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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 19, 2001THE MINUTES OF THE TELECOI~~I'~IUNICATIONS COMMISSION FRnM THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2001 The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Dennis Stroik, Chairperson. ROLL CALL: Coirunission li~iembers Dennis Stroik, Bradicy Peterson, Reuben Ruen, Keri Hcnkc, and Dan Swee Excused Members: Council Representative: City Representative: AT & T Broadband Rep: Legal Counsel: Also in attendance was resident Harold Hoium. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Bob Buboltz Bruce Nawrocki (arrived at 7:15 pm) Linda Magee Kathi Donnelly-Cohen Stephen Guzzetta Motion by Dan Swee, seconded by Reuben Ruen, to approve the minutes from the meeting of February 1 S, 2001. All ayes. OLD BUSINESS A. Channel Check Channels 2-6 and l6 were fuzzy. However, it was noted that earlier in the day they were fine. B. Correspondence Log and Complaint Follow Up. #145-Hurley-Complained about a large price increase for her programming choices, as well as being limited to two converter boxes. Kathi Donnelly-Cohen sent her a letter explaining that she should choose a programming package that best suits her needs, as she is paying for several premium channels on an ala carte basis at the present time. This is a costly way of subscribing to services. She also recently added High Speed Data Service which increased the cost. Converters for digital services are being limited to two per household due to the high demand for this newly offered service. Additional converters should be available shortly for those who wish to have them. Kathi enclosed a copy of her account ledger and also a price list for the packages currently available. Ms. Hurley will need to contact AT & T Broadband with her choices. So far she hasn't contacted AT & T Broadband to make any changes. #146-George Marko-Called to get his service re-installed on Apri12°d. He was told it would be April 11`'' before it could be done. He thought this was an unreasonable length of time. Kathi Donnelly-Cohen reported that his re-install was completed on Apri19`'' ~ however, the customer was not home at the time. C. Franchise Fee Analysis Update AT & T has submitted their response regarding the findings of the Analysis done. Ashpaugh and Sculco has since then responded to them again, reiterating the fact that they owe money to Maplewood based on the findings in the report. Maplewood is considering how to proceed from here and if they will pursue the amount the report says is due them. Other cities have expressed their support of Maplewood and may also pursue compensation based on the way the franchise fees were figured. TELECOMMUNICATIONS MEETING MINUTES OF APRIL 19, 2001 PAGE 2 D. Status of Wide Open West Franchise Steve Guzzetta reported that he spoke with a representative from Wide Open West about three weeks ago. They are formally withdrawing their application and have requested the balance of their deposit be returned to them. There is about % of the original amount remaining, and this refund is being processed. E. Status of Everest Connection Corp. Franchise Notice was received from Utilicorp Communications Services, the major investor in Everest Connections Corporation, stating they would be postponing expansion in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. The test for their business model is taking place in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. This will give them concrete evidence that their business model is viable and that they would be able to fulfill contractual obligations if they decide to expand to other areas. The City will be refunding whatever amount is left to them also and if they choose to proceed at a later time, they will need to re-apply. F. Other Old Business There was no other old business. NEW BUSINESS A. Receipt of the Annual Report for 2000 The Annual Report was received and enclosed. in the agenda packets. Linda stated she had been in contact with Kathi Donnelly-Cohen regarding the letter from AT & T Broadband's Controller stating what the revenues of the company were. Last year a letter from an auditor verified these figures. She felt that an auditor should verify the figures listed for 2000 also. Steve Guzzetta noted that Form 395 (EEO Report) referred to Exhibit B that was not there. The Subscriber Contract is illegible and the community television guidelines need proofing. Linda Magee recommended tabling the acceptance of the Annual Report until these items are addressed and the Revenue amounts are verified by an Auditor. B. Notice of Rate Increase Effective July 1, 2001. Notice was received February 16, 2001 regarding price increases effective Julyl, 2001. This price increase is to Basic Service, equipment, and installation rates. The City will need to review and approve the 1240 and 1205 rate filings. The review will be done in conjunction with other cities as has been done in the past. Bruce Nawrocki expressed his opinion that since this industry was de-regulated, he feels it has given the cable companies a license to steal, so to speak. He feels subscribers are being overcharged and all the price increases are not justified. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES OF APRIL 19, 2001 PA('TF. C. Conversion of Billing System to CSGBilling Format Changes AT & T Broadband is converting their billing system to another program that will simplify the bills and make it easier for tracking and assigning work orders far each subscriber. An explanation of the new format will be enclosed with the next billing. The franchising authority's phone number on the bills will also be system specific, which will help subscribers reach the proper person if they have concerns. D. Resignation of Public Access Employee We were informed that Edward Harris has resigned his position with AT & T Broadband. He was one of the two technicians assigned to the Columbia Heights Studio to help us with local origination programming. Linda Magee questioned the status of his replacement. Kathi Donnelly-Cohen reported they will be offering his position to someone they have in mind shortly. E. Other New Business Reuben stated that since NASA programming is easy to insert, and Channe196 is a duplication of BRAVO, it should be inserted there. Kathi Donnelly-Cohen responded that Channel 96 is a digital channel and not really reserved for BRAVO programming, so it will not be inserted there. She again reiterated that NASA programming could be inserted on an access channel out of Roseville if that is the Commission's desire. Steve Guzzetta reported there was a meeting of the Cable Administrators a week ago and that they discussed customer service standards. The group is concerned that AT & T has not been meeting the customer service standards as required. This issue needs to be looked at closer. Dennis invited anyone interested to attend the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast on May 15`''. Anyone wishing to attend should contact either Linda Magee or Carole Blowers. There was a short discussion regarding Channe195. Channe195 is being utilized as a security channel for apartment buildings that wish to have their security cameras connected to for their video feed. There is an initial charge for the filter to allow this service. RF,PnRTS A. Report of Commissioners Educational-Nothing to report Government- Nothing to report Library-Nothing to report Public-Nothing to report B. Report of AT & T Broadband- A discussion took place regarding the automated phone answering system AT & T Broadband is using. There was a question regarding whether or not you can "0" out to a customer service representative, and the length of time it + Aces to do so. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION T?TTTTTTRC (1R AUl?TT 10 ~nni PAGE 4 ('• Repn,-t of the Cable Attorney Steve Guzzetta stated there is a rumor that if AT & T divests itself of some of its businesses, the cable services portion maybe bought by another large entity such as Comcast. A Press Release was received April 17°i regarding a lawsuit by a city in Pennsylvania that was suing AT & T and Comcast. Comcast transferred its franchise to AT & T after the City said no to such a transfer. The City doesn't trust either company after this move and has asked that a trustee be appointed while they are going through the franchising renewal process. Steve reported on a Santa Cruz, California case. Many of the decisions regarding this case were bad for franchising authorities. Some of the findings indicated that the 394 Form must be found incorrect within 30 days, and if a 5% franchise fee is charged, then the franchising authority cannot charge the cable company with the transfer fee expenses. However, he pointed out that the judge determined that the franchising authority may look at more than just the legal, technical, and financial qualifications of the company. Although the findings of this lawsuit are not applicable here, the case could be cited during future franchise renewals, especially if federal law was the basis for the judge's decision. The Kelly bill and the Administrative bill are both dead in this legislative session. D. Report of the Assistant to the City Manager Linda Magee had nothing further to report. Motion by ke~z Henke, seconded by Brad Peterson, to adjourn the meeting at 7.•.55 pm. All ayes. Respectfully submitted, 6 s'~~ Shelley Hang e Secretary