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Home My WebLink AboutSeptember 20, 2001CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 590 40th Avenue N.E., Columbia lieighls, MN 5542(3878 (763) 706-3600 TDD (763) 706-3692 Visit Otn' Webrife at: wwwct.colurnbia-heigltlr.nut. us MEETING OF THE TELECOMMUNICA"I•IONS COMMISSION 7:00 PM, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2001 ***ROSEVILLE HEADEND FACILITY*** Please contact Jean at 706-3613 if you are tenable to attend. Please Note: Anyone wishing to Car Pool, Meet at City Ha11 at 6:30 pm. Fm• those driving themselves, the address and directions are: 2611 Fairview Ave No.-located off County Road C, east of 35W vtd west of Snelling. Please contact Jean either by phone or a-mail to let her know if yon plan on car pooling. AGIJNDA: 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of July 19, 2001 4. Old Business a. Channel Check b. Correspondence Log and Company Follow Up an Complaints- c. Franchise Fee Analysis Update e. 2000 Annual Report-Remaining Outstanding Items £ Review of Forms 1240 and 1205 for Rate Increase Effective July 1, 2001 g. Other Old Business 5. New Business a. Franchise Pee Payment-2id Quarter b. MACTA 18°i Annual Conference in October c. Digital Access Service Available to Subscribers September 1, 2001 d. Other New Business Reports a. Report of Commissioners Assigned to Access Channels: Educational Access--Dennis Sh'oik; Library Access-Bob Buboltz; Government Access--Ken Henke; Public Access-- Reuben Ruen b. Report of AT & T Broadband- --Programs Produced --Installation and Service Activity Report --Current Channel Line Up and Service Charges c. Report of the Cable Attorney d. Report of the Assistant Co the City Manager Adjournment Attachments The City of Colombia lieighls does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to, m' treahnent or employment in, its sm•vices, programs, or activities. Upon request, acconunodntion will be provided to nllmv individuals rvi[h disabilities to participate in all City of Cohunbia Heights' services, programs, and activities. Auxilim'y aids fm' handicapped pmsons are available upon request when the request is made at leas[ 96 boars in advance. Please call [hc Dcpnty City Clerk at 706-361 t, to nmke m•rnngements. (TDD 706-3692 for deaf or hearing impaired only) THE CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BA515 OF DISABILITY IN EMPLOYMENT OR THE PROVISION OF SERVICES EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER TI-IE MINUTES OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION FROM 'THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2001 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Dennis Sh~oik, Chairperson, ROLL CALL: Commission Members: Dennis Stroik, Reuben Ruen, Dan Swee, and David Mahoney Council Representative: City Representative: AT & T Broadband Rep: Legal Counsel: Bruce Nawrocki Jean Kuehn and Linda Magee Kathi Donnelly-Cohen Stephen Guzzetta Also in attendance were Linda Ernst and Jeremy Sellman fi•om School Dishict #13. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motlan by Reuben Ruen, seconded by Dave Mahoney, to approve the rnirnates frorn the rneeting of June 21, 2001. Al! ayes. OLD BUSINESS A. Channel Check B. There was still inconsistency in the volume ievels from channel to chamrei. Channels 31, 55, and 72 were low, while channels 34 & 38 were quite a bit louder. Kathi explained that the volume levels are controlled by an automated system that keeps the volume within a specified range. There may be some variation and sometimes it takes a few minutes for it to adjust itself Kathi suggested the commission members tour the headend and view the equipment and how it operates. Correspondence Log and Complaint Follow Up. #150-Solem-Complained about new price he is paying for digital package that he changed to after a telemarketer called him. Kathi sent him a letter explaining the packages and prices for digital service, so he could decide which one he wants. He disagreed with the letter and left Kathi several messages. Slre researched his account and found that he has changed his programming package three times in the last 2 months, and therefore his billing is very difficult to understand. He had an $72 balance on his account, which she credited in full. She sent him another letter and explained this, and again asked him to decide on the programming package he really wants. A copy of that letter was enclosed in the agenda packet. She has not heard fi•om