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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013/08/28 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - RegularUNOFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOUIS PARK TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OF AUGUST 28, 2013 FIRE STATION 1 TRAINING ROOM, 3750 WOODDALE AV. S. MEMBERS PRESENT: Bruce Browning, Rick Dworsky, Dale Hartman, Cindy Hoffman, Toby Keeler and Bill Theobald MEMBERS ABSENT: Rolf Peterson STAFF PRESENT: Reg Dunlap, Civic TV Coordinator; John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator 1. Call to Order Chair Theobald called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. 2. Roll Call Present at roll call were Commissioners Browning, Dworsky, Hartman, Hoffman, Keeler and Theobald. 3. Approval of Minutes for May 22, 2013 It was moved by Commissioner Browning, seconded by Commissioner Dworsky, to approve the minutes of May 22, 2013, without changes. The motion passed 6-0. 4. Adoption of Agenda It was moved by Commissioner Keeler, seconded by Commissioner Browning, to approve the agenda. The motion passed 6-0. 5. Public Comment - None 6. Action Items A. Franchise fee audit partnership Mr. Dunlap said there is a possibility of recruiting other cities as audit partners including Coon Rapids, Shakopee and Town Square Television. There are no details available yet from the audits underway at Minneapolis and St. Paul. He mentioned some points from the audit memo in the packet about Comcast’s settlement with CTV North suburbs. For example, a lump sum settlement of $41,000 is a lot to recover, but it is a much larger service area with more customers. Comcast will pay a fee review costs of up to $25,000 if a 5% difference is discovered, but Mr. Dunlap said that St. Louis Park has never been remotely near recovering that percentage. Commissioner Keeler said the last audit cost $8,000 and they recovered $4-6,000 discrepancy for three years, and asked how much was collected in franchise fees? Mr. Dunlap said about $500,000 for each of the three years, and Commissioner Keeler said that meant a recovery of one tenth of one percent. Chair Theobald asked if any of the partners had been contacted about an audit, and Mr. Dunlap said not for several months. Chair Theobald asked if anyone was in favor of doing that, and Commissioner Dworsky and Browning both said they thought it would make sense. Mr. Dunlap said it would technically be called a review, which was less precise than an audit. Commissioner Keeler stated the cost would exceed the likely return of audit results. Nothing substantial has changed; the City hasn’t gained or lost population, or geographically, and he questioned the value of paying $8-10,000 for a $6,000 return. Commissioner Browning asked if we were looking at this as a way to “keep them honest.” Commissioner Keeler understood the need for an audit, but said nothing really changed since the last audit. Chair Theobald suggested they put out a request for bids, knowing it would be split with other cities. Mr. Dunlap said it would be a 10-15% savings for additional partners brought in. This is a specialized accounting area, and would cost about $10-15,000 for a review. Commissioner Dworsky asked if the Telecommunications Commission as the administering board was obligated to hold Comcast accountable? Mr. Dunlap replied the responsibility of the Commission, City Council and City is about the same as with water bills. If you underpay the water bill and the City doesn’t come after you, then you might not pay it. But if the City sends you a past due balance, then you are obligated to pay it. Commissioner Keeler asked if they had done two reviews with Comcast, and how much longer does the franchise run? Mr. Dunlap replied yes, and that the franchise runs until 2021. Chair Theobald said that he thought a review ought to be done way before the end of the franchise, so there’s a record of how they’ve done. Mr. McHugh said if they decline to do a review this year, they can still make a decision to do one next year. He said he was in favor of an audit because that’s the cost of being a regulator. That’s our job. The cost is only a small amount of the budget that they have. Chair Theobald asked if there was money set aside for this? Mr. Dunlap said the cable budget always has a surplus, at least for the next 4 or 5 years. Chair Theobald said it’s not a bad idea to do a review since they just changed over from analog to digital this year. Commissioner Hoffman said that happened in March. Mr. McHugh noted where they bundle, they discount services and this would provide clarity about what they are charging for the TV portion of the bill. If it turns out they are under valuing video to pay less in franchise fees, they are discounting to the City’s disadvantage. This can be part of their request for proposals. Commissioner Dworsky said they could emphasize that part of it in the review. Chair Theobald asked if they wanted to go through with review, could they start, for example, at March 1, 2014? Mr. Dunlap replied they can give Comcast immediate notice, and go back three years from that notice. Commissioner Keeler said they’ve already gone one year without a review. Commissioner Browning said he was concerned about Comcast’s tendency to have negotiable prices for some bundles, and wondered if there was any way to track those things. Mr. Dunlap said Comcast reports have a category called, “bad debt,” so it’s worth checking to see if foregone revenue for discounting services is attributed to bad debt. Commissioner Keeler said if you talk about canceling service, they put you into customer retention for all kinds of deals. Commissioner Hoffman agreed. Mr. Dunlap said he liked the fact that the Commission has been frequently revisiting this topic so that Comcast knows they may have to do a review at any time. Commissioner Keeler said if they do two audits in the eight years left of the franchise agreement, that