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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmay 2010 minTHE MINUTES OF THE �3 TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OF THURSDAY, MAY 20, 2010 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Ken Henke, Acting Chair for the meeting. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Ken Henke, Brad Peterson, Robert Peltier, Bob Buboltz, and Dan Swee. Absent Members: Dennis Stroik (Excused). Council Representative: Bruce Nawrocki City Representative: Linda Magee Cable Representative: Kathi Donnelly -Cohen Linda made a brief acknowledgement of the passing of Commission Member Reuben Ruen. She informed members of the services that will be held to honor his life. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Bob Peltier, seconded by Brad Peterson, to approve the minutes of January 21, 2010. All ayes. Motion Passed. OLD BUSINESS A. Channel Check The channel check was done and no problems were found. B. Correspondence Log and Follow Up on Complaints No complaints were received by the City since the last meeting. C. Status of Franchise Renewal Linda told members they are still working out the last few issues on the Franchise Agreement. They have made significant progress and will be meeting again June 7 She hopes to bring something back to the Commission at the June meeting, for a recommendation to the City Council. D. Other Old Business No other old business. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES MAY 20, 2010 PAGE A. Notice of Addition of KSTC to HD line up on Channel 238 Notice was received February 1, 2010 that effective April 1, 2010, KSTC HD will be added to Channel 238. B. Receipt of 4 Quarter Franchise Fees 2009 A copy of the franchise fee payment was enclosed in the agenda packets. C. Notice of Addition of tptWX to Channel 244 and other Changes TptWX was added to the Basic /Digital lineup on Channel 244 effective April 29, 2010. A digital receiver is required to receive this programming. Fox Reality which was on Channel 108 on the Digitial Classic Tier was re -named March 29, 2010 and is now Nat Geo WILD. Also effective April 29, 2010, VHI Soul, Channel 144 on the Digital Classic Tier was replaced with Centric (formerly BET Jazz). D. Notice of Upgrade for on screen Cable Guide Later this year Comcast will be updating the on- screen Cable Guide for Digital Cable Customers. This update will improve the use of the guide, and will include new features such as links to high definition programming, improved Digital Video Recorder management and more. Customers with high speed internet service will be able to manage and schedule their DVR's online As a result of this upgrade, customers will have to reset their preferences on 1) Parental Controls by channel; 2) DVR recording settings; 3) Reminders, and 4) Favorite listings for each affected channel. E. Notice of $7 HD Technology Fee Comcast is eliminating its equipment rental fees for high definition video services for customers effective May 1, 2010. However, now customers will be charged a $7.00 "HD Technology Fee ". There won't be a change in Comeast's existing DVR Service Fees, which now include the HD Technology Fee. F. Notice of Price Adjustments for Equipment, Service & Installation Effective June 1, 2010 Notice was received that Comcast will be adjusting some of the charges for equipment, service and installation. This does not affect the charge for the cable programming packages. G. Receipt of 1" Quarter Franchise Fees for 2010 A copy of the franchise fee payment was enclosed in the agenda packets. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES MAY 20, 2010 PAGE 3 H. 2009 Annual Report A copy of the Annual Report was sent to the members to review. It was noted that the 2009 Annual Survey is not included in this report. It was anticipated that the renewed franchise would be in place in late 2009 or early 2010, and as such, Comcast did not send out a survey. Motion by Bob Buboltz, seconded by Dan Swee, to accept the 2009 Annual Report as submitted by Comcast. All ayes. MOTIONPASSED. I. Other New Business * Notice was received that ESPN 3D will be added starting June 11, 2010, and will be available on Digital Starter Channel 898 for those customers with HD service and a 31) television. *Comcast will be notifying customers again of the need to order Digital Adapters in order to continue to receive those channels beyond Basic 1. The change is scheduled for August 17, 2010 in Columbia Heights, and customers will receive approximately 15 additional channels once the adapters are installed. Those with complimentary accounts and schools have also been notified, and a copy of that notice was enclosed in the packets for the members to review. Peterson asked if Universal Service would be provided in Digital. Kathi stated there are no plans to change Basic service or Universal service from analog to digital signal. *Effective July 1, 2010, the Digital Classic Tier will be renamed Digital Preferred Tier. The name change will not result in a change in price or service. REPORTS A. Report of Commissioners Education -Dan Swee -- Nothing to report Library- Bob Buboltz— Nothing to report. Public - Government -Ken Henke -- Nothing to report It was noted that re- assignment of liaisons to access channels will not occur until after a Franchise Agreement is reached. However, until such time, Chair Stroik has requested that the liaisons exchange email addresses and phone numbers with their respective counterparts. Linda said appointment of the empty commission seat would be made by the City Council once they receive applications from interested parties. The vacancy will be posted on Channel 16. B. Report of Comcast - The reports of January -April 2010 were included in the agenda packets for the commissioners to review. Kathi pointed out the bold titles on the top of the Community Television Programming Report are the productions that are done in the local studio. The rest are programs that are submitted by the public that have been produced elsewhere. These programs are not viewed before they are aired, so they are not censored. Those who submit these programs are required to sign a form stating the content is not obscene. Henke noticed the answer time on phone stats in March was very high compared to other months. Kathi stated it was due to a problem with Qwest's trunk line. TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES MAY 20, 2010 PAGE 4 C. Report of the Cable Attorney Legal Counsel was not present at this meeting, therefore, there was no report. D. Report of the Assistant to the City Manager Nothing further to report. Motion by Bob Buboltz, seconded by Brad Peterson, to adjourn the meeting at 7 :52 pm. All ayes. Respectfully submitted, Shelley Hanson Secretary