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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCable Advisory Board 2002 Minutes MINUTES TELECOMMUNICATION AND CABLE ADVISORY BOARD City Council Council Conference Room 124 West Michigan Avenue Wednesday, May 8, 2002 CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:35 p.m. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Greg Starks, Chair Sherie Davy, Vice Chair(out at 6:50 pm) Ida Bryanton, Member Letitia Fowler, Member Carol Greer, Member (arrived, 6:25 pm) Dave Koskinen, Member OTHERS PRESENT Leslie Brogan, ATT Broadband Steve Easley, ATT Broadband, Programming Jack Jordan, Law Department Lue Lee, ATT Broadband, Programming Karen Schmidt, CITY-TV Christine Timmon Ross Tooker, Public Service Department PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS Christine Timmon. Ms Timmon faxed her concerns regarding her and other public access producers who have physical handicaps that make using new equipment difficult. She believes Channel 16 is always filled up using the current equipment so why make any changes. Steve Easley, AT&T Programming Manager. In response to Ms. Timmon's faxed communication. VHS capability is not going away. Public Access edits on SVHS and they discourage editing on VHS due to the lack of quality. Public Access facility will continue to have analog editing along with digital. As a way of improving their cablecasts, AT&T is supplying DVD and Hi8 in the future. There is nothing different in the buttons to be pushed,just the quality of the program. Currently, Miller Road dub station is not working. Ms. Timmon was editing on the dub station, which is an inappropriate usage of that equipment. Ms. Timmon responded with the fact that she was unaware that that was an inappropriate usage of the equipment. Seeing Ms. Timmon's fax on the Advisory Board's agenda was the first Mr. Easley knew of her concerns. He had wished that she had brought her concerns to him directly before coming to this arena with them. He also pointed out that due to annual maintenance work, the facility would be down in June until the end of July. COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS Demarest, et al v Athol/Orange Community Television Name change of Franchise Holder, AT&T Broadband Updating Cable Package Offerings, AT&T Broadband Change of Address, L. Brogan, AT&T Broadband All these communications were received and placed on file. Programming Changes Upcoming, AT&T Broadband Programming Changes Effective May 15, AT&T Broadband These two communications were cancelled by Ms. Brogan, AT&T Broadband. DISCUSSION AND PENDING ITEMS Grant Applications MEMBER GREER MOVED FOR THE APPROPRIATION OF GRANT FUNDS AS STATED IN THE ATTACHEMENT. MOTION PASSES, 5-0. REPORTS Public Service Mr. Tooker RVP Cable Company is merging C2C and Usxchange so they will only need one permit. Currently they are without a permit. He will look into whether the City has any fines for such a case. The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Submitted by Karen Schmidt CITY-TV Manager Approved by Greg Starks, Chair DATE �� G PUBLIC ACCESS GRANT ALLOCATIONS Angel Aguilar 26 '/4"60 minute videotapes $701.10 20 SVHS 120 minute videotapes 20 '/4"20 minute videotapes Emo Aguilar 26 '/4"30 minute videotapes $610.10 20 '/4"20 minute videotapes 20 SVHS 120 minute videotapes Darryl Burgess 40 SVHS 120 minute videotapes $485.00 20 SVHS 60 minute videotapes Betty Carter-Cooney 60 VHS 120 minute videotapes $215.00 $80.00 towards flags and flagpoles Guillermo Lopez 26 '/4"60 minute videotapes $860.00 20 '/4"30 minute videotapes 25 SVHS 120 minute videotapes Danielle Renfroe 10 VHS 120 minute videotapes $105.00 10 8mm 60 minute videotapes Brian Smith 20 '/4"30 minute videotapes $328.00 Christine Timmon 30 3/4"60 minute videotapes $766.30 30 VHS 120 minute videotapes $200.00 special sets materials and backdrops Equipment Items for all Access Producers 1 JBL EOW Speaker/Sound System $629.50 MINUTES TELECOMMUNICATION AND CABLE ADVISORY BOARD City Council Council Conference Room 124 West Michigan Avenue Wednesday, April 10, 2002 CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:35 p.m. