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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/02/2003 t � • � Telecommunications Advisory Committee City of Apple Valley June 2, 2003 7:00 P.M. Municipal Center Minutes 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to arder at 7:07 p.m. by Jerry Brown. Members Present: Jerry Brown, Scott Hugstad-Vaa, John Magnusson, Dale Rodell Members Absent: Rollin Bible, David Westbrook Others Present: Charles Grawe, Mark Moore, Elizabeth Engel, Denis LaComb 2. Approval of Agenda Mr. Brown asked for changes to the agenda. MOTION: Mr. Rodell moved, second by Mr. Hugstad-Vaa to approve the agenda as presented. Motion passed unanimously. 3. Approval Minutes of March 3, 2003 MOTION: N1r. Magunsson moveci, second by Mr. Hugstad-Vaa, to approve the minutes of March 3, 2003. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Continuation of Task Force Report and Public Input on Public Access Television NIr. Moore said he presented a public access proposal to the Cities of Farnlington and Rosemount as part of a larger operations proposal. Given the budget cuts that the Cities are facing, Mr. Moore said he did not expect any decision from them until after the 2004 budget process has been completed. Mr. Grawe noted that both Farmington and Rosemount have another year before Charter is finished recovering the original capital grant money, Once the capital grant mon�y is rec�vered, botJl, cities vvill receive an additional $.25 per subscriber PEG fee that is currently collected by the Company. Mr. Moore said the proposal identifies an increase in the PEG fee as a means to shift cable operational expenses away from the Cities General Fund Budgets. 5. E-Commerce Readv Initiative f • • � Mr. Grawe explained that the State has established a program to certify communities as being e-commerce ready as an economic development tool. He said that the City has traditionally addressed economic development issues through the Economic Growth Partnership Committee (EGPC) and Economic Development Authority (EDA). The Telecommunications Advisory Committee has addressed the telecommunications and infrastructure issues needed for e-commerce. As part of the initiative, Mr. Grawe requested that the Committee members listen for potential issues regarding the telecommunications infrastructure. He also suggested that the Committee have a regular item on the quarterly agendas for the Committee to discuss such issues with local businesses and the telecommunications providers. Mr. Brown requested a summary of the City's efforts to date to implement e-commerce for its services. 6. Discuss Charter Management Reorganization Ms. Engel introduced herself as the new Director of Operations for the Rosemount System. She said she has warked in the industry for 23 years and has been in the St. Cloud System since 1987. She said she will be in Rosemount several days each week. She explained that Charter has reorganized many of its systems in the last few years. Many upgrades and interconnects have been made and Charter has launched cable modem and digital cable services. She said Charter is now revisiting its staffing levels and operational issues. She said that while September 1 lth, 2001 changed business in many ways, she expects Charter to remain aggressive in its upgrades. Ms. Engel said the Rosemount and St. Cloud Systems have been selected as Beta test sites for the HDTV signal. She said there have been two problems preventing the new service. First, the digital boxes needed for the service have a software problem that is interfering with the analog signal. The boxes need to be fixed to support the service. Second, there are cur: ertly only a limited number of premiurn channels available in HDTV (Discovery, HBO, and Showtime). The Company would like a broadcast station to be in HDTV as well when the service is launched to make it more viable. The broadcasters are currently requesting payment or additional channel space if they provide the Cable Company with the HDTV signal. Ms. Engel noted that it would make the most sense for the Company to launch the service in the locations that have reached agreements with the most local broadcasters. She said she expects the service will not be launched for at least several more months. 7. 2nd Quarter Complaint Log Mr. Moore distributed the 2nd Quarter Complaint Log. He noted that five of the complaints relate to rate increases. Mr. Grawe noted that the two complaints regarding line burials have both been resolved. 8. Coardinator's Re o�rt Mr. Moore briefly went over the items listed in the report. � � • � 9. Other There were no other items. 10. Adj ourn MOTION: Mr. Magnusson moved, second by Mr. Rodell to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7:56 p.m.