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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOctober 18, 2001THE MINUTES OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION FROn~ THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2001 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Dem~is Stroik, Chairperson. ROLL CALL: Commission Members Council Representative: City Representative: AT & T Broadband Rep Legal Counsel: APPROVAL OF MINUTES Dennis Stroik, Dan Swee, ,Dave Mahoney, and Bob Buboltz-- Reuben Ruen arrived at 7:25 pm Bruce Nawroclci Jean Kuehn. Kathi Donnelly-Cohen Stephen Guzzetta Motior~a by Dan Swee, seconded by Bob Buboltz, to approve the r7ainuZes firoi~~ the meeting of September 20, ?001. All ayes. OLD BUSINESS A. Channel Check Everything checked out fine. B. Correspondence Log anal Complaint Follow Up. There were no complaints received by the City since the last meeting. An AT & T Broadband Service Technician checked out Mr. Nawrocki's cable reception problem. He needed some fittings tightened and other adjustments made. He reports his reception has never been better. C Franchise Fee Analysis Update Steve Guzzetta reported that most of the issues had been resolved during their meetings with Kathi Donnelly-Cohen and Dave Sikora. T11ere is still an issue with advertising commission figures. This should be resolved once they receive more information. D. D. 2000 Aimual Report-Remaining Outstanding Item-Financial Information The financial. statement prepared. by an accountant was not received by the time the meeting took place. Kathi Donnelly-Cohen said she would see it is sent over as soon as it is received. TELECOMMUNICATIONS MEETING MINUTES OF OCTOBER 18, 2001 PA(;F 7 E. Review of Forms 1240 and 1205 for Rate Increase Effective July 1, 2001 There has been a problem getting programming cost information from AT ~ T for the 1240 Form, due to what they feel is confidential information. They are working on an agreement that the accountant would need to sign that would protect AT & T's confidential concerns, as well as providing the accountant with an opportunity to review the information he needs to finalize his report. The accountant is also still reviewing the 1205 Form as the company has switched to using national figures, rather than local cost information. This is the first year this approach has been used in this system so it is taking additional time to review. The City has already decided to allocate an additional $600 to further investigate the figures. F. Other Old Business There was no other old business. NEW BUSINESS A. Recommend Holding a Public Hearing November 13, 2001 Steve Guzzetta explained that according to our Policy & Procedures Regarding Rate Regulation Issues, the City is required to hold a Public Hearing to discuss these matters. If the City decides the rates charged are excessive from those allowed, a refund to subscribers could be ordered. AT & T could then appeal. this order if they chose. Kathi Donnelly-Cohen explained maximum permitted rates. As long as AT & T charges less than the maximum amount allowed, it is acceptable. The maximum rate allowed is determined by FCC Standards. The rate used this year will affect rates charged next year. Motion by Bob Buboltz, seconded bye Dave Malzoney, to recommend the Cit}~ Council hold a Public Hearing November 13, 2001 for the purpose of permitting interested persons ara opportunity to express their views on t1~e basic service programming and equipment rates and installation charges AT & T Broadband calculated in its March 2001 rate filing and implemented in Jicly 2001. All ayes. MOTION PASSED. The notice regarding the Public Hearing will be published in the local paper and on the Cable Access Channel for one week between the hours of 7 pm - 9 pm, as required by law. B. Other New Business There was no other new business. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES OF OCTOBER 18, 2001 PA(;F 2 REPORTS A. Report of Commissioners Educational-Dennis reported the School District is in the purchasing stage of the equipment we recently approved funding for. Goven~ment- Nothing to report Library-Nothing to report Public-Nothing to report B. Report of AT ~ T Broadband- The reports were enclosed in the agenda packets. Dave Mahoney asked for clarification of some of the figures. Kathi also reported that the Policies and Procedures Notice is enclosed in this month's billing which is required to be done on an annual basis. C. Report of the Cable Attorney Excite a Home, which replaced Roadrunner, has filed bankruptcy. AT & T is working with them to resolve some of their financial issues. There should be no disniption in service for this area. The firm of Creighton, Bradley, Guzzetta received a letter from K:ARE 11 on behalf of the Cities/franchises they represent. KARE 11 has requested that those franchising authorities that have the ability to override their signal in case of emergency, discontinue doing so. They believe the message scrolls they already do is adequate. However, local issues may not be announced as R:.ARE 11 would only run that information they deem news worthy. AT & T cannot discontinue the present practice of our local police department having the authority to run emergency messages, if we do not give them authorization to do so. This will probably be discussed further in the future. D. Report of the Special Projects Coordinator Jean reported we have a new employee working at the Cable Studio, Steve Antus. Jean. reports he is very enthusiastic and well suited for the position. The subject of the Holiday Party was discussed. It was the general consensus to have the holiday dinner in January, as is it a less hectic time of year. The choice of restaurants was left to staff to decide. It is, therefore, scheduled for January 17, 2002. E. Report of Reuben Ruen He had a question regarding cable modems and their response time. Kathi explained that HSD calls take on the average ofminutes or more to solve problems that are mostly for technical support, compared to video service calls that average 3 minutes. The technical support situations are really not AT & T's problem. They provide the conduit for the service only, not the software or operational services support. Motion by Reuben Ruer~~, seconded by Bob Bubolt~, to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 pr~2. All ayes. Respectfully submitted, Shelley Hanson Secretary