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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCable Advisory Board 2001 Minutes MINUTES TELECOMMUNICATION AND CABLE ADVISORY BOARD City Council Council Conference Room 124 West Michigan Avenue Wednesday, October 10, 2001 CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:40 p.m. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Ida Bryanton,Member Greg Starks, Chair Sherie Davy, Vice Chair Letitia Fowler, Member David Koskinen,Member Luke Schafer, Member OTHERS PRESENT Darryl Burgess,Public Access Producer Jack Jordan, Law Department Karen Schmidt, CITY-TV Brian Smith, C.B.L. Christine Timmon,Public Access Producer Ross Tooker, Public Service Department REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES MEMBER FOWLER MOVED THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 12, 2001. MOTION PASSES, 6-0. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS Darryl Burgess discussed the handling of the Public Access Center by AT&T. He would like to have copies of the Franchise Agreement and the Amendments. Delores Burley of GNS charges for placing religious programming on that religious channel. Therefore, much of the religious programming is being placed on the Public Access Channel. With the limited number of operational hours the access facility has, getting programming aired has been a problem. The channel signal is also extremely poor. He has brought attention to this problem before, to no avail. He finds it extremely upsetting after putting so much work into a program to have it come across the cable so poorly. Christine Timmon read a flier she had written regarding AT&T's poor signal and lack of proficient Public Access employees. She stated that the employees are not trained and apparently AT&T has no money to hire weekend help. She referenced Greg Starks, article in the newspaper and agreed with what he had written on every level. She does not think their franchise should be renewed. Brian Smith, Citizens' for a Better Lansing, believes that the City needs to work on Greg Starks proposal as stated in the article in the City Pulse. This brought on some general discussion about whether an AT&T Representative was suppose to be at these meeting or not. COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS Notice of Channel Line-up ChanLye, AT&T VICE CHAIR DAVY MOVED TO RECEIVE AND PLACE THIS COMMUNICATION ON FILE. MOTION PASSES 6-0. Cable Television Francise Renewal, AT&T Chair Starks highlighted the communication from AT&T regarding their desire to handle Franchise Renewal using the quicker negotiations. Jack Jordan will provide the Board with a copy of the different versions as stated in the Cable Act of 1994. DISCUSSION ITEMS E-CONOMIC Development Plan Outline Chairperson Starks requested that all Board members receive a copy of this report for there information. The report places a lot of focus on the internet and the changing ways that businesses are using that to conduct transactions. REPORTS Public Service Mr. Tooker informed the Board that the City's processing billings. Two construction permits have been filed, hoping to complete their projects before winter. LATE ITEMS Change in Channel Line-up, AT&T Application for the City of Lansing Community Cablecastin2 Grant Board members discussed the some proposed changes to the application by Boardmembers Koskinen and Davy. It was agreed to discuss this at the next meeting. Public Comment Christine Timmon stated that she will be back to the next meeting since there was not any representation from AT&T Broadband at this meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 p.m. Submitted by Karen Schmidt CITY-TV Manager Approved by Greg Starks, Chair 2 �� DATE �j C� -- MINUTES TELECOMMUNICATION AND CABLE ADVISORY BOARD City Council Council Conference Room 124 West Michigan Avenue Wednesday, September 12, 2001 CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:43 p.m. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Greg Starks, Chair Sherie Davy, Vice Chair Letitia Fowler, Member Carol Greer, Member David Koskinen, Member OTHERS PRESENT J Owen Horton, Student Chris Johnston, Public Service Department Jack Jordan, Law Department Karen Schmidt, CITY-TV Chris Johnston, Public Service Department Ross Tooker, Public Service Department Okey Umelo, Student Nneka Nnolim, Student REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES MEMBER KOSKINEN MOVED THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF JUNE 13, 2001. MOTION PASSES, 5-0. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS None. COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS Notice of Channel Drop, AT&T Annual Report for In re Social Contract for Continental Cablevision, AT&T Cable Television Franchise Renewal, AT&T Chairperson Starks stated that he had earlier discussed the information presented in the Annual Report with Leslie Brogan, AT&T Broadband. He was informed that AT&T Broadband had I year from when they rolled out modems to be in compliance with this contract and modems were rolled out last month. Member Greer discussed the situation she had been working on with getting cable to Sankofa Shule School's new building and the length of time and energy to get that done. She mentioned that the school is now wired, but only in one room. Mr. Jordan stated that that was in compliance with the Social Contract. MEMBER KOSKINEN MOVED TO