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Home My WebLink About2010/08/19 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - RegularUNOFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOUIS PARK TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OF AUGUST 19, 2010 ST. LOUIS PARK COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Bruce Browning, Rick Dworsky, Dale Hartman, Toby Keeler, Rolf Peterson and Bill Theobald MEMBERS ABSENT: Mike Mulligan STAFF PRESENT: Reg Dunlap, Civic TV Coordinator; John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator 1. Call to Order Chair Browning called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call Present at roll call were Commissioners Browning, Dworsky, Keeler, Peterson and Theobald. Commissioner Hartman arrived about 7:05 p.m. 3. Approval of Minutes for May 13, 2010 It was moved by Commissioner Peterson, seconded by Commissioner Keeler, to approve the minutes of May 13, 2010, without changes. The motion passed 5-0. 4. Adoption of Agenda Commissioner Dworsky requested item 6F Broadband Summit be added. It was moved by Commissioner Keeler, seconded by Commissioner Peterson, to approve the agenda as amended. The motion passed 5-0. 5. Public Comment - None 6. New Business A. Comcast customer service update Mr. Dunlap reviewed a PowerPoint presentation from Lance Leopold at Comcast detailing the new features, enhancements and changes customers can expect when channels 25 to 75 convert to digital. Customers will get fifteen additional channels with the digital adapter. They will also get up to three digital adapters at no cost. B. Update on Comcast “World of More” and XFINITY Mr. Dunlap noted this was included in the previous PowerPoint. The new service is called XFINITY. Lance Leupold was not able to attend this evening to talk about Comcast customer service in detail. C. National Broadband Plan Executive Summary Review and Brainstorming Mr. Dunlap stated Commissioners had just received the information and could discuss this further at the next meeting. Chair Browning noted putting in conduit during construction was not a policy and asked if it should be made more formal? Mr. McHugh believed it was happening most of the time. Mr. Dunlap added that the City didn’t have a formal policy requiring it, but it has been the practice to do it when feasible. Commissioner Keeler said he’s working on a fiber study subcommittee with Commissioner Browning and Clint Pires, and will get more information to present at the next meeting. Mr. Dunlap noted that private utility companies need a permit from Public Works when installing equipment. D. Technical Upgrades to local cable channels Mr. Dunlap indicated the equipment in the control room that plays back channel 14, the School District Channel, will originate from City Hall beginning next week. They are replacing a six-year old video server with 4 terabytes of storage. Because of this, on August 23rd through 25th there will be a disruption in the local channels. PSA’s will be run before that time to inform customers. The new equipment also includes two different media encoders to record digital files. E. City & Cable TV Budget Update Mr. Dunlap noted that the City receives franchise fees from Comcast for the use of City right-of-way. 5% of the revenue is a separate line item on the bills and paid only on video services. The City tracks this revenue in a separate, cable TV fund. In the past the City had just 2 employees providing cable TV related services, so they did not come close to spending all the franchise fees that were collected and as a result the fund balance has reached $1.4 million. In 2007 more staff was added which was the On Location channel 16 production employees. Last year about $300,000 was spent for the new production van, after using the old van since about 1987. In 2010 they were at a break-even point to cover staff and equipment. Commissioner Theobald asked if there was still a pot of money in reserve? Mr. Dunlap replied $1.4 million, and that the City will receive two more equipment grants that were negotiated as part of the 2006 renewal. F. Broadband Summit Commissioner Dworsky asked the benefits of attending the summit? Mr. McHugh replied the summit will be held on Tuesday, August 24th from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and hosted by Senator Amy Klobuchar. The FCC chair and five panelists will be speaking about the fiber optic policy and directions in broadband, so it should be good background. 7. Unfinished Business A. Long term fiber infrastructure planning update Mr. Dunlap forwarded a report give to the City Council on June 14th. The long term study topics included: What goal is City of St. Louis Park trying to receive?; What does the City Council wish to do with the remaining network of fiber optic?; and, What broader regulatory role, if any, should the City consider? Chair Browning and Keeler are assisting with the study. Mr. Pires is recruiting St. Louis Park Business Council members and City staff and plans to meet sometime in September. Chair Browning asked if WiFi was now available at Lenox Community Center? Mr. McHugh said yes, and there are signs advertising it. The early adopters are the Computer Buddies, and there have been no complaints about the connectivity, and folks are pretty happy about it. Other free public hot spots are City Hall, the Rec Center and Westwood Nature Center. In September or beyond there will be further discussion about further locations. 8. Reports A. Complaints Chair Browning asked if complaint #2 had been resolved, the system wide problem with Univision? Mr. Dunlap replied it took awhile, but now was fixed. Chair Browning asked about the complaint from 5/20? Mr. Dunlap replied the customer was happy. The problem was that Comcast hadn’t provided updated information to Dex when a local business moved several blocks but kept their old phone number. Comcast issued credits to the customer for inconvenience and made necessary changes. Chair Browning noted in complaint #9 the discrepancy in materials and staff that were not on the same page. They need to better educate staff. Customer service had generally improved, but there was still more room for improvement. Commissioner Keeler said he was pleased with Comcast service when he switched from Direct TV to Comcast. The equipment was installed by an independent contractor and there were some difficulties with the signal level. Commissioner Keeler called the local customer service number and got through easily, and they tried some trouble shooting, but ended up sending a technician the next day who installed an amplifier to resolve the issue. Commissioner Theobald asked regarding complaint #4, can the customer use any cable modem or just one provided by Comcast? Mr. Dunlap said he found a lengthy list of Comcast-compatible modems which customers can buy on the Comcast web site. The modem rental is $5 per month so buying one can pay for itself in a few years. Chair Browning said that if you rent a modem from Comcast, if it fails it is replaced at no cost by Comcast, but that he’s had the same modem for 3 or 4 years. 9. Communication from the Chair - None Commissioner Keeler noted he applied for the Minnesota Board Broadband Task Force, but found out today he was not selected. 10. Communications from City Staff - None 11. Adjournment Commissioner Dworsky made a motion, Commission Peterson seconded to adjourn at 7:47. The motion passed. Respectfully submitted by: Amy L. Stegora-Peterson Recording Secretary