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Greg Starks, Chair Sherie Davy, Vice Chair Ida Bryanton, Member Letitia Fowler, Member Luke Schafer, Member OTHERS PRESENT Leslie Brogan, ATT Broadband Darryl Burgess Jack Jordan, Law Department Karen Schmidt, CITY-TV Christine Timmon Ross Tooker, Public Service Department Ross Woodstock, WLNS-TV6 PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS Darryl Burgess. Concerned about the elimination of SVHS from Public Access. He has been cablecasting programs for 20 years. Grant applicant put in tape requests for equipment he now fears will not be available at the Public Access facility. He is not interested in learning new technologies and doesn't feel a need for AT&T to spend money in that direction. Public access is down to only I SVHS camera left. Christine Timmon. She's a Public Access Producer who doesn't want high technology. She wants quick editing. There is not a lot of time to waste in putting together the number of programs she does, and therefore, doesn't like the change. COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS Fax from Ms Timmon; Fed. Rulin,2 Support for Public Access Producers Fax from Int'1 Municipal Lawyers Assoc.; RE: FCC Matters of Interest Wyandotte Municpal Cable System Information Chairperson Starks asked Mr. Jordan to provide him with the court decision regarding Ms. Timmon's fax. He stated that the fax was an AP report and that it might not be accurate. Communications were received and placed on file. DISCUSSION AND PENDING ITEMS WLNS News Center 6 Request to Opt Out of AT&T's EAS System Mr. Woodstock, General Manager for WLNS-TV6, reiterated the written request submitted to the Board. He stated that the FCC rules that in order to opt out the station must get permission from the Cable Company. The Cable Company states that they must get permission from the Board. Ms. Brogan, AT&T, stated that TV-6 needed to get permission from every community served by the same headend. There are 17 different communities serviced by this headend. AT&T is willing to accommodate if the all the communities desire. Chair Starks requested Ms. Brogan give Mr. Woodstock the names of the 16 other communities that need to be contacted. MEMBER SCHAFER MOVED TO GRANT WLNS-TV 6'S REQUEST TO OPT OUT OF AT&T BROADBAND'S EAS SYSTEM. MOTION PASSES, 5-0. Grants Chair Starks states that grants are to be discussed next month. He requests the presence of Lue Lee to discuss the grants. REPORTS Public Service Mr. Tooker drafted a letter to RVP Cable Company from Grand Rapids which head taken over 2 other companies, C2C and Usxchange. He sent them applications for permits and the City's procedures. The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 p.m. Submitted by Karen Schmidt CITY-TV Manager Approved by Greg Starks, Chair DATE-3 s O 2- MINUTES TELECOMMUNICATION AND CABLE ADVISORY BOARD City Council Council Conference Room 124 West Michigan Avenue Wednesday, February 13, 2002 CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:45 p.m. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Greg Starks, Chair Sherie Davy, Vice Chair Carol Greer, Member Ida Bryanton, Member Letitia Fowler, Member David Koskinen, Member OTHERS PRESENT Leslie Brogan, ATT Broadband Jack Jordan, Law Department Chris Peterson, Public Service Department Karen Schmidt, CITY-TV Ross Tooker, Public Service Department REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES MEMBER KOSKINEN MOVED THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF JANUARY 9, 2002. MOTION PASSES, 6-0. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS None. COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS None. DISCUSSION AND PENDING ITEMS Grant Application and Application Dates Member Koskinen presented an application which he and Member Davy worked on to improve the flow of information from the applicant to the City. Member Greer believes the new application to be a whole lot simpler. General discussion took place on the timetable for the applications. The availability of the applications was to be announced immediately and a deadline placed on them of April 4, 2002. This way they would be able to have the applications for review at the April 10, 2002 meeting. MEMBER KOSKINEN MOVED THE APPROVAL OF THE PRESENTED PUBLIC ACCESS CABLE GRANT APPLICATION WITH A DUE DATE OF APRIL 4, 2002. MOTION PASSES, 6-0. City of Wyandotte Presentation Chair Starks spoke with a City of Wyandotte representative who will be sending along information regarding their municipal utility with a successful cable enterprise. Wyandotte receives between 4 and 5% franchise fee. Meeting Schedule for the Year Ms. Schmidt presented the members with the list of meeting dates and times for 2002. This encompasses the 2°a Wednesday of every month, at 5:30 pm. MEMBER KOSKINEN MOVED THE APPROVAL OF THE MEETING SCHEDULE FOR 2002. MOTION PASSES, 6-0. REPORTS AT&T Resnresentative Ms. Brogan, AT&T presented the board with Channel Line Up Cards. She discussed the different tiers and mentioned that Starz was having a free preview in the month of March. Member Koskinen wanted to know how the Service Center, which is located outside to the area, will be able to handle specific area questions. Ms. Brogan mentioned that the Service Center has the information for the different areas. Member Greer pointed out that the cards