him directly as of this date, but he may have contacted someone in customer service to choose a package. Ardys Ahnan-Questioned whether the line for cable installed in December 2000 would be buried now. Kathi responded that she had been in touch with Ms. Alman to explain that the cable has been permanently run as an aerial line, as it is not in an underground area. C Franchise Fee Analysis Update Steve Guzzetta reported the Ramsey-Washington Commission discussed this issue at their July meeting. The issue was again deferred to next month to give AT & T and Commission Officials time to discuss the report. They will try to reach an agreement on the figures, even if they do not agree on the interpretation. Certain issues are being researched by AT & T staff. At the August meeting, the matter may be turned over to the City of Maplewood to decide on a course of action. It will not be resolved anytime soon, and could very well end up in litigation. TELECOMMUNICATIONS MEETING MINUTES OF JULY 19, 2001 PAGE 2 D. 2000 Annual Report-Remaining Outstanding Items *The Guidelines for Community Television Channel 15 Equipment/Facilities were re- submitted. *The attaclunents for Form 395 were provided, *The financial statements with verification by an accountant required an audit to be performed. This is being done and as soon as the new financial information is ready, it will be forwarded to the City. The acceptance of the Annual Report is tabled until all the items have been submitted. E. Access Studio Staffing Kathi reported they now have a new employee working at the Access Studio replacing Eddie Harris. Ron Johnson has had experience in another access studio and is eager to work with Mary Guy at the Columbia Heights Studio. F. Review of Forms 1240 and 1205 for Rate Increase Effective July 1, 2001 Columbia Heights is in a coalition of cities to review the 1240 and 1205 forms for the rate increase that will take effect July 1, 2001. All forms and orders issued during the last 4-5 years will be reviewed during this process to ensure that they have been correctly submitted. The forms and orders for Columbia Heights have been compiled and forwarded to the proper people for the review to proceed. AT & T has not been cooperating on a request to provide information on local cost figures versus national cost figures which have been used on the forms. They refuse to base the figures on the cost report to reflect local costs only. G. Other Old Business There was no other old business. NEW BUSINESS A. Review of Request from ISD #13 for Funding of Hardware and Software for Video Production Class Linda Emst and Jeremy Sellman from ISD #13 made a presentation regarding their request for funding the purchase of hardware and software for a Video Production Class. They explained that last year was the first year they had offered this type of class at Columbia Heights. They had a good response to the class with approximately 20 students taking part. This year three sessions will be offered with 84 students currently registered. The equipment purchase being requested would allow for four additional workstations to be established for digital video editing, compared to the current one they presently have. The hard drives, memory upgrades, and software in the proposal would be installed on existing computers provided by the Columbia Heights Schools. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES OF JULY 19, 2001 PAGE 3 Jeremy reviewed the curriculum he covers in the production class and answered questions. He explained that one digital editing suite was purchased with funds from the Technology portion of the referendum monies, but there are no remaining funds for any additional equipment. He stated that one workstation was not really adequate to handle a class of 20. They had to work in groups and access the equipment before and after school to accommodate everyone. Jeremy explained that Mr. Ogdie who taught the class last year, went through a learning process with the students. They produced approximately 15-20 hours of programming, but that none of it went on the air over the educational access channel. The Commission members all felt with the equipment the district has, they would like to sae the programs aired. The district has better equipment than the City or the Columbia Heights Studio and we are producing programs for public access and government access on a regular basis. Jeremy agreed, and is hoping to produce programming that will be suitable for airing on the