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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002/10/17 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - RegularOFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOUIS PARK TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OF OCTOBER 17, 2002 at 7:00 p.m. ST. LOUIS PARK CITY HALL, WESTWOOD ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Rick Dworsky, Dale Hartman, Ken Huiras, Bob Jacobson, Mary Jean Overend, and Rolf Peterson MEMBERS ABSENT: Bruce Browning STAFF PRESENT: Reg Dunlap, Civic TV Coordinator and John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator OTHERS PRESENT: Arlen Mattern, Time Warner Cable Public Affairs Administrator; Lance Leupold, Time Warner Cable Director of Public Affairs; and Linda Samson, Recording Secretary 1. Call to Order Chair Hartman called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. 2. Roll Call Present at roll call were Commissioners Rick Dworsky, Dale Hartman, Ken Huiras, Bob Jacobson, Mary Jean Overend, and Rolf Peterson; City Staff Reg Dunlap and John McHugh; and Recording Secretary Linda Samson. 3. Approval of Minutes for August 8, 2002 Corrections: From Commissioner Huiras: Page 4, Paragraph 3, Line 14, delete not and replace with including. It was moved by Commissioner Huiras, seconded by Commissioner Jacobson, to approve the minutes as amended. The motion passed 6-0. 4. Adoption of Agenda Commissioner Huiras would like to add a discussion regarding Review School Board Report to Item 6, Old Business, as Item 6C. Civic TV Coordinator Reg Dunlap suggested moving Item 5B, Staff Draft Grant Proposal, to be the last item of New Business as Item 5E. It was moved by Commissioner Huiras, seconded by Commissioner Overend, to approve the agenda as amended. The motion passed 6-0. 5. New Business 5A Time Warner customer service update, including bonding of contract installers, identification of leased access channels and leased access rates and guidelines. Deb Squire was unable to attend tonight’s meeting. She had been scheduled to discuss customer service. Commissioner Huiras asked if Ms. Squire receives copies of the complaints, and Arlen Mattern, Time Warner Cable Public Affairs Administrator responded yes. Commissioner Jacobson asked if an apartment building is counted as one unit, i.e., one household or if every apartment in the building is counted as one unit or one household. Mr. Dunlap said he would check. A sample Channel Lease Agreement was distributed to the Commissioners. Mr. Mattern said channels 75 and 116 are leased access channels. Mr. McHugh asked if that meant MTV2 was preempted to allow leased access programming, and Mr. Mattern said he would have to check on that and report back at the next Commission meeting. The discussion turned to the bonding of contract installers. Mr. Mattern said he has provided samples, in the handouts distributed at tonight’s meeting, of what contractors receive prior to the work they perform. The samples were titled: cost of insurance and cost of liability, insurance and liability insurance, and indemnity. The contractors are provided this information so that they know what type of insurance they need in order to operate in St. Louis Park. 5B Time Warner Cable Restructuring Mr. Dunlap reported that the City has received a Federal Communications Commission Form 394 from Time Warner Cable (“TWC”) about AOL TWC restructuring. The City Council will hold a public hearing on November 4, 2002 regarding the restructuring. Mr. Dunlap stated that the Commissions would receive the City Attorney’s analysis of Form 394 and how the TWC restructuring could affect the City’s franchise. TWC is creating a new holding company, and there will be an initial public offering (“IPO”). Commissioner Jacobson said it should be known that customer service will not be diminished, and normal operations will continue. Lance Leupold, Time Warner Cable Director of Public Affairs, commented that the restructuring is entirely within Time Warner Cable. Mr. Leupold said there has been discussion of an IPO, TWC will still be the owner, and TWC will be managed by the same people. Mr. Leupold said the restructuring would allow TWC to have more control over their companies. He added that TWC hopes the change will be transparent. John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator, said there would be staff reports later in October regarding the renewal process. 5C FCC Forms 1205 and 1240: Timeline Requirements to Contest Basic Rate, Hire Consultant to Review Mr. Dunlap reported that St. Louis Park is certified to regulate basic cable, including basic cable rates and the equipment used to receive cable signals, i.e., the converter boxes. Converter boxes will be eligible for a rate increase from about $5.50 to about $7.00. Mr. Dunlap said he thinks this item should be deferred to the next meeting in order for greater details to be presented to the Commission. 