do not have shown Local Access Channel 16 listed. Attorney Mr. Jordan wrote back to Mr. Bryhan, 2001 W. Mt. Hope Avenue to inform him that AT&T does not service his apartment complex and that that is why he is not able to receive CITY-TV's channel. Public Service Mr. Tooker informed the Board that the City's billing is up to date. RVP who took over C2C and Usxchange has not gotten a permit to operate in Lansing. Currently, they are in violation of the Ordinance. TDS Metrocom also has no permit in Lansing and are also in violation. He will contact them and get their permits established. Chair Chair Starks wanted members to be aware of an article in the State Journal called Closing the Gap. At least 300 people have graduated from this workshop. This article discusses high demand and low supply of computers and computer access to communities. He believes the community is not doing enough to address this problem. Member Davy mentioned that if they are a non-profit agency then there are grants available. The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 p.m. Submitted by Karen Schmidt CITY-TV Manager Approved by Greg Starks, Chair DATE 516 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 Conference Room 10"' Floor, City Hall February 13, 2002 5:30 PM Greg Starks,Chair Sherie Davy,Vice-Chair Ida Bryanton Letitia Fowler 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 • Grant Application and Application Dates • City of Wyandotte Presentation • Meeting Schedule for the Year • Cable Television Franchise Renewal; AT&T 7. Reports • AT&T Representative • Attorney • Public Service Department • CITY-TV • Chair, Vice-Chair 8. Receipt of Late Items 9. Public Comment 11. Adjourn. Mi�3 MINUTES TELECOMMUNICATION AND CABLE ADVISORY BOARD City Council Council Conference Room 124 West Michigan Avenue Wednesday, December 11, 2002 CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 6:05p.m. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Greg Starks, Chair Sherie Davy, Vice Chair Letitia Fowler, Member Carol Greer, Member OTHERS PRESENT Leslie Brogan, AT&T Broadband Dan Danke, Public Service Department Karen Schmidt, CITY-TV REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES MEMBER FOWLER MOVED THE MINUTES OF OCTOBER 9 , 2002 FOR APPROVAL, AS AMENDED. APPROVED 4-0. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS Malek Brown discussed the problem facing Public Access producers with AT&T's producing some new Local Origination programming and the lose of Tuesday to use the facilities due to their LO productions. He discussed his problem in obtaining another date and time for his live program. COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS Article, Lack of Choice Inflates Metro Cable TV Bills New Urban Entertainment Television Discontinuation, AT&T Broadband Revision of Deluxe Service Tier Discontinuing, AT&T Broadband Resolution, Ordinance and Telecom Law Comparison Email, Michael Fedewa Comcast Corporation Merger with AT&T Broadband, AT&T Broadband Ms. Brogan went through and explained the letters. She stated that there will be lots of channel movement. MEMBER FOWLER MOVED FOR THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE COMMUNICATIONS. APPROVED 4-0. DISCUSSION AND PENDING ITEMS REPORTS AT&T Representative Ms. Brogan discussed that there would be lots of upcoming channel movement. She also passed out AT&T's holiday hours. It was mentioned that Public Access was getting ready to put into effect new facility Rules. Mr. Steve Easley, Public Access Manager, will attend next meeting to go over these miles with the Board. Ms. Brogan also stated that the price increase is part of a yearly review and has nothing to do with AT&T's current merger. These increases will take effect in the Jan.-Feb. billing. Public Service Mr. Danke stated that the City passed the Telecommunication Ordinance. Public Service Department sent out notices to all of the City's Telecommunication providers. The meeting was adjourned at 6:35 p.m. Submitted by Karen Schmidt CITY-TV Manager Approved by Greg Starks, Chair DATE Z MINUTES TELECOMMUNICATION AND CABLE ADVISORY BOARD City Council Council Conference Room 124 West Michigan Avenue Wednesday, October 9, 2002 CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:40 p.m. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Greg Starks, Chair Sherie Davy, Vice Chair Ida Bryanton, Member Letitia Fowler, Member Carol Greer, Member OTHERS PRESENT Dan Danke, Public Service Department Karen Schmidt, CITY-TV Margo Vroman, Law Department REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES MEMBER FOWLER MOVED THE MINUTES OF JULY 17, 2002 FOR APPROVAL. APPROVED 5-0. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS Notice of No Longer Providing Printed TV Guide Courtesy Information regarding Adiustments to Commercial Cable and Digital Music Pricing Notice of Billing System Change, AT&T Broadband All these communications from AT&T had previously been discussed, informally, by Ms. Brogan. MEMBER FOWLER MOVED FOR THEIR ACCEPTANCE. APPROVED 5- 0. DISCUSSION AND PENDING ITEMS Election of Officers Chair—Member Greer nominated Member Greg Starks. Nominations were then closed. Member Starks was voted in as Chair by a vote of 5-0. Vice Chair—Member Greer nominated Member Sherie Davy. Member Davy declined the nomination. Member Davy nominated Member Letitia Fowler. Nominations were then closed. Member Fowler was voted in as Vice Chair by a vote of 5-0 REPORTS AT&T Representative Public Service Mr. Danke discussed the new Telecommunication Ordinance that had just been presented to Council Committee on General Services earlier this day, as a way opt in to the State of Michigan's recently enacted Metropolitan Extension Telecommunications Rights-of-Way Oversight Act (Act No. 48 of the Public Acts of 2002). This new law limits some of the duties of the Telecommunications and Cable Advisory Board due to the City no longer having the input on these issues. This Ordinance will be before Committee of the Whole October 24, 2002. It will be on the Council Agenda as a Public Hearing and for Ordinance Passage on October 28, 2002. The City must disclose their interest in compliance by November 1, 2002 to be included. Member Starks expressed great concern with the style, manner and content of the change in the limit in duties and wanted to know what powers the Board did have. Ms. Vroman, Law Department, stated that the Board has limited authority. They are an advisory board to the City Council. Ms. Schmidt mentioned that the main task of the Board has been to advise the Board as to how to disburse the Public Access Cable Grant. Chair Member Starks discussed the signal degradation on AT&T's system that he believes to be suggested by digital overlay. He would like to schedule a Wyandotte trip for Boardmembers and Council. If any members are interested they should let him know. He also asked Ms. Vroman to look in to what control the City has over its franchise. The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m. Submitted by Karen Schmidt CITY-TV Manager Approved by Greg Starks, Chair r DATE MINUTES TELECOMMUNICATION AND CABLE ADVISORY BOARD City Council Council Conference Room 124 West Michigan Avenue Wednesday, July 17, 2002 CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:45 p.m. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Greg Starks, Chair Ida Bryanton, Member Letitia Fowler, Member Luke Schafer, Member OTHERS PRESENT Leslie Brogan, ATT Broadband Jane Dykema, Public Service Department Karen Schmidt, CITY-TV Margo Vroman, Law Department PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS Notice of Changes to Certain Services,AT&T Broadband Ms. Brogan handed out new Channel Line Up Cards and changes in digital and analong services were explained. Most changes occurred to digital service. Ms. Brogan went through an example of changes associated with the Digital Starter package, as outlined in the information mailed out to the citizens. Ms. Brogan answered Boardmembers specific questions in reviewing the changes in programming tiers and the equipment charges. This communication was received and placed on file. DISCUSSION AND PENDING ITEMS City of Wyandotte Information Chairperson Starks visited, via phone, with Bill Booker from the City of Wyandotte. This City has a public utility, as does Lansing. Their utility won the bid to provide cable service to Wyandotte. Chairperson Starks noted that the purpose of this was to provide more information to the Boardmembers and the City. The City of Wyandotte will provide a tour to those that are interested. City's Usage of IT Together during discussions with Mary James of the Park Board, Chairperson Starks determined that IT service could be used to promote the City Parks and be used to help promote safety. He believes it is cost effective to use the cable plant to promote cameras along Riverwalk. He believes that the City would be well served to take advantage of IT. Election of Officers Ms. Vroman, Law Department, was unsure of the majority ruling for the Election of Officers, due to the Board not being fully staffed. Therefore, the Election was held until next meeting. REPORTS AT&T Representative Ms. Brogan discussed how MSU had replaced SCOLA with WKAR2 on their Educational Access Channel. This change was not the result of AT&T Broadband and customer complaints should be directed to (517) 432-9527. Public Service Ms. Dykema attended the Michigan Municipal League conference in June, which pertained to the new telecommunications