educational access channel. However, he said the goal here is to educate students for firture opportunities if they have an interest in working in the production, technical, or broadcasting field, not necessarily to do produce programming for the district. There was a discussion concerning the equipmenC they wish to purchase such as compatibility, prices, quality, installation and set up. Several of the commission members felt the prices were high for the additional memory. They suggested that Linda contact General Nano Systems and get a quote from them for the hard drive and memory equipment. They agreed the link and set up should be done by experts, but that other bids should be obtained. The general consensus was that all agreed putting money into education is good and they support that effort, but they felt district personnel should be getting more bids to ensure they gat the most "bang for their buck." Motion by Dennis Stroik, seconded by Reuben Rzten to recommend the City Council approve funding of the School District's regzaest for equipment in era amozant not to exceed $4,500. Furtlaermore, that funding is provided with the understanding thatprogramrning produced will be aired ore the educational access channel and that receipts of the purchases made be provided to the City. All ayes. B. Commission's Role for Advising City Council Commission members were sent copies of the Ordinance that addresses the duties or role of the Telecommunications Commission. Some of the members felt the duties needed to be better defined. They had particular concerns due to the recent purchase of a wireless data system that is to be used by Parkview Villa and the Liquor Stores to incorporate them into our network. This item was authorized to be purchased without any input from the Telecommunications Commission. They questioned Licensing, interference if the same frequency would be used, and also privacy/security of the data that may be transmitted. They would like to ensure that the Administrative Staff and City Council members are better informed before making these types of decisions. There was a discussion regarding their role and how to share their expertise. It was decided that no change was needed to the ordinance detailing the duties of the commission, but that we needed to educate staff and council that they are a resource that should be used. Bruce Nawroclci agreed to share their concerns with fellow council members and Linda Magee will enlighten staff at their next staff meeting. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES OF NLY 19, 2001 PAGE 4 C. Other New Business There was no other new business. REPORTS A. Report of Corrunissioners Educational-Nothing to report Government- Nothing to report Library-Nothing to report Public-Nothing to report B. Report of AT & T Broadband- Notice ofsemi-annual proof of performance testing was received. This will take place in August and may cause very short (less than 30 second) intemzptions in service on a few individual channels. C. Report of the Cable Attorney Steve Guzzetta had nothing further to report. D. Report of the Assistant to the City Manager There was nothing further to report. Motion by Dave Mahoney, seconded by Dan Swee, to adjourn the meeting at 9: 00 pm. All ayes. Respectfully submitted, Shelley Hanson Secretary 5 a-° TT Telephone: (651)493-5284 Facsimile: (651)493.5288 July 27, 2001 Linda Magee City of Columbia Heights 590 40th Ave NE Columbia Heights, MN 55421 Re: Franchise Fee Payment Dear Ms. Magee: 10 River Park Plaza SL Paul, MN 55107-1219 ~~~ JUL 3 0 2001 D Enclosed please find the franchise fee payment in the amount of $33,981.78. If you have questions regarding this payment please contact Tricha Pendzimas at 651-493- 5284. Very Truly Yours Tricha Pendzimas Area Compliance Coordinator Enclosures ~7~ Recycled Paper - -.. _ --I - [!LIVE I !!TCI I III I I----I I----I 1-----' I----I '- _--I -1 THIS DOCUMENT IS VOID IF eACKGflOUND DESIGN IS NOT COLORED Accounts Payable P.O. Box 173805 A~ I °o~vt7®g~i~a~ Denver, CO 80217.3805 (877) 493.6528 PAY EXACTLY Thir[y Three Thousand Nine Hundred Eighty One DDllars and 78 cents. I TO THE COLUMBIA HEIGHTS CITV OP ! ORDER 590 40TH AVE NE ~ OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, MN 55421.3878 i United States c MELLON BANK, N.A. PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA 60.160 e U F ~ 11'4 20 3 9 2 411' :0433016011: Oi7r~1978411' I CHECK 4203924 NUMBER VENDOR NO. DATE 1;9391;x::;:;:;:;; t~:-;1114 AMOUNT Arar eROADeAND, uc. '~/ ~~V`OnI/D AFTEfl 160 DA/pV6~~,~, Ij/n~/ Aulhofized Signer <~ c Kathi Donnelly-Cohen Director -Government Relations Law & Public Policy Department --- 1SII Telephone: (651) 493-5281 Facsimile: (651) 493-5288 August 28, 2001 Ms. Linda Magee City of Columbia Heights 590 NE 40rh Street Columbia Heights, MN 55421 Re: Digital Access Service Dear Linda: 10 River Park Plaza St. Paul, MN 55107-1219 In our continuing efforts to keep you informed, I am writing to tell you of an additional offering we will make available to customers beginning September 1, 2001. We will offer a Digital Access Service to address the needs of those subscribers who wish to have some of the options and benefits of the Digital packages without subscribing to a full package. For $4.99 a month, a subscriber with a digital receiver/remote will get the electronic program guide, 36 DMX music channels and availability of 39 pay-per-view channels. Digital Access Service will be available on an a la carte basis; subscribers to this service will not need to subscribe to Digital Basic or any of the other Digital Value Packages. Should ycu have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, ` Kathi Donnelly-Cohe 'O~ Recycled Paper CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 590 40th Avenue N.E., Columbia Heights, MN 55421-3878 (763) 706-3600 TDD (763) 706-3692 Visit Our Website at: www.ci. Columbia-heights.mn. us ADMINISTRATION August 17, 2001 Linda Ernst Columbia Heights High School High School Media Specialist 1400 49`" Avenue N.E. Columbia Heights, MN 55421 Dear Linda: Mayor Gary L. Peterson Coundlmem6erc Bruce Nawrocki Marlaine Szurek Bobby Williams Julienne Wyckoff Clly Manager Walter R. Fehst At their meeting of Monday, August 13, 2001, the City Council approved funding of the School District's modified proposal for equipment in an amount not to exceed $5,242. Funding is provided with the understanding that programming produced will be aired on the educational access channel, and that receipts of the purchases made be provided to the City. Please submit the receipts of items purchased, along with a request for reimbursement, to my attention. Once received, we will process the check to reimburse you for the expenses. Should you have any questions, please contact me at (763) 706-3609. Sincerely, _. ~'~ ~ 4' r" `~ ~ / C / Linda L. Magee Assistant to the City of cb ec: Dennis Stroik 2001/117 Heights THE CITY OF COLUr.' 31A HEIGHTS DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BA515 OF DISABILITY IN EMPLOYMENT OR THE PROVISION OF SERVICES EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER Memorandum To: Dennis Stroik From: Kathy Kelly, Director of Teaching and Learning Linda Ernst, High School Media Specialist Date: August 13, 2001 Re: Proposal for Columbia Heights Public Schools Cable/Video Needs Thank you for the opportunity to present information on the Columbia Heights Public Schools video proposal at the July 19, 2001 meeting of the Telecommunications Commission. As per the request of the Commissioners, Linda Ernst has contacted the vendor, AV Digital, and has requested a modification to the bid. Since the original bid in March, there has been a drop in memory prices. Enclosed please find the modified proposal in the amount of $5242.00, reflecting the decrease in memory prices. A request had been made for a bid from another company. AV Digital is the only vendor in this area to offer the Cinestream software and hardware that is being considered for purchase. This particular software is compatible with the software that is in use in the existing digital video suite and would allow students to work with their files on the new editing stations or on the original editing suite. Thank you for considering the proposal. If I you have additional questions, please contact Linda Ernst at 763 528-4666. KK/dh C: Jane Liepoid Columbia Heights Public Schools Video Proposal Revised August 13, 2001 Cost per Cost item 4 Cinestream/PC with DV Capture Card $ 599.00 $ 2,396.00 4 Additional memory (256 MB) $ 100.00 $ 400.00 4 Hard drive (60 GB) $ 299.00 $ 1,196.00 Installation $ 750.00 Training on Cinestream $ 500.00 Total $ 5,242.00 CITY COUNCIL LETTER Meeting of: August 13, 2001 AGENDA SECTION: CONSENT LI_ n _ ~ ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT: CITY MANAGER'S NO: I " CITY MANAGER'S APPROVAL ITEM: SCHOOL DISTRICT REQUEST FOR VIDEO BY: LINDA L. MAGEE ~Y• EQUIPMENT FUNDING DATE: ~ DATE: NO: At the Telecommunications Commission meeting of July 19, 