would fulfill the responsibility. They would be close to the end of the franchise agreement. Mr. McHugh informed commissioners that negotiations start three years before the end of the franchise. Commissioner Dworsky asked for clarification on when Comcast took over and the last review? Mr. Dunlap replied the franchise started in 2006 with Comcast, and the last review was done in 2008. Commissioner Dworsky asked if that changed anyone’s opinion. Commissioner Hoffman asked if it covers a fiscal year? Mr. Dunlap said that realistically, it does. Commissioner Dworsky made a motion, Commission Keeler seconded to provide notice to Comcast to review franchise fees for the calendar years 2011, 2012 and 2013. The motion passed 6-0. Mr. McHugh said another issue is charging for digital terminal adapters. It’s priced as an outlet fee, but if you connect a digital TV with a QAM tuner, the outlet fee isn’t charged. So the fee discriminates against those with old TV’s, and we’d seek to change the classification of that fee. Commissioner Hoffman said that she agreed with that. Commissioner Dworsky indicated that could be added into the RFP. 7. Reports A. Complaints Mr. Dunlap stated there were a number of complaints related to the recent storms, and also billing complaints regarding discounts that ended. Commissioner Hoffman said it was her understanding that the Comcast representative said they were no longer outsourcing calls. She said she’s heard from customers who’ve said they’ve talked to someone from India or the Philippines, and have been constantly hung up on, and she’s seen that in the complaint log, too. The Comcast rep said the transition period of outsourcing during training was done, but it appears to still be going on. Mr. Dunlap said that could be raised at the December meeting with Comcast to clarify, or a letter could be sent about a specific complaint. Commissioner Hoffman said it was in complaint number 21. Commissioner Hoffman noted her recent experience with a Comcast outage, with a Councilmember. She said when you call Comcast, they know where you’re calling from and say, we’ll call you back and then hang up. It seemed a bit abrupt. Even without electricity, she was able to follow Twitter, and Xcel Energy was responding to customers with great speed. People could report outages over Twitter, and there was a lot of back and forth with Xcel. That couldn’t be done with Comcast. She was very impressed with Xcel’s feedback, and not with Comcast, despite being a communication company. Commissioner Keeler referred to a complaint that irritated him, that once the issue was resolved, and it was Comcast’s fault, they credited the customer $1.72. He said that was a slap in the face, after hours and days of calling. He suggested reminding subscribers of the Comcast guarantee on the web site. Commissioner Hoffman stated she had colleagues who had been hung up on 5-6 times and customer service reps were telling them conflicting things. Commissioner Browning said people can switch to satellite, but they don’t and there was no incentive for Comcast to change, unless it affects the bottom line. If they can get by with the level of service they’re at, there’s nothing that can make them change to offer better service. Commissioner Hoffman said she loved her antenna service. Commissioner Browning has had Direct TV for a dozen years now and can count the number of times he’s called them on one hand. The response from their staff was good, and they knew what they were talking about. Commissioner Keeler said he flip-flopped between Comcast and Direct TV and also had much better service with Direct TV. Issues had been resolved over the phone in minutes. Mr. McHugh said that small satellite dish serves only 15% of people in the city, and Comcast serves 60%. Commissioner Hartman said people are confused about how they charge for telephone service because of all the additional taxes and fees. They never mention those extra fees when you ask what the bill will be. Mr. McHugh said those fees were for a traditional landline as well. Commissioner Dworsky referenced complaint #2, that the person said Comcast is flaunting the clear requirements of the franchise. He asked if there is something that the City needs to address about antennas? Commissioner Browning said there was no such thing as a digital antenna. The term “Digital antenna” is a marketing ploy. Mr. Dunlap said the uniform building code would apply to where antennas can be installed. The reference was to ham radio interference as a result of the digital transition and that the City did nothing to stop the digital transition. B. Federal Communications Commission updates Mr. Dunlap presented FCC information on the overhead. The first issue was Fire Island and Verizon’s proposal to not repair the landlines destroyed by hurricane Sandy, but to substitute a wireless service. He said that Bruce Kushnick is a strong critic of the big phone companies, and to contact him if you’d like to read some of his articles. The second issue is the E-Rate, formerly called the Universal Service Fund that was used to fund rural telephone service. Commissioner Keeler said the FCC is requesting comments about rural telephone companies that are required to provide land line service that are looking to change that to deliver just broadband. The FCC is doing a balancing act with large versus small carriers and what funding they get to push broadband to rural areas. Mr. Dunlap indicated the NATOA PEG program descriptions for on-screen program guides is a “can of worms,” so he didn’t contact the Commission to push hard on this issue. It could result in Park TV access to program guides, but require captioning all Park TV programs. The last issue is an unfavorable Supreme Court ruling that strengthens the FCC ability relating to cell tower approvals in a short time frame that could hurt local governments. C. Studio Update Mr. McHugh recommended a locking cabinet if storing anything of value in the studio because