law. She explained that those City's intend to comply with new law must opt in with intent by November 1, 2002, with the whole new system in place by December 2003. This new act will force the City to get all of its paperwork in order. Ms. Brogan explained that Cable will be exempt from this new system and will be required to pay$.01 per footage. The meeting was adjourned at 6:35 p.m. Submitted by Karen Schmidt CITY-TV Manager Approved by Greg Starks, Chair G�, — DATE io �n�rsi�r� 1 Oth Floor, Lansing City Hall • 124 W. Michigan Ave. • Lansing, MI 48933 (517) 483-4058 • FAX (517) 483-7630 NOTICE CHANGE OF MEETING DATE The Telecommunications and Cable Advisory Board will meet Wednesday, July 17 at their regular time of 5:30 pm in the Council's Conference Room located on the 1 oth Floor of City Hall. This new date is in place of their regularly scheduled date of July 10, 2002. Please note the change on your calendars. 733 lie / f - 10th 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 Conference Room loth Floor, City Hall July 17, 2002 5:30 PM Greg Starks,Chair Sherie Davy,Vice-Chair Ida Bryanton Letitia Fowler Carol Greer 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 • Notice of Changes to Certain Services, AT&T Broadband 6. Discussion and Pending Items • City of Wyandotte • City's Usage of IT • Election of Officers 7. Reports • AT&T Representative • Attorney • Public Service Department • CITY-TV • Chair, Vice-Chair 8. Receipt of Late Items 9. Public Comment 11. Adjourn. MINUTES TELECOMMUNICATION AND CABLE ADVISORY BOARD City Council Council Conference Room 124 West Michigan Avenue Wednesday, January 9, 2002 CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:45 p.m. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Greg Starks, Chair Sherie Davy, Vice Chair Letitia Fowler, Member David Koskinen, Member Luke Schafer, Member OTHERS PRESENT Leslie Brogan, ATT Broadband Jack Jordan, Law Department Karen Sclunidt, CITY-TV Ross Tooker, Public Service Department REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES MEMBER KOSKINEN MOVED THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF OCTOBER 10, 2002, AS AMENDED. MOTION PASSES, 5-0. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS None. COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS Notice of Program Tier Change, AT&T Response to Ms. Timmon's 10/09/01 letter; AT&T FCC Decision Re2ardin2 Franchise Fees,AT&T Letter Sent to (a-),Home Subscribers, AT&T Notice on Upcoming Channel Lineup, AT&T Leslie Brogan, AT&T Broadband, explained that all of these items were for the Board's information. Notice of these changes was also given in the paper along with as inserts to citizen's bills. AT&T's competition is digital. Changes need to take place to keep AT&T current and in line with the constant changes of the technology. Due to a FCC order, clarifying a current ruling, AT&T may pass through fees paid on non-subscriber related revenues. This pass through and itemization of franchise fee payments is a discretionary action on the part of AT&T. Recovery of franchise fees paid on non-subscriber related revenues has resulted in increasing the franchise fee collected from customers by .23% Chairperson Starks pointed out that this was really just an accounting decision. This brought about general discussion on AT&T's billing procedures. Member Davy is frustrated with AT&T attaching a late fee to an issue that is billed in advance. Ltr. From Mary McHugh, Senior Citizen Discount The issue of a Senior Citizen discount was discussed. The City does not have enough funds in the Public Access Grant account to give any substantial amount to seniors. _Email from M. Blonde, Nonrenewal of Board Appointment Ltr. From Troy & Banks consultants re: Cable Television Franchise Fee Audit Ms. Schmidt forwarded this item to Greg Koessel, Internal Auditor for the City. MEMBER KOSKINEN MOVED TO RECEIVE AND PLACE ON FILE. MOTION PASSES, 5-0. REPORTS City Attornev Mr. Jordan submitted the following communications for review: • Phone Message from Mr. Donald Bryhan • Internet news articles on AT&T sale • Cable Communications Franchising and Regulation—Code of Renewal A discussion took place on the difference between"Formal" and"Informal"Franchise Renewal Negotiations. AT&T has already sent a letter to initiate the renewal process. The current franchise is over April 28, 2004. Public Service Mr. Tooker informed the Board that the City has started billing for the fourth quarter. C2C Fiber and US Xchange are now RVP Fiber Company out of Grand Rapids. TDS Metrocom is submitting information for a permit to operate in Lansing. The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m. Submitted by Karen Schmidt CITY-TV Manager Approved by Greg Starks, Chair �� �_ � DATE 3 C 2_-