Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010/12/09 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - RegularOFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOUIS PARK TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OF DECEMBER 9, 2010 ST. LOUIS PARK COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Bruce Browning, Dale Hartman, Toby Keeler, Mike Mulligan, Rolf Peterson, Jenna Sheldon (youth member) and Bill Theobald MEMBERS ABSENT: Rick Dworsky STAFF PRESENT: Reg Dunlap, Civic TV Coordinator; John McHugh, Community TV Coordinator OTHERS PRESENT: 1. Call to Order Chair Browning called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. 2. Roll Call Present at roll call were Commissioners Browning, Hartman, Keeler, Mulligan, Peterson, Sheldon and Theobald. 3. Approval of Minutes A. Telecommunications Commission minutes: August 19, 2010 It was moved by Commissioner Keeler, seconded by Commissioner Hartman, to approve the minutes of August 19, 2010, without changes. The motion passed 7-0. B. Approve Telecommunications Commission Notes: October 21, 2010 (no quorum at this meeting) It was moved by Commissioner Keeler, seconded by Commissioner Mulligan, to approve the notes of October 21, 2010, without changes. The motion passed 7-0. 4. Adoption of Agenda It was moved by Commissioner Mulligan, seconded by Commissioner Keeler, to approve the agenda. The motion passed 7-0. 5. Public Comment - None 6. New Business A. Comcast presentation on channel line up changes Mr. Dunlap said Comcast was now calling their services XFINITY and showed a PowerPoint presentation listing the many new HD channels. There were no changes to the price list for January. The information is available on the City website in the Cable TV information section. B. Council request for Telecommunications Commission subcommittee to report on the future of cable TV Mr. Dunlap stated last years budget discussions led to this Council request for a subcommittee to study the future of cable TV and report back to the Commission and City Council. Previously the City projected franchise fee revenues to grow at 3%, but because revenues have slowed down the last few quarters, projections have been revised to 1% growth. Video services aren’t delivered the same way as they were 10 years ago and there has been many changes in technology. The end of the franchise is in 2021, and it’s possible there won’t be another franchise agreement after that, so the City Council wants to plan ahead. Right now the City is in a strong financial situation, and if things change, what is the best way to continue to deliver video services to serve the community? The sub committee would be at least two Telecomm members and two staff, with Jamie Zwilling being the lead on this, and will report to the Telecommunications Commission. The Commission and subcommittee would decide the specifics to study including questions and outcomes to be explored. Keeler and Browning volunteered to be on the sub committee. Commissioner Keeler suggested Youth Member Sheldon participate and provide the “new generation” insight, and she said she’d like to be part of this. C. Grand Stadium Agreement for High School Sports Sectionals coverage Chair Browning said that he and Commissioner Keeler hadn’t received the email background attachment so he’d like to look at this in greater detail before drawing any conclusions. But he recommended some general information from staff and how many people are affected. Mr. Dunlap indicated Grand Stadium is a subsidiary of Hubbard Broadcasting and Channel 45 which has the exclusive rights to cover high school sports tournaments. Park TV covers high school sectional games, and it’s possible that a worst case scenario is that Park TV would be prohibited from covering sectional games without a signed agreement with Hubbard. The signed agreement also means Park TV would provide a DVD of game coverage to Grand Stadium, which would use their portal on the internet to publicize and sell copies, and the City would get a percentage of sales. Mr. Dunlap said he only knew of one organization that had signed the agreement to this point, and some people had voiced some concerns. The purpose for raising the issue was to see if the Commission chooses to become involved in the discussion or to have staff resolve this. Commissioner Mulligan asked if the City monetizes the events they cover? Mr. Dunlap said the DVD’s sell for $15 each and that high school sports was a popular request. Mr. McHugh said DVD sales were between $2,000 and $4,000 in revenue per year. Commissioner Mulligan asked if it was a new initiative or contract, and Mr. Dunlap said he thought it was, between a few months or one year. Commissioner Keeler said that they wouldn’t have the resources to cover all the sectional events which is probably why they were recruiting partners. Chair Browning asked if a representative from Hubbard could be available at the next meeting to answer questions, and Mr. Dunlap said he would try to arrange that for the February meeting. Commissioner Peterson said that North Metro had concerns about the Grand Stadium agreement and that it might