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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/05/2000 - � � . Telecommunications Advisory Committee - — City of Apple Valley June 5, 2000 7:00 P.M. City Hall Minutes 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:01 p.m. by Chairperson Bible. Members Present: Rollin Bible, Jerry Brown, Scott Hugstad-Vaa, David Westbrook Members Absent: John Magnusson, Dale Rodell Others Present: Charles Grawe, Mark Moore, Ellen Martin 2. Approval of Agenda Mr. Bible asked for changes to the agenda. No changes were requested. The agenda was approved as presented. 3. Approval of Minutes Mr. Westbrook moved, second by Mr. Brown, to approve the minutes of Mazch 6, 2000. Motion passed unanimous. Mr. Westbrook moved, second by Mr. Brown, to approve the minutes of May 2, 2000. Motion passed unanimous. 4. Recommendation for Franchise Policies Mr. Moore provided a brief introduction of the policies. He noted that 1VIr. �reighton's draft specifies an application fee of $20,000 for individual cities and $50,000 for commissions. Mr. Moore recommendedpursuing the individual fee of $20,000. He noted that the ultimate franchising authority rests with the City and that the current commission structure is largely limited to making recommendations. He also noted that Wide Open West and Everest Communications have attempted to establish a separate fund with Tom Creighton for all of his City clients. This fund is at $100,000 for all city clients. The fund is replenished when the balance drops below $50,000. Mr. Moore expressed concern about attempts to change the application fee and process after adoption. Mr. Bible said he would prefer a$35,000 application fee. � � Y Mr. Westbrook moved, second by Mr. Brown, to recommend the City Council approve the policies and procedures as presented with a$35,000 application fee for the individual city. Motion passed unanimous. - 5. Committee Member Compensation Mr. Grawe briefly explained that he and City Attorney Michael Dougherty had reviewed the current compensation and arrived at the following findings. 1) The Telecommunications Committee currently receives cable service for basic and expanded service from Charter Communications at no charge. The approximate value of this service is $40 per month. 2) City staff conducted a survey to determine compensation of other Metro cities. Some cities do not provide their Telecomm. Committees with compensation, while others provide similar cable television service as compensation. 3) Members of other Apple Valley City Committees receive an annual $720 credit toward various park and recreation services such as golf passes, aquatic center passes, and recreation fees. Mr. Grawe explained that the City Attorney raised the following concerns: 1) All committee members are volunteers and any compensation provided to committee members should be equal. 2) Equality extends beyond the dollar value of the compensation. All committee members are providing the City Council with recommendations on issues. Equality means each committee member, regazdless of the purpose of the committee, should have access to the same goods or services as compensation. 3) Compensation should not be tied to the function of the committee. 4) The current provision of service by the cable company to the Telecommunications Committee members may be viewed by some as a violation of the State's "gift law" and at the least raises issues of potential conflict of interest because the Committee plays a role in regulating the company. If service is provided to the members, it should be paid for by the City. Mr. Grawe explained that he was working on a recommendation to the City Administrator. He noted the following items have yet to be resolved: 1) While he received the City Attorney's opinion on the matter, he is attempting to get Cable Attorney Tom Creighton's opinion on the subject. If possible, he would prefer to recommend a policy that both attorneys support. 2) He noted that there might be some value in providing certain services to the committee members if the City expect them to evaluate those services. Mr. Grawe explained that he was not yet ready to make a recommendation to the City Administrator regarding the compensation. He said at this preliminary stage, his recommendation would likely include the following: ! . . . � � . � . . � . � - r . � . � . � � . . . . 1) Equality in compensation is important. At the least, the dollar value of the compensation should be equal forall committee members. At this time, he might recommend increasing the value ofthe cable service to $720 peryear (equal to the value of the cor�rpensation for other committees) or $60 per month. 2) He hadn't concluded that the Telecommunications Committee should be given Park andRecirEatiar� passes as compensation. However, the current a�rangement with the cable company is not a good idea in light of the possible ethical issues. He suggested the City could provide committee members with a monthly allowance for cable services. The City would pay the cable company from a budget line item. Members would submit receipts on a regular basis to the City for reimbursement. Members would have the freedom of choice in the specific services they chose within the cable services. Far example, one member could choose to use the allowance for premium channel service, while another may use the allowance to upgrade to a digital signal. This way, the members essentially police themselves in making sure that as a group they are effectively monitoring the services. He explained that while this was his preliminary line of thought, this could change as additional information becomes available. He also noted that any policy he recommends is subject to change based on the City Administrator's evaluation. Mr. $ible said the City should provide Comrnittee members with the service if the City expects them to monitor service. He said that failing to provide the service limits the Committee's ability to monitor the services. Mr. Brown and Mr. Hugstad-Vaa agreed and expressed opposition to any other form of compensation (i.e. park and recreation passes). Mr. Bible said the City should provide them with access to all cable television services so they could each properly monitor all the services. Mr. Westbrook agreed and expressed opposition to the arbitrary selection of a value of compensation. He argued it should be calculated based on the value of the services the City expects them to monitor. The approximate dollar value of such service is $90 per month per member or $1,080 per year per member. _ , Mr. Bible requested a lunch meeting with Mr. Lawell at some point in th� fiature so he can explain his thoughts on this matter. 6. Cable Coordinator Report Mr. Moore said he implemented the expanded broadcast schedule. He noted that the system construction has begun in Farmington. He noted that there were number of informational calls not reflected in the complaint log. He also noted frequent inquiries regarding public access and educational access. He noted that some people expressed frustration in not being aware of the public hearing on rate increases. He noted that the notice of the meeting was announced at a Council meeting and published in the newspaper, on the website, and on the cable bulletin board. Mr. Bible suggested � � , . publishing an article, as opposed to a notice, in the local newspaper. Mr. Moore said he would attend the MACTA conference in July. 7. 2nd Quarter Complaint Log Mr. Moore reviewed the complaint log and noted there were a few complaints about the rate increase. 8. Other a. Ms. Martin noted that there would be a few channel changes. Customers can vote to add two new channels from a selection of four possibilities. 9. Adjourn Mr. Westbrook moved, second by Mr. Hugstad-Vaa, to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed unanimous. The meeting was adjourned at 7:59 p.m.