will focus on other projects. There will be more live coverage of events when the van is up and running. E. MACTA Legislative Update held August 4, 2009 Chair Keeler noted he and Commissioner Dworsky attended along with Mr. Dunlap and Mr. McHugh. A piece of legislation was introduced on the last day of the Legislative session for statewide franchising for Cable TV. Similar laws have been passed in other states and the results haven’t been as good as was predicted. Mr. Dunlap suggested the Commission could direct staff to customize the MACTA talking points and encourage the City Council to contact representatives to oppose the bill as proposed. The bill is supported by Qwest, but they haven’t been actively building video systems yet the way Verizon and AT&T have done in other parts of the country. Commissioner Dworsky made a motion, Commission Browning seconded to direct City staff to contact local elected officials and Representatives Sheldon Johnson and Joe Atkins to express their opposition to the proposed bill. The motion passed 5-0. Mr. Dunlap clarified staff could do a written report with customized talking points including St. Louis Park examples, and get it on the City Council’s radar. Mr. Zwilling agreed a written report was a good idea and in the fall when the Council discusses their Legislative agenda, they could discuss it further. Mr. Pires added Council has endorsed this type of statement in the past. 7. Unfinished Business A. Fiber Optic update Commissioner Hartman asked if the fiber terminals used for the WiFi project could be used for anything else? Mr. Pires said yes, that the City took over 8.2 miles of fiber and were able to save approx. $78,000 in a recent project establishing a Police substation at the West End development. It is also possible to consider extending WiFi to outdoor public areas at the West End, for example. Commissioner Dworsky said that St. Louis Park now has about 26 miles of fiber in the ground and asked how much the City needs to offer services. Mr. Pires said that would need more study, if the City were to consider bringing services to the home. Mr. Pires stated when City Council met, they still wanted to do a study. Funds were put into the budget to look at some other uses of fiber. He also updated the Commission on the switch to a new voice over internet protocol telephone system, and thanked them for their assistance early in the study process. The switch to the new phone system was very successful and had many enhancements. 4 B. Comcast Audit update Mr. Dunlap stated Scott Lewis and Associates received all of the requested materials and expected a draft report to be completed in the next month. C. DTV Transition update Mr. Dunlap asked if others had heard about issues with Channel 11 after the conversion? Commissioner Browning responded some of the channels were fuzzy. He believed the earliest calculations were incorrect regarding coverage areas and may need some adjustments. Weather and trees, etc. also have an impact on reception. Mr. McHugh stated local broadcaster haven’t disclosed plans for changes. Beyond February, not many residents were coming in to information sessions. 8. Reports A. Complaints Mr. Dunlap stated one complaint was about a Comcast vehicle blocking an alley. Thanks to Lance Luepold contacting Comcast dispatcher, the driver moved his vehicle and the company plans to update their training about leaving trucks unattended. Commissioner Browning noted he contacted Comcast about broadband and Microsoft Outlook issues. The staff was professional and helpful. He noted eight complaints were about billing and wondered if the bills could be made clearer. Mr. Mattern responded they had been tracking billing complaints and believed the end to a promotion could have been the issue. There is now an alert on the bills when a promotion was ending. Comcast tries to make the bills as easy as possible to understand. Commissioner Keeler asked about the monthly service level sheet that was handed out? Mr. Mattern responded the FCC requires them to answer phones within 30 seconds 90% of the time, and for this report it was 92%. He said they usually meet the requirements. He will continue to provide this summary. Mr. Dunlap noted there are 88,820 calls to the call center. Mr. Mattern added there are 500 people working at the Minneapolis call center. 9. Communication from the Chair - None 10. Communications from City Staff Commissioner Dworsky stated the State MACTA conference will be on October 22nd and 23rd in Lake Elmo. Commissioner Dworsky and Mr. McHugh will be attending the NATOA conference in New Orleans in September. 5 Mr. Dunlap stated one of the Park TV van group sporting events is in-line for an award and another received honorable mention. Mr. McHugh distributed the programming report from Community TV. Mr. Dunlap indicated the Park Update can be see on You Tube, and that there is a link from the St. Louis Park home page. 11. Adjournment Commissioner Dworsky made a motion, Commission Browning seconded to adjourn at 8:16. The motion passed 5-0. Respectfully submitted by: Amy L. Stegora-Peterson Recording Secretary