RECEIVE AND PLACE ON FILE THE FIRST TWO COMMUNICATIONS (Notice of Channel Line-up Change, Annual Report for In re Social Contract for Continental Cablevision) AND TO REVIEW THE CABLE TELEVISION FRANCHISE RENEWAL COMMUNICATION AT THE NEXT MEETING. MOTION PASSES, 5-0. REPORTS Public Service Mr. Tooker informed the Board that the City's billing is up-to-date. The following have put in for Telecommunication Permits: International Cable (fiber, Blink, Inc.), US Exchange (Choice One) and C2CC Fiber of Michigan. Chair Chairperson Starks informed the Board members that they are awaiting Council action on the Board's recommendation for an RFP for Franchise Renewal assistance. Ms. Schmidt stated that the recommendation has been sent to the Committee on Ways and Means by the Committee on General Services to find funds for such. Chairperson Starks also discussed the new paper in the Lansing area, "City Pulse". He discussed an article that he had written for the paper and assured Board members that it was stipulated that his writings did not reflect the views of the Board. Chairperson Starks went over the Board's current issues to the Journalism students attending the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 6:05 p.m. Submitted by Karen Schmidt CITY-TV Manager Approved by Greg Starks, Chair DATE /� I MINUTES TELECOMMUNICATION AND CABLE ADVISORY BOARD City Council Council Conference Room 124 West Michigan Avenue Meeting Wednesday, June 13, 2001 CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:45 p.m. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Greg Starks, Chair Michael Blonde, Member Ida Bryanton, Member Sherie Davy, Vice Chair Letitia Fowler, Member David Koskinen, Member OTHERS PRESENT Leslie Brogan, AT&T Broadband Rick Collman, AT&T Broadband Chris Johnston, Public Service Department Jack Jordan, Law Department Karen Schmidt, CITY-TV Ross Tooker, Public Service Department REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES MEMBER BLONDE MOVED THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF MARCH 14, 2001. MOTION PASSES, 6-0. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS None. COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS Notice of Channel Drop, AT&T Notice of Price Increase, AT&T Ms. Brogan, AT&T Broadband, Director of Franchising &Local Gov't Affairs, Midwest Market, discussed the two notifications from AT&T. She stated that this increase is to bring the prices in line across the country. She also passed out a new price list for all of the surrounding area systems. ACTION/DISCUSSION Public Access Recognition Reception The reception is to be held during next months, July 11, normal business meeting time. The caterer, Ottawa Street Catering, the plaques and invitations are all ready. The reception will be held at AT&T Broadband Public Access studios on Miller Road. There will be a brief program for around 50 to 75 people. Grant Applications Member Koskinen had nothing new to report. There was discussion of the current situation. Member Blonde believes there should be input on the grants from past recipients. Request for RFP Chairperson Starks outlined the fact that before the Board members were two different resolutions directing the Council to hire a consultant to advise the City on refranchising. One put together by himself the other by Mr. Jordan, Law Department. Chairperson Starks believes that the City has more options to look at rather than just refranchising and the best resolution would be a mesh of the two resolutions. Discussion occurred regarding the differences between the two documents. Additions were made to the Mr. Jordan's document to reflect ideas from Chairperson Starks. MEMBER KOSKINEN MOVED THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE RESOLUTION ON THE TABLE TO BE FORWARDED ON TO CITY COUNCIL. MOTION PASSES, 6-0. REPORTS AT&T Ms. Brogan discussed that High Speed will possibly be in Lansing by the Fall. The rate sheet and the different packages (Bronze, Silver and Platinum) were discussed among the Board. Public Service Mr. Tooker informed the Board that the City's billing is up-to-date. The following have put in for Telecommunication Permits: International Cable, Blink, Inc., US Exchange (Choice One) and C2CC Fiber of Michigan. Chair Chairperson Starks mentioned to the other members that there was some citizen interest in the Telecommunication and Cable Advisory Board. The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Submitted by Karen Schmidt CITY-TV Manager Approved by Greg Starks, Chair n ' (� i DATE MINUTES TELECOMMUNICATION AND CABLE ADVISORY BOARD City Council Council Conference Room 124 West Michigan Avenue Meeting Wednesday, March 14, 2001 CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:40 p.m. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Greg Starks, Chair Michael Blonde, Member Sherie Davy, Vice Chair Carol Greer, Member (arrived 5:50 pm) David Koskinen, Member Luke Schafer, Member OTHERS PRESENT Ross Tooker, Public Service Department Jack Jordan, Law Department Karen Schmidt, CITY-TV REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES MEMBER BLONDE MOVED THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF JANUARY 10, 2001. MOTION PASSES, 5-0. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS None. COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS Telecom FranchisinjZ Email VICE CHAIR DAVY MOVED TO RECEIVE AND PLACE ON FILE FOR INFORMATION. MOTION PASSES, 5-0. ACTION/DISCUSSION Public Access Recognition Reception Vice Chair Davy and Member Fowler are in charge of the Recognition Dinner. Ms. Davy updated the Board on prices and possibilities. They are looking into a dinner for 50-75 people. Upon further discussion with the Board, it was decided that we should work towards having the reception in June. PROTEC Jack Jordan discussed a mini conference he attended in Southfield, trying to protect municipalities right-of-ways. Membership dues are $25,000 annually. He mentioned that this group has lost every case in Michigan that they have tried, to date. MEMBER KOSKINEN MOVED TO RECEIVE THE INFORMATION AND PLACE IT ON FILE. APPROVED 5-0. Recommendation Regarding AT&T's Report Chair Starks discussed the resolution put together by Jack Jordan to advise Council to contract with a consultant to assist the City in its renewal process with AT&T. Mr. Starks wanted to incorporate this resolution with some of the points that he had made in his previous resolution. He believes that the City should explore all of its options. Mr. Jordan stated that there was no evidence that AT&T has not complied with the current franchise. There was discussion on what `State of the Art' means in terms of equipment. A consulting firm would put together a Performance Evaluation. Mr. Jordan discussed the refranchising timetable, stating that the formal process can come from either side. The Board discussed their feeling that AT&T has been making false expectations to hold off the City. AT&T has been evasive in replies to questions and has not been present at the last few meetings. Member Greer brought up the problems that Sankofa school is having with AT&T since moving into there new building. Last she had heard from AT&T, Leslie Brogan, AT&T Cable General Manager, was to be present at this meeting to discuss this topic. REPORTS Public Service Mr. Tooker informed the Board that three (3) telecommunication permits are currently working through the process. The City Council sets the yearly fee for permits and there is a separate permit with the company actually builds the system. Attorney Mr. Jordan discussed that many changes in Cable and cable issues have occurred in the last four years since he had attended ACM conference. The City's franchise with AT&T is over in the year 2004 and he believes that this will be a very important negotiation. Consultant firms that handle franchise negotiations range between $30,000-$40,000. The Board may want to look to recommend this route in dealing with the upcoming negotiations. Chair Chair Starks again emphasized his opinion that the Council needs to explore all of there options in handling AT&T's cable refranchising. He would like to be involved in the decision of terms for the Request for Proposals (RDP) and the evaluation of the bids. The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m. Submitted by Karen Schmidt CITY-TV Manager 7oved by Greg St rks, Chair DATE MINUTES TELECOMMUNICATION AND CABLE ADVISORY BOARD City Council Council Conference Room 124 West Michigan Avenue Meeting Wednesday, March 14, 2001 CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:40 p.m. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Greg Starks, Chair Michael Blonde, Member Sherie Davy, Vice Chair Carol Greer, Member(arrived 5:50 pm) David Koskinen, Member Luke Schafer, Member OTHERS PRESENT Ross Tooker, Public Service Department Jack Jordan,Law Department Karen Schmidt, CITY-TV REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES MEMBER BLONDE MOVED THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF JANUARY 10, 2001. MOTION PASSES, 5-0. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS None. COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS Telecom Franchising Email VICE CHAIR DAVY MOVED TO RECEIVE AND PLACE ON FILE FOR INFORMATION. MOTION PASSES, 5-0. ACTION/DISCUSSION Public Access Recognition Reception Vice Chair Davy and Member Fowler are in charge of the Recognition Dinner. Ms. Davy updated the Board on prices and possibilities. They are looking into a dinner for 50-75 people. Upon further discussion with the Board, it was decided that we should work towards having the reception in June. PROTEC Jack Jordan discussed a mini conference he attended in Southfield, trying to protect municipalities right-of-ways. Membership dues are $25,000 annually. He mentioned that this group has lost every case in Michigan that they have tried, to date. MEMBER KOSKINEN MOVED TO RECEIVE THE INFORMATION AND PLACE IT ON FILE. APPROVED 5-0. Recommendation Reaardin�,Y AT&T's Report Chair Starks discussed the resolution put together by Jack Jordan to advise Council to contract with a consultant to assist the City in its renewal process with AT&T. Mr. Starks wanted to incorporate this resolution with some of the points that he had made in his previous resolution. He believes that the City should explore all of its options. Mr. Jordan stated that there was no evidence that AT&T has not complied with the current franchise. There was discussion on what `State of the Art' means in terms of equipment. A consulting firm would put together a Performance Evaluation. Mr. Jordan discussed the refranchising timetable, stating that the formal process can come from either side. The Board discussed their feeling that AT&T has been making false expectations to hold off the City. AT&T has been