Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000/10/19 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - RegularOFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOUIS PARK CITIZENS CABLE TV ADVISORY COMMISSION OCTOBER 19, 2000 --7:00 P.M. ST. LOUIS PARK CITY HALL SECOND FLOOR, NORTH #1 CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Rick Dworsky, Dale Hartman, John Herbert, Ken Huiras, and Robert Jacobson MEMBERS ABSENT: Bruce Browning and Mary Jean Overend STAFF PRESENT: Reg Dunlap, Civic TV Coordinator, John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator, and Shirley Olson, Recording Secretary OTHERS PRESENT: Tom Marble, Director of Information Services, ISD #283 and Charlie Fiss, LAN Technician, ISD #283 1. Call to Order Chair Huiras called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. 2. Roll Call All current members of the Commission except Bruce Browning and Mary Jean Overend were present. 3. Approval of Minutes It was moved by Rick Dworsky, seconded by Robert Jacobson, to approve the meeting minutes of July 20, 2000 of the Cable TV Advisory Commission. Motion carried unanimously. It was moved by Robert Jacobson, seconded by Rick Dworsky, to approve the meeting minutes of August 10, 2000 of the Cable TV Advisory Commission. Motion carried unanimously. 4. Adoption of the Agenda It was moved by Robert Jacobson, seconded by John Herbert, to adopt the agenda. Motion carried unanimously. 5. Old Business A. School District Funding for 2000 Tom Marble explained that in the past funding could not be directed toward Charlie’s position because of labor contracts. However the labor contracts have been renegotiated and now allow for a new competitive salary schedule and the ability to use this position in a more flexible way. Robert Jacobson stated that the position title may also be part of the problem and recommended that the term technician not be used. Telecommunications Commission Minutes October 19, 2000 Page 2 The Commission considered the School District’s request of raising the allocation of the grant from $25,000 for operations, which has been the practice for a number of years. Charlie Fiss stated that the $28,000 equipment grant (from Time Warner) was used to purchase the following equipment to create 4 identical editing systems: 4 Macintosh G-4 computers, 4 17” monitors, 4 Mini DV cassette recorders and a SAN Cube for digitized material. He stated that all items were networked, working wonderfully and were being used to develop quality material. The TV production students have been very excited about the new editing equipment and the 9 camcorders (purchased with a separate $7,500 equipment grant last year) and have been handling the equipment properly. Tom Marble said that the TV instructor, Eric Adolfson, is an art teacher who also teaches still photography, and worked with Charlie over the summer to modernize the curriculum. Tom Marble also said that the School District still desired $10,000 to upgrade the existing studios with a new mixer, master recording deck and teleprompters, and to equip a second TV studio would cost $25,000, but this could wait. He stated that the School District was requesting an increased annual allocation to assist the cable channel, either as an operations grant or split into operations and a specific equipment grant. John Herbert asked what the maximum dollar amount was available for this grant. Reg Dunlap said that City had $37,400 remaining in the Contractual Services category for the funding. John Herbert asked how contingent the position was on this funding from the City. Tom Marble stated that it was very contingent on the funding. John Herbert felt that grants should be granted for equipment, but not for the position itself. He believed that the School District should also be responsible for the salary of the position. Tom Marble stated that he wanted to research additional history of grant guidelines. He believed that from the beginning the grant was in support of the entire operation, which would include personnel. John Herbert was concerned about setting precedence for the future and questioned if it would be appropriate for the position to be shared, i.e. School District .4 and City .6. Ken Huiras said it was a grant and that there had not been strings attached to it in the past. Ken Huiras asked if the graduation standard included a video requirement. Tom Marble stated that this was the case. Telecommunications Commission Minutes October 19, 2000 Page 3 It was moved by Robert Jacobson, seconded by Dale Hartman to grant $30,000 to the School District. John Herbert agreed with the grant, but requested that the School District fine tune the budget for this position and requested that for accountability reasons, the School District report back on how the funding for 2001 was used before the City does the their budget for funding. Tom Marble stated that he will be overseeing the budget and agrees with being held accountable. It was moved by Robert Jacobson, seconded by Rick Dworsky, to amend the amount to $37,400. The motion carried unanimously. The Commission requested that Tom Marble provide a detailed report to the Commission on how the funds were utilized, and Tom agreed to do so. The Commission directed staff to contact Sharon Klumpp and others who had knowledge of the history and objectives of why the grant was originally provided. The Commission requested a detailed equipment list from Charlie Fiss; Charlie said he would e-mail the list to Reg