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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/11/1997 Telecommunications Advisory Committee City of Apple Valley February 11, 1997 7:00 P.M. City Hall Minutes 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chairperson Bible. Members Present: Dale Rodell, Rollin Bible, David Westbrook, Scott Hugstad-Vaa, John Magnusson Members Absent: Jerry Brown Others Present: Charles Grawe, Denis LaComb, Patsy Hoyt, Darin Helgeson, Laura Rosario, Danielle Rosario, Ruben Rosario 2. Approval of Minutes of October 21, 1996 The minutes of October 21, 1996 were approved unanimous (motion by Mr. Rodell, second by Mr. Westbrook). 3. Approval of Minutes of November 12, 1996 Public Hearing The minutes of November 12, 1996 were approved unanimous (motion by Mr. Hugstad- Vaa, second by Mr. Magnusson). 4. Franchise Renewal Update Mr. Bible gave a brief update regarding the cable franchise renewal. He explained that the City’s negotiating team met with representatives of Marcus Cable in December. He explained that the Committee’s role has expanded beyond cable and that Marcus also could provide services beyond cable television. The negotiating team expressed an interest in working with Marcus on other telecommunications services beyond cable television. Mr. Bible said that he had a subsequent telephone conference with several representatives of Marcus and will meet on the week of March 24, 1997 to further discuss this issue. Mr. Bible expressed his concern that the attorney’s for the City and for Marcus begin work on the franchise document as soon as possible. Mr. Bible asked that both Marcus and the City talk to their respective attorneys about expediting the renewal process. Mr. Bible also mentioned that the needs assessment element has not been satisfied by the City and that the November public hearing was not as successful as anticipated. Mr. Creighton has emphasized that a needs assessment is important and has suggested a possible consulting firm to conduct the assessment. Mr. Bible also requested that the City write another article for the Chamber newsletter. Mr. Grawe added that Marcus cable had offered to conduct the needs assessment for the City. Mr. Grawe said that he had discussed this with Mr. Vose of Tom Creighton’s office and Mr. Vose felt it was worth exploring. Mr. Grawe also said that the City staffs of Apple Valley, Farmington, Lakeville, and Rosemount had been meeting to discuss joint franchise renewal efforts. Mr. Grawe said that the Cities of Farmington and Rosemount would be approaching the City of Apple Valley about participating in Apple Valley’s franchise renewal process. Mr. Helgeson said that Marcus also wants to move quickly in the renewal process. He explained that dollars have been budgeted for rebuilds in 1997 and a quick renewal will keep budgeted dollars from being reallocated to other systems. Mr. Helgeson explained that the upgrade will be a fiber/coaxial cable hybrid. The current system has up to 45 amplifiers before reaching the end user. With the upgrade, fiber nodes will be installed, decreasing the number of amplifiers to 4 or 5. The upgrade will increase speed, capability, and reliability. He further stated that the exact number of channels to be provided has not been set, although with compression technology, it is possible to receive 6-10 additional channels for each existing channel. The upgrade will be activated by node location, so activated areas will have different channel capacities and line ups. 5. Review of Complaint Log The Committee reviewed the complaint log for the last quarter of 1996. Mr. Bible expressed concern that the District Manager is often absent from the area. Ms. Hoyt explained that the District Manager has many franchises in Wisconsin and that other local staff are available. 6. Z-TV Letter The Committee reviewed the letter from Susan Herman requesting that Marcus carry Z- TV. There was brief discussion that additional channels may be made available as channel compression allows. 7. Web Page Update Charles Grawe reported that the Web Page construction is underway. The Committee asked Charles to make a demonstration of the Page available to the Committee before it is released. Charles mentioned that the joint City and Chamber Tourism Bureau may have an interest in buying a few pages on the City’s site. Mr. Rodell moved, second by Mr. Westbrook, that the City allow the Visitor’s Bureau to purchase pages on the City’s site. Motion carried unanimous. 8. Univision Channel Discussion Ms. Laura Rosario asked why the City is renewing the franchise with Marcus. Mr. Bible explained the City’s role in the franchise renewal and the limitations imposed on the City by federal law. Mr. Bible explained that the City could not force Marcus to carry a particular cable channel. There was brief discussion about the profitability of carrying Univision and why Univision is carried elsewhere in the Metro area. Mr. Bible urged Ms. Rosario to help Marcus understand why carrying Univision is a good idea for Marcus economically. Mr. Helgeson explained that by corporate agreements, the local Marcus headend is legally obligated to add MSNBC and EYES ON PEOPLE as the next channels when capacity is available. Mr. Bible asked if any channels will likely be dropped. Mr. Helgeson said that the corporate office signs many agreements by which the local company must operate and that it is very difficult to drop channels. Mr. Westbrook moved, second by Mr. Magnusson, that the Committee recommend to Marcus Cable that Univision be added as soon as possible. Motion carried unanimous. 9. Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 P.M..