2001, the commission reviewed a request for funding to support the Video Production class at Columbia Heights High School (see attached). Linda Ernst, District Media Coordinator, and Jeremy Sellman, teacher, made a presentation to the commission regarding the request for funding the purchase of hardware and software for a Video Production Class (see attached excerpt from draft minutes of Telecommunications Commission Meeting of July 19, 2001). Monies were budgeted in the City's 2001 Cable Budget for funding of equipment at the high school. After much discussion, the commission voted to recommend the City Council approve funding of the School District's request for equipment in an amount not to exceed $4,500. Furthermore, that funding is provided with the understanding that programming produced will be aired on the educational access channel, and that receipts of the purchases made be provided to the City. RRCOMMENDED MOTION; Move to approve funding of the School District's request for equipment in an amount not to exceed $4,500, with monies coming from the cable budget. Furthermore, that funding is provided with the understanding that programming produced will be aired on the educational access channel, and that receipts of the purchases made be provided to the City. COUNCIL ACTION: ~:'r•`° - ..~ olumbia - = e EIGHTS:~_ ~~~ 841C SCHOOLS Foy`" k'ORt DS OF OFVORTON\~ Memorandum To: Dennis Stroik From: Kathy Kelly, Director of Teaching and Learning Linda Ernst, District Media Coordinator KATHY L KELLY Director of Teaching and Learning t44o 49th Avenue NE • Columbia Heigh[s, MN 55421 763-528-4436 vHOr+F 763-528-4437 Far kellyk~a colheights.ki2.mn.us Date: May 24, 2001 Re: Proposal for Columbia Heights Public Schools CableNideo Needs Thank you for the opportunity to request funding through the Telecommunications Commission to support the Video Production class at Columbia Heights High School. A Video Production class was offered at Columbia Heights High School for the second semester of the 2000-2001 school year. One section of the class was offered. The Video Production class was very well received. For the 2001-2002 school year, the registrations are currently at 84 students registered in three sections. This will stretch the existing editing suite and the suggested solution is creating "mini' editing suites using editing software called Cinestream. Addition of this hardware and software wil( allow more students to work on editing their video projects at one time. Attached please find a proposal for the purchase of the hardware and software. The additional hard drives, memory upgrades, and software in the proposal would be installed on existing computers provided by Columbia Heights Public Schools. Purchase of this hardware and software would allow for digital video editing on four additional workstations. If you have any questions regarding this proposal, please contact Linda Ernst at 763 528-4663 or 763 528-4434. Columbia Heights Public Schools Proposal oeizaizoo~ Cinestream Software, Installation, Training Cost er item Cost ;inestream/PC with DV Ca lure Card $ 599.00 $ 2,396.00 4 Additional memo 256 MB $ 250.00 $ 1,000.00 4 Hard drive 60 GB $ 299.00 $ 1,196.00 Installation $ 750.00 Trainin on Cinestream $ 500.00 Total $ 5,842.00 TELECOMMUNICATIONS MEETING MINUTES OF JULY 19, 2001 PAGE 2 NEW BUSINESS A. Review of Request from ISD #13 for Funding of Hazdwaze and SoRwaze for Video Production Class Linda Ernst and Jeremy Sellman from ISD #13 made a presentation regarding their request for funding the purchase of hazdwaze and softwaze for a Video Production Class. They explained that last yeaz was the first yeaz they had offered this type of class at Columbia Heights. They had a good response to the class with approximately 20 students taking part. This year three sessions will be offered with 84 students currently registered. The equipment purchase being requested would allow for four additional workstations to be established for digital video editing, compared to the current one they presently have. The hard drives, memory upgrades, and software in the proposal would be installed on existing computers provided by the Columbia Heights Schools. TELECOM.'v1UNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES OF JULY 19, 2001 PAGE3 Jeremy reviewed the curriculum he covers in the production class and answered questions. He explained that one digital editing suite was purchased with funds from the Technology portion of the referendum monies, but there are