HomeMy WebLinkAboutOctober 16, 2003THE MINUTES OF THE
TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2003
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Dennis Stroik, Chairperson.
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Council Representative
City Representatives
Legal Counsel:
Comcast Representative
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
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Bob Buboltz, and Dave Mahoney.
Brad Peterson arrived about 7:20 pm
Bruce Nawrocki was present prior to meeting. He was
excused to attend interviews with potential Commission
members.
Linda Magee
Steve Guzzetta
Kathi Donnelly-Cohen
Motion by Dan Swee, second by Dennis Stroilz, to appf~ohe t1~e miyautes froi7z the meeting of July 17, 2003.
All ayes.
OLD BUSINESS
A. Channel Check
Volume levels continue to vary greatly. Channe122 was very low. Channel 62 was slow to sync
in. "No data available" was shown on all chamlels. Kathi Domlelly-Cohen stated that we had a
bad box or needed to have the present one re-programmed. She told Linda to call Bruce in the
Service Dept. and he would handle it.
B. Correspondence Log and Follow Up on Complaints
Michael & Joyce Hurley-1119 42 %z Ave NE-Had problems with cable and Internet service. It
was found that some parts had been improperly installed, and some bad jumpers were found inside
the residence. Different techs were sent out Sept 24 who corrected the problems. They are now
happy with their service again.
Joanne Student-called Dennis Stroik and said she recently had solicitors at her door trying to sell
Comcast Programming Packages. She didn't like their approach. Kathi stated these solicitors
have been pulled from this area and will no longer be contacting residents in this manner.
Moreover, Kathi will. put a "do not contact" on her account.
C. Other Old Business
Linda reported that after the last meeting, per the direction of the commission, she sent Bryan
Olson a letter stating what the Commission's recommendation was regarding his grant request,
along with another copy of the grant guidelines. Mr. Olson came in and got a copy of the minutes
and then sent a letter saying he would be withdrawing his proposal due to the fact that his history
video does not meet the criteria, and seemingly no provision can be made to deal with a "for
profit" vendor.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES
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NEW BUSINESS
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Franchise fees in the amount of $34,429.26 were received in July for 2°d Quarter.
B. Rate Regulation Options
A copy of a memo dated April 9, 2003, from Creighton, Bradley, and Guzzetta LLC was
enclosed in the agenda packets regarding review of FCC Fonns 1240 and 1205 filed by
Comcast in February 2003. The forms submitted establish proposed rates for the period of
June 1,2003 to May 31, 2004. To prevent the rates from taking effect, action would need to
have been taken within 90 days of the date of the rate filing. As no action was taken within the
90 days, the rates became effective but the City has 12 months to review and act on those
forms. If no action is taken within the 12 month period, the City cannot at a later date order a
refund or reduction with respect to the current rate filing. Comcast is not charging the
maximum permitted rate it calculates for basic cable service, and no increase in rates charged
has occurred since July 2002.
The memo went on to outline the four options the City has citing the benefits and drawbacks to
each option. Option A is to do nothing, but we risk losing the right to use the current rate
information in future rate proceedings. Option B is to decertify which would eliminate the
need for Comcast to file rate forms supporting its increases and since there is currently no
competition in this area, monopoly pricing could occur. With Option C, the City could choose
to not perform a review at this time, but to issue a rate order preserving our rights. This may
preserve our rights to look at the data and calculations used in the current forms when taking
action on future reviews. Option D is to perform a full blown rate review which we did with
AT & T two years ago. A1dlough, this would be hard to complete within the 12 month review
period and. would. be costly.
Legal Counsel and staff are recommending the City pursue Option C whereby we do not
perform a review at this time, but preserve our rights for future reviews. The rate orders for
Option C can be prepared inexpensively, based on last year's experience. This must be done
by February 2004. Linda informed the members if this option is recommended, it will be
addressed at a Public Hearing which will be scheduled at the November 10, 2003 City Council
meeting.
Motion by Ken Henke, seconded by Bob Buboltz, to recommend the City Council not hold a
formal review of the rates as filed on Forms 1205 and 1240 in February 2003, and to issue an
order to preserve our rights for future filings. All ayes. MOTION PASSED.
C. Joint Boards and Commissions Recognition Dinner
A Joint Holiday Dinner will be held for members and one guest of the various Boards and
Commissions in recognition of their volunteer service to the City of Columbia Heights. This
dinner will be held at Murzyn Hall. on Wednesday, December 10, 2003. Social hour will be at
5:30 and Dinner at 6:30 pm. Invitations will be sent within the next few weeks.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES
OCTOBER 16, 2003
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A copy of a letter sent out by Comcast to subscribers who still have analog service was
discussed. There was some confusion over the prices quoted on the letter and flyer for digital
service. Kathi clarified the digital service tiers and packages that were being offered.
REPORTS
A. Report of Commissioners
Education-Nothing to report
Library-Nothing to report
Public-Nothing to report
Government-Nothing to report
Liaison positions will be re-assigned as follows:
Channel 15-Public Access-Reuben Ruen
Channel 16-Government Access-Ken Henke
Channel 18-Educational Access-Dan Swee
Channel 1.9-Library Access-Bob Buboltz
B. Report of Comcast-
The phone statistics and detailed outage reports for second quarter were enclosed in the
agenda packets along with the Programming produced for Community Television for July
through. September. The detailed outage reports for August and September were passed
out at the meeting.
Kathi reported on HDTV (High Definition TV), VOD (Video on Demand), DVR (Digital
Video Recorder) and IVR (Voice Recognition} services. She also said that hi speed
Inteznet subscribers are increasing as forecast.
C. Report of the Cable Attorley
Steve Guzzetta briefly reviewed the process that will take place for the Renewal of the
Franchise. The process will. probably begin officially in November of 2003 as the
Franchise expires in November 2006. Steve explained the City could initiate a Formal
Renewal Proceeding or pursue an Infornlal Renewal Process which is usually less
expensive and happens when an agreement can be successfully negotiated without any
formal litigation. During this process the City will do a needs assessment, look at past
performance, hold public hearings, and compile a list of requirements that need to be
fulfilled. He said it is a long process as the agreement is usually fora 10-15 year period, so
it is important to renew a franchise on terms and conditions that will meet the community's
cable-related needs during the entire time. The grant of a franchise confers a valuable right
to Comcast giving them use of the right of ways for private profit. City officials should
ensure the taxpayers are adequately compensated. Other items that could be negotiated are
an Institutional Network and financial support for government access so the City can
communicate with its residents in a video format, including during emergencies.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES
MEETING OF OCTOBER 16, 2003
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Under the formal renewal process the only four criteria upon which denial may be based
are: that Comcast hasn't complied with material terms of the existing franchise, that they
have not provided quality signal and customer service, that they don't have the legal,
financial., or technical ability to provide the service, or if their proposal does not account
for the cost of meeting future needs and interests.
As a point of information it was noted that by 2006, the FCC has ordered that all broadcast
channels must discontinue using analog technology. This will have an impact on the City
as our equipment and programming technology will also have to be upgraded. Guzzetta
stated that it is important the City budget accordingly for the legal costs that will be
incurred as well as the impact of the equipment upgrades that will be needed.
D. Report of the Assistant to the City Manager
Nothing further to report.
Motion by Kera Henke, seconded by Dennis Stroik, to adjourn the meeting at 8:00 pm. All ayes.
Respectfully submitted,
Shelley Hanson
Secretary