Dunlap. John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator stated that the new cable applicant, Everest, had stated in recent communication an interest to partner with the school district. He recommended that Tom Marble contact the operator and initiate dialog about what this would involve and any possible rearrangements that would benefit the public. B. Non Public Schools Funding John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator presented an update. He stated that Torah Academy has been loaned equipment to produce internal material some of which will also run on the Community channel. He stated that there was a teacher there who was interested in having the 8th grade work on a school year retrospective project. He also explained that a similar arrangement last year had produced results, because Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School has purchased their own equipment, and produced programming that has shown on Community TV15. John encouraged Commissioners to brainstorm and forward ideas about additional ways to involve non-public schools so they can receive the benefits of Cable TV in the City. He noted that the Commission would consider non public schools funding in the 2001 budget and work plan. C. Needs Assessment Update John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator explained he had not received all the information needed to make a presentation. Telecommunications Commission Minutes October 19, 2000 Page 4 D. Update on Competitive Cable Franchising Process John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator provided a handout to the Commission and presented an update on the competitive cable franchising process. He stated that the City has asked that the companies to build an institutional network which would benefit the City by connecting a dozen City and School buildings and in some places replace voice telephone lines (which would save the City money). He stated that a Public Hearing was scheduled for the City Council meeting on November 6, 2000. He stated that Everest, Wide Open West and any others would be present at the meeting. He explained that the next step was to complete an analysis of the proposals from the companies and then complete a summary of the negotiations before the public hearing. 6. New Business A. Rick Dworsky comments on NATOA conference Rick Dworsky thanked the Commission for their support and for sending him to the recent conference in Los Angeles. He informed the Commission that the next NATOA conference would be September 9-12, 2001 in South Beach, Miami. Mr. Dworsky presented highlights of the material presented at the conference. In a session on competitive cable franchising, he heard these main points of interest: • Usually cities should start from scratch on the franchise • Cities may need to add staff to handle the needs of customers • Competitors don’t necessarily lower rates but may instead offer improved customer service • Cities should have a strategy to assure the entire City isn’t torn up for construction at once • Cable companies would like regulation at the state instead of municipal level. State Law requires parity between incumbent and competitor He also had other points about the state of the industry or regulation: • Many of the new SA 2000 and 6000 boxes have an Ethernet port, function at a 486 level and are pingable because they have a URL • Cable in the Classroom is offered by Cox and free to schools without commercials • DSL presently at a 500,000 heading toward 7 million. • AT&T, Time Warner are the biggest cable providers and Direct TV and EchoStar are the biggest satellite providers • Cable carriers prefer cable regulation even with a required 5% franchise fee, rather than telecommunications regulation • If cable drops can be free – why not telephone • Make Public, Educational and Government (PEG) channels a certain percentage of available channels so it is a constantly moving (and increasing) number • PEG channels should have the funding to transition to digital B. MACTA Lobbying Special Contribution Telecommunications Commission Minutes October 19, 2000 Page 5 Reg Dunlap, Civic TV Coordinator described last year’s lobbying effort by the Minnesota Association of Community Telecommunications Advisors (MACTA) to prevent passage of the bills introduced by Senator Steve Kelly and the Ventura Administration, and that the City contributed $5,000 to that lobbying effort. MACTA’s proposal for the next session is to raise $120,000 and introduce legislation prepared by Creighton, Bradley and Guzzetta, and for Spano & Janecek to continue as the primary lobbyists. MACTA requests $.50 per subscriber, and as of September 30, 2000, Time Warner had 12,916 subscribers for a cost of $6,458. It was moved by Rick Dworsky, seconded by Robert Jacobson, to contribute $6,500 to MACTA’s lobbying effort. Motion carried unanimously. 7. Reports - None 8. Communications from Chair - None 9. Communications from City Staff Ken Huiras asked about the Time Warner complaint about unburied cables and open cabinets at Victoria Ponds and Wolfe Lake Condominiums. The Commission directed Reg Dunlap to work with Scott Schroeder to resolve the problems as soon as possible, and to write a letter to Scott’s supervisor if need be. 10. Adjournment With no other business to come before the Commission, it was moved by Rick Dworsky to adjourn at 9:40 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Shirley Olson Recording Secretary ATTEST: Reg Dunlap Civic TV Coordinator City of St. Louis Park