no remaining funds for any additional equipment. He stated that one workstation was not really adequate to handle a class of 20. They had to work in groups and access the equipment before and after school to accommodate everyone. Jeremy explained that Mr. Ogdie who taught the class last year, went through a learning process with the students. They produced approximately 15-20 hours of programming, but that none of it went on the air over the educational access channel. The Commission members all felt with the equipment the district has, they would like to see the programs aired. The district has better equipment than the City or the Columbia Heights Studio and we are producing programs for public access and government access on a regulaz basis. Jeremy agreed, and is hoping to produce programming that will be suitable for airing on the educational access channel. However, he said the goal here is to educate students for future opportunities if they have an interest in working in the production, technical, or broadcasting field, not necessarily to do produce programming for the district. There was a discussion concerning the equipment they wish to purchase such as compatibility, prices, quality, installation and set up. Several of the commission members felt the prices were high for the additional memory. They suggested that Linda contact General Nano Systems and get a quote from them for the hard drive and memory equipment. They agreed the link and set up should be done by experts, but that other bids should be obtained. The general consensus was that al] agreed putting money into education is good and they support that effort, but they felt district personnel should be getting more bids to ensure they get the most "bang for their buck." Motion by Dennis Stroik, seconded by Reuben Ruen to recommend the City Council approve funding of the School District's request for equipment in an amount not to exceed $4, 500. Furthermore, that funding is provided with the understanding that programming produced will be aired on the educational access channel and that receipts of the mirrha.cec made be orovided to the City. All ayes. May 30,2001 Linda, I am passing along a request from I.S.D. #13 for funding of hardware and software to be used in their Video Production class. Please consider this proposal during your upcoming fiscal year planning sessions. I believe this request would be a good candidate for funding through the disbursement of a portion of our collected Public, Educational, and Government (PEG) access fees. Dennis Stroik Columbia ~=n~ r ~P PUBLIC SCHOOLS Fo~~ wORLpS OF OPPOM1TON\t~ Memorandum To: Dennis Stroik From: Kathy Kelly, Director of Teaching and Learning Linda Ernst, District Media Coordinator Date: May 24, 2001 KATHY L. KELLY Director of Teaching and Learning t44o 49th Avenue NE • Columbia Heights, MN 554z~ 763-Sz8-4436 PuoNF 763-SZ8-4437 FAX kellyk(a~colheights.k~z.mn.us Re: Proposal for Columbia Heights Public Schools Cable/Video Needs Thank you for the opportunity to request funding through the Telecommunications Commission to support the Video Production class at Columbia Heights High School. A Video Production class was offered at Columbia Heights High School for the second semester of the 2000-2001 school year. One section of the class was offered. The Video Production class was very well received. For the 2001-2002 school year, the registrations are currently at 84 students registered in three sections. This will stretch the existing editing suite and the suggested solution is creating "mini" editing suites using editing software called Cinestream. Addition of this hardware and software will allow more students to work on editing their video projects at one time. Attached please find a proposal for the purchase of the hardware and software. The additional hard drives, memory upgrades, and software in the proposal would be installed on existing computers provided by Columbia Heights Public Schools. Purchase of this hardware and software would allow for digital video editing on four additional workstations. If you have any questions regarding this proposal, please contact Linda Ernst at 763 528-4663 or 763 528-4434. Columbia Heights Public Schools Proposal 05/24/2001 Cinestream Software, Installation, Training Cost per item Cost 4 Cinestream/PC with DV Ca ture Card $ 599.00 $ 2,396.00 4 Additional memo 256 MB $ 250.00 $ 1,000.00 4 Hard drive 60 GB $ 299.00 $ 1,196.00 Installation $ 750.00 Trainin on Cinestream $ 500.00 Total $ 5,842.00