violate their franchise agreement. Has staff submitted the information to the City Attorney yet? Mr. Dunlap said it hadn’t been, but based on his own knowledge of the franchise there wouldn’t be a conflict. The Commission wanted more information before making a decision, and Commissioner Theobald suggested that the City legal folks check the agreement. Mr. McHugh said it was a 1 year agreement and it’s unclear if they continue to sell the recordings after 1 year. D. Draft Annual Report for 2010 Mr. Dunlap indicated the report was missing the tally of Comcast complaints, so that will be updated before being sent to Council. The practice for the last few years has been to submit the written report to the Council at one meeting, and meet with the Council at a later date to discuss the Annual report and work plan. Mr. McHugh said the Lenox Wi-Fi hot spot has been completed, so to revise that reference. E. Set meetings for 2011 2011 meetings are as follows: February 10, April 7, July 14, October 6 and December 8th. F. Draft Work Plan for 2011 Mr. Dunlap stated the commission could suggest additions. Suggestions included Grand Stadium in February and new Clear G4 service for in April. G. Elect Chair & Vice Chair, effective next meeting Commissioner Keeler made a motion to nominate Mike Mulligan as Chair, Commissioner Theobald seconded. The motion passed 7-0. Commissioner Mulligan made a motion to nominate Rolf Peterson as Vice Chair, Commissioner Keeler seconded. The motion passed 7-0. 7. Unfinished Business A Long term fiber infrastructure planning update Commissioner Keeler said Clint Pires put together a proposal that was recently presented to the City Council; the first meeting is expected in January. Mr. McHugh said they will start putting together an RFP to hire a consultant to guide the process. They have 28 miles of infrastructure and need to determine where to add more and why. There is a $50,000 limit to come up with a plan for the community. He expects the RFP to be done in the first half of the year, depending on how the process goes. Commissioner Browning said the City of Minneapolis is running a pilot project with USI wireless to run a direct fiber connection to some homes and to offer 30 megabit/second service for $24.95/month. The also offer higher speeds for higher prices, and also may offer television service. This information comes from a colleague of Commissioner Browning’s who lives in Edina, and it’s not clear if the pilot will be expanded. Commissioner Browning also said that Google was expected to make their announcement soon about their fiber project. 8. Reports A. Complaints Commissioner Peterson was surprised there was only one complaint about a recent issue with internet service being down. Commissioner Hartman indicated he had a recent billing issue regarding a change in phone service. Commissioner Browning stated there were not many complaints and felt Comcast was doing a good job resolving issues. Commissioner Theobald asked how many St. Louis Park residents were Comcast customers? Mr. Dunlap replied approximately 13,000 had cable TV. There was an average of 75-100 complaints annually. Commissioner Keeler said that represents half of a percent of customers that complain to the City. 9. Communication from the Chair Commissioner Browning asked Commissioner Mulligan about his experience with the Sprint 4G Max, which was launched in October. Commissioner Mulligan said Sprint partnered with Clear to launch WiMax services in the Twin Cities, that he had bought a new phone in July that received a WiMax signal in Richfield in August. He said the download speeds were much faster in 4G than 3G, and that would be very advantageous if he was to do a lot of downloading. He said his phones battery life is an issue while downloading, and that there is an issue with consistency of the signal. There is no 4G service in his neighborhood by Browndale/Minikahda Vista and he wouldn’t pay a premium price for the service at the moment. He said that Sprint’s service is WiMax and Verizon’s service is LTE, so there are multiple technologies being offered. Commissioner Browning said that was the same as the experience of others he’d talked to with 4G devices, that the service was still too new on both the providers to be reliable. He expects service to improve as they fill out the towers and antennas. He also said it’s difficult to know what’s being offered, that even the providers don’t know what services are being sold. 10. Communications from City Staff Commissioner Keeler asked if there would be a travel budget for Commissioners to attend the 2011 NATOA conference? Mr. Dunlap replied he didn’t have that information yet and would know in May. Commissioner Browning mentioned that several of the Commissioners had attended another worthwhile MACTA conference locally, and that he’d learned a lot at the conference. He also said it was an honor to be chair during this busy year, and that next year looks busier still. 11. Adjournment Commissioner Mulligan made a motion, Commission Peterson seconded to adjourn at 8:03. The motion passed. Respectfully submitted by: Amy L. Stegora-Peterson Recording Secretary