5D Bylaws Reviewed During her review of the bylaws, Commissioner Overend said she did not see anything regarding a Commissioner’s length of service in the by-laws, and she noted a secret ballot was not conducted at the last election of officers. It was noted that election of officers was done by acclamation. If there had been an objection (see Article 4, Section 3), a secret ballot would have been taken. Commissioner Huiras sees no problem with a chair serving two consecutive one-year terms (see Article 4, Section 3). Commissioner Huiras would like to know if it should be stated that dates shall be established at the final meeting of the year for the upcoming year (Article VI). Mr. Dunlap will consult with the City Attorney to determine if it must be specified, and he will check on how to proceed with the change. Commissioner Huiras noted to change Citizens Cable to Telecommunications Commission, and in the first paragraph change Citizens Cable to Telecommunications Commission. For Article IV, Section 3, Commissioner Dworsky suggested changing election shall be held to election may be held. Commissioner Dworsky suggested adding to the by-laws that meetings shall be published in advance. Commissioner Huiras requested the proposed recommendations to the bylaws be made and published, and the Commissioners will make a motion at the next meeting. 5E Staff Grant Proposal Mr. Dunlap suggested deferring this item to a meeting in 2003. Mr. Dunlap distributed a draft of a proposed outline, which the Commissioners had requested from a previous meeting. 6. Old Business 6A Update: Auditing Time Warner Cable Franchise Fees Mr. Dunlap reported he received a call from Scott Lewis, and Mr. Lewis is nearly finished with his report. It has been determined that there are 10 invalid addresses of the 1,000 addresses that were not found on the Time Warner homes passed list. Mr. Dunlap will have more information at the next meeting. 6B Update: Channel 6 Deletion and Security Camera Issue at Menorah Plaza Mr. McHugh distributed a handout with e-mail communications between Lance Leupold and himself regarding the channel 6 issue. Mr. McHugh said Karen O’Toole met with TWC regarding rates, and Ms. O’Toole now has a new contract with TWC. Mr. McHugh stated the ongoing issue is the deletion of regional channel 6 at MDUs, which is prohibited according to State statutes. Mr. Leupold said Mr. McHugh thinks there is a franchise agreement violation, however, TWC thinks they are not in violation of the franchise agreement or state law. Mr. Leupold said channel 6 is provided on the cable system, and is sent to every home and building in the City. Mr. Leupold reported that TWC will not state, demand, encourage or discourage what channel an MDU must use for capacity for security camera access. Mr. Leupold is of the understanding that Menorah Plaza is overriding the TWC signal for channel 6. Mr. Leupold said TWC wants to remain neutral in regard to which channel an MDU uses for its security cameras. Commissioner Dworsky said he would like to have a copy of the relevant State statute. Mr. Dunlap said he would provide copies of the statute to the Commissioners. Commissioner Dworsky said he would like the City Attorney’s interpretation of the statute. As a next step, Mr. Leupold suggested perhaps the TWC attorney and the City Attorney could have a dialogue. 6C. Review School Board Report Commissioner Huiras asked Mr. Dunlap to thank Charlie and Tom for their report, and he hopes the reports continue to come. Commissioner Peterson remarked that he met with them about the new equipment for School Board coverage, and that he was impressed. Staff will find out what will be produced at the junior high school, and report to the Commissioners. Mr. Dunlap said grant funds could be addressed at the next meeting. 7. Reports Mr. Dunlap reported on the recent MACTA conference and briefly reviewed a summary of the legislative issues that were discussed at the conference. Mr. McHugh distributed a survey form from the Twin West Chamber of Commerce regarding if telecommunications needs are being met. Commissioner Jacobson talked about digital light projection, and he displayed a digital light projection product from Texas Instruments. Commissioner Huiras congratulated Reg Dunlap for being recognized as St. Louis Park employee of the year. Mr. Dunlap is the recipient of the City’s Spirit of St. Louis Park Award. 8. Communications from the Chair: None 9. Communications from City Staff: None 10. Adjournment It was moved by Commissioner Huiras, seconded by Commissioner Jacobson, to adjourn the meeting at 9:16 p.m. The motion passed 6-0. Minutes prepared by: Respectfully submitted by: Linda Samson Reg Dunlap Recording Secretary Civic TV Coordinator