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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997/10/11 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - Regular 1 Minutes St. Louis Park Cable TV Advisory Commission Meeting of November 10, 1997 at 7:00pm St. Louis Park City Hall (5005 Minnetonka Blvd.) First Floor Community Room 1. Call to order By Chairman Tony Raiber at 7:02pm. 2. Roll Call Also attending were Commissioners Bruce Browning, Bob Jacobson, Ken Huiras and Mike Ganyo; Arlen Mattern of Paragon Cable; and John McHugh and Reg Dunlap of City staff. 3. Approval of Minutes Moved by Commissioner Browning, seconded by Commissioner Huiras to accept the minutes as is; motion passed 5-0. 4. Adoption of Agenda Commissioner Huiras added item 6. c. Status of School District equipment purchase. With that addition, moved by Commissioner Browning, seconded by Commissioner Huiras to adopt the agenda; motion passed 5-0. 5. Communications from Paragon Cable Mr. Mattern said that traditionally business picks up in the fall, and that the channel lineup and rates for January 1 were not firmed up yet. Commissioner Raiber asked if it was conceivable that they could drop channels; Mr. Mattern said it was possible, that they will delete a few in Minneapolis. 6. Old Business a. Subscriber Survey Update Mr. Dunlap said that since the last Cable TV Commission meeting in July, Mayor Gail Dorfman, Deputy City Manager Joanne Kutzler and Paragon’s Vice President of Public Affairs Kim Roden had been involved in discussions about the survey requirement. Three proposals had been developed, and staff prefers recommending option two, which reduces Paragon’s survey requirement to once every three years with the City entitled to survey in the other two years if needed. Commissioner Ganyo asked about the proposal to add NASA and MNDOT channels in lieu of the survey. Mr. McHugh said that those channels would be handled separately. Commissioner Ganyo said that if the City had no input on their survey, and if Paragon had no input on the City survey, that wouldn’t work. Commissioner Jacobson said that the language says Paragon’s survey will be conducted “as prescribed by the City,” and that should be strong enough language. Commissioner Ganyo said that the survey has always been contentious, and that maybe we would want more in the survey than just listing the channels. Mr. McHugh said that the City can do their own survey, and work favorably with Paragon because we are held to the same standard as Paragon, to offer a statistically valid survey, but we can get more information. He said that the cost might not be 8 cents per month per subscriber. Mr. Mattern said he’d heard the figures would be in the range of $4,000 to $6,000. 2 Commissioner Jacobson said he’d like to see something about the Cable TV Commission involvement added, and Mr. McHugh said that in the Commission bylaws, part H, specific mention was made to Commission involvement with the survey. Commissioner Browning moved to recommend option two, to amend the franchise ordinance for Company survey every 3 years and City survey as desired, and Commissioner Jacobson seconded. Motion passed 5-0. Commissioner Huiras moved to keep the same Commission survey subcommittee, for the next time it is conducted. Commissioner Ganyo said that his term is expiring in December and that he won’t re-up. Commissioner Browning seconded, and the motion passed 5-0. (The survey committee will be comprised of Commissioner Jacobson and Commissioner Raiber). b. Providing basic cable service for Cable TV Advisory Commission members Mr. Dunlap said that the Council will have to decide whether or not basic cable for Commissioners should be in the Cable TV budget. One current Commissioner does not have cable service. Commissioner Huiras said he brought it up because some other cities provide basic service for Commissioners, and that we should, too. Four Commissioners spoke in favor; Commissioner Huiras , Commissioner Browning, Commissioner Raiber & Commissioner Jacobson, so the consensus was to prepare an item for City Council consideration. c. Status of School District equipment purchase Commissioner Huiras asked if anything had been done on this. Mr. McHugh said that District staff was told to buy it and the City would be able to reimburse them after January 1, 1998, and that we do need it to be functional before the reimbursement. Commissioner Jacobson said that Channel 32 seems to be a marvelous tool that is underused. Commissioner Huiras recommended that staff contact the District for a status report. 7. New Business a. Consider annual Commission report to City Council Mr. Dunlap said that regulating basic could become time consuming, depending on what Paragon does with rates. He said that another area that may be added is reviewing a staff prepared telecom ordinance. Mr. McHugh said that he has been reviewing the existing status of telecom towers and uses, and options for the City to create their own network. Commissioner Huiras asked about the City’s Web site, and if the Commission should become a Telecommunications Commission? This question will be added to the work plan. Commissioner Browning asked about Paragon providing cable modems for digital services, and Mr. Mattern said they are still being tested in various cities, and that he could ask the engineers about the status of use in St. Louis Park. 8. Reports Mr. McHugh responded to a question about requests, or complaints, about adding a Russian TV channel. The channel is offered as a premium channel option at Hamilton 3 House for about $15 through a roof satellite dish, and there is some interest in pockets of St. Louis Park. Mr. Mattern said that he thought it would be even more expensive than that. Commissioner Ganyo asked about the complaint regarding a customer getting a recording during business hours when customer service should have been available. Mr. Mattern said that on the voice messaging tree you can get a recording if you don’t follow the menu carefully. Commissioner Huiras said that another problem, experienced in his office, is that some phones touch tone signal is not long enough to trigger the menu selection. 9. Communications from the Chair Commissioner Raiber thanked Commissioner Ganyo for his service on the Commission, since he doesn’t plan to serve again. 10. Communications from City staff Mr. Dunlap said that a sign recruiting a youth member was posted at the High School but that nobody had called for details yet. He said that there would probably be a contract employee with the City Clerk’s office to take notes and prepare minutes for the Commission next year. 11. Adjournment Moved by Commissioner Browning, seconded by Commissioner Ganyo to adjourn at 8:32pm; motion passed 5-0. Respectfully submitted by recording secretary Reg Dunlap