some items have gone missing. Items stolen have been reported to Tom Marble. What was stolen belongs to the district. The City replaced one of the studio camcorders that went missing, and is also responsible for school equipment when using it. Sometimes the studio door is open, sometimes it’s locked. There were no uses in last ten months by TV15 at the high school studio, but there had been more regular use in the past. Mr. McHugh noted several people did productions in Council Chambers instead of the studio. Mr. Dunlap said the studio has been used almost weekly for 33 Park Updates this year, and for recording several interviews. D. Nearby communities franchise comparisons Mr. Dunlap referred to the detailed chart that was sent in packets, and that the last column was important, showing that 1/3 of franchises end soon. There have been some extensions of existing franchises and the cities are happy about that. Comcast has some leverage to get rid of some obligations that were in the past franchises. Commissioner Dworsky said it looks like 20 cities franchises are up at the end of the year, which was significant. He asked if there any collaboration with MACTA to have unified front? Commissioner Keeler replied MACTA has monthly meeting to discuss negotiations. Mr. Dunlap added that staff always responds to requests for information from MACTA members, and gave two examples: Video on Demand (VOD) and HD. St. Louis Park was the second franchise to be allowed to show VOD programming on Comcast, and eventually HD VOD programming. Other communities were very interested in those upgrades. Commissioner Keeler noted the entire landscape may be very different when our franchise comes up in 2021. Mr. Dunlap indicated St. Louis Park’s franchises went from 200 pages to 25 for the most recent one. Franchises were becoming simpler and more uniform, as the company resists unique obligations. In St. Louis Park, Comcast came up with $1.1 million to support local programming, which was very worthwhile. Mr. McHugh noted PEG fees meant different things. St. Louis Park’s is just used for equipment, and Roseville and their other 10 cities PEG fee is used for equipment and operations. He said the cable industry frequently mentions investing billions in fiber optic infrastructure, but actually, they raise their rates every year and subscribers invest billions in fiber optic infrastructure. Chair Theobald asked the dollar amount used to support education? Mr. Dunlap replied that the City no longer provides a grant from the cable TV fund to the School District, which was used by the District for an employee that was laid off. Park TV took over many of those duties, but there are a few vague areas. For example, the cameras in the meeting room are bad, but the City’s position is that the District is responsible to replace those cameras. Commissioner Dworsky asked if they could replace one camera at a time? Mr. Dunlap replied that wouldn’t work very well, that an upgrade to new technology would be better. Chair Theobald asked if there was a federal statute or regulation that prevents multiple cable providers? Mr. Dunlap replied no, it is non-exclusive franchise. Commissioner Browning stated it comes down to cost and build-out of a new system that deters this. Commissioner Dworsky said that some years ago, we had a few interested parties to build systems in St. Louis Park, but it never came to fruition. Mr. McHugh said those companies were trying to build systems in all of Minnesota with $40 million. That was for St. Louis Park, a single service area, for the Northwest suburbs with Plymouth and Brooklyn Park and 8 other cities, and others. Mr. Dunlap said that the ballpark figure for the St. Louis Park system was $7 million. Commissioner Dworsky asked if there were other cable companies in the metro area other than Comcast. Mr. Dunlap said Mediacom has a few systems in the southern metro area by Rosemount, and perhaps in Lake Minnetonka. Commissioner Dworsky said they could ask Mediacom, as available in the area, to look at St. Louis Park as doable. Chair Theobald said it makes sense to talk to them, knowing it wouldn’t happen for years down the road. Mr. McHugh noted there is a provider called Multi-Band at Excelsior and Grand that competes with Comcast. There are other large multi-dwelling units that have competing providers, but neighborhoods don’t have that benefit. 8. Communication from the Chair Chair Theobald thanked staff for the work they do for the meetings. He also announced he got a math teaching job at Chanhassen High School. Commissioner Keeler reported that MACTA met with the League of Cities and Sheldon Johnson who sponsored the Telecomm Bill at the last session. Some elements would de- regulate some of the current regulations on telecommunications companies. MACTA explained their concerns from municipal perspective, but this bill is expected to come up in the Legislature next year. He also said the NATOA Conference will be in St. Paul in the fall of 2014, so the MACTA annual conference will move to May in 2014. 9. Communications from City Staff Mr. Dunlap noted the MACTA conference is October 29th, so let him know if you are interested in attending. Mr. McHugh handed out DTA limited basic channels and QAM Tuner limited basic channels, a snapshot of channels at the lowest level of service and new TV’s with a digital tuner without having a DTA. Some channels are the same, and some channels you can get with a DTA that you can’t get with the QAM tuner. However if you have HD TV’s, you can get some of the channels in HD. There was a recent survey of over the air broadcast digital signals, and if you have perfect reception, you can get up to 45 channels. Some of these you can’t get with cable TV. Also, he said Community TV has produced 64 programs this year. 10. Adjournment Commissioner Browning made a motion, Commission Keeler seconded to adjourn at 8:25. The motion passed. Respectfully submitted by: Amy L. Stegora-Peterson Recording Secretary