evasive in replies to questions and has not been present at the last few meetings. Member Greer brought up the problems that Sankofa school is having with AT&T since moving into there new building. Last she had heard from AT&T, Leslie Brogan, AT&T Cable General Manager, was to be present at this meeting to discuss this topic. REPORTS Public Service Mr. Tooker informed the Board that three (3) telecommunication permits are currently working through the process. The City Council sets the yearly fee for permits and there is a separate permit with the company actually builds the system. Attorney Mr. Jordan discussed that many changes in Cable and cable issues have occurred in the last four years since he had attended ACM conference. The City's franchise with AT&T is over in the year 2004 and he believes that this will be a very important negotiation. Consultant firms that handle franchise negotiations range between $30,000-$40,000. The Board may want to look to recommend this route in dealing with the upcoming negotiations. Chair Chair Starks again emphasized his opinion that the Council needs to explore all of there options in handling AT&T's cable refranchising. He would like to be involved in the decision of terms for the Request for Proposals (RDP) and the evaluation of the bids. The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m. Submitted by Karen Schmidt CITY-TV Manager Approved by Greg Starks, Chair DATE t; cn�rsi�r� 1 Oth Floor, Lansing City Hall • 124 W. Michigan Ave. • Lansing, MI 48933 (517) 483-4058 • FAX (517) 483-7630 AGENDA LANSING CABLE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY BOARD Council Chambers City Hall February 7, 2001 5:30 PM Greg Starks,Chair Sherie Davy,Vice-Chair Michael Blonde Ida Bryanton Letitia Fowler �I.0 J V Carol Greer ( (�� David Koskinen Luke Schafer 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Review and Approval of Minutes 4. Public Comment on Agenda Items _ 5. Communications and Petitions 6. Discussion and Pending Items t • Recommendation regarding AT&T's Report • Public Access Recognition Reception ` 7. Reports • AT&T Representative .._ • Attorney • Public Service Department • CITY-TV • Chair, Vice-Chair 8. Receipt of Late Items 9. Public Comment 11. Adjourn. m4 , MINUTES TELECOMMUNICATION AND CABLE ADVISORY BOARD City Council Council Conference Room 124 West Michigan Avenue Meeting Wednesday, January 10, 2001 CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:40 p.m. ; COMMITTEE MEMBERS = Greg Starks, Chair Sherie Davy, Vice Chair — J Letitia Fowler, Member c� Carol Greer, Member w David Koskinen, Member Luke Schafer, Member OTHERS PRESENT Rick Coleman, AT&T Cable Ross Tooker, Public Service Department Jack Jordan, Law Department Curt Richard, AT&T Cable Karen Schmidt, CITY-TV REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES VICE CHAIR DAVY MOVED THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 8, 2000. MOTION PASSES, 7-0. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS None. COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS Fax from Christine Timmons Ms. Schmidt informed the Board of a Federal lawsuit filed by Ms. Timmons against Councilmember Meyer, Councilmember Murphy and a member of the public, who spoke out against the public access grant resolution at a Council Meeting. ACTION/DISCUSSION Yearly Meeting Schedule The Board decided against meeting on February 14, 2001, as regularly scheduled, and changed that meeting date to February 6, 2001. VICE CHAIR MOVED TO APPROVE THE MEETING SCHEDULE FOR 2001, AS AMENDED. APPROVED 7-0. Annual Report Ms. Schmidt passed out a report highlighting the issues dealt with by the Board the last year. This report is to be sent to the City Cleric and the City Council for their information. A few grammatical errors where pointed out. MEMBER KOSKINEN MOVED TO SUBMIT THE REPORT, AS AMENDED. APPROVED 7-0. REPORTS AT&T Cable Rick Coleman, Director of Operations, introduced himself and Curt Richard, Customer Service Manager, to those present. They discussed the managerial restructuring of AT&T. Leslie Brogan is in charge of Government Relations and Lisa Bolan is Vice President of Operations. Public Service Mr. Tooker informed the Board that the City was currently billing 10 communication companies. McCleod is expanding their coverage in telephone. Three (3) permits are currently working through the process. Attorney Mr. Jordan discussed that many changes in Cable and cable issues have occurred in the last four years since he had attended ACM conference. The City's franchise with AT&T is over in the year 2004 and he believes that this will be a very important negotiation. Consultant firms that handle franchise negotiations range between $30,000-$40,000. The Board may want to look to recommend this route in dealing with the upcoming negotiations. Chair Chair Starks commented that the Mayor will focus a large portion of his State of the City Address on Telecommunication issues. He discussed his views on a BWL cable overbuild. He urged the Board's recommendation in hiring a consulting firm to handle cable negotiations. RECEIPT OF LATE ITEMS MEMBER KOSKINEN MOVED THE ADDITION OF AT&T's RATE INCREASE NOTICE AS A LATE ITEM. APPROVED 7-0. Rick Coleman pointed out that non-regulated tiers were increased. The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Submitted by Karen Schmidt CITY-TV Manager Approved by Greg Starks, Chair C DATE �� 1