Minutes Cable Regulatory 2 14 1MINUTES OF CABLE TV REGULATORY COMMISSION MEETING
FEBRUARY 14, 2001
CITY HALL ANNEX CONFERENCE ROOM # 2, 1300 MAIN ST.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Charles Ellis, Chairman, Ron Tigges, Craig Schaefer, Walt
Webster
MEMBERS ABSENT:
OTHERS PRESENT:
Michael Pratt
Merrill Crawford, Cable Franchise Administrator
Chairman Ellis called the meeting to order at 5:31 P.M.
Acceptance of the Agenda.
Upon a motion by Mr. Webster, seconded by Mr. Tigges, the agenda was
accepted as published.
Approval of the Minutes of the January 10, 2001 Meeting.
Upon a motion by Mr. Webster, seconded by Mr. Tigges, the Minutes of the
January 10, 2001 Commission meeting were approved as distributed.
Public Comment.
The Chairman noted there was no one present to address the Commission.
Status of Telecom Projects in Dubuque,
Mr. Crawford told Commissioners of contact by a site acquisition specialist for
Tetra Tech Communications Services, representing an affiliate of AT & T
Wireless, who was looking for a number of antenna or tower sites in Dubuque.
This brings the total number of wireless service providers we are currently
dealing with to six.
Mr. Crawford told Commissioners that there still had not been a resolution of
the Illinois PCS request to build a communications tower along Roosevelt Street
which the Zoning Advisory Board had denied. The Board had declined a
request to reconsider their denial.
McLeodUSA is extending its fiber optic cable through the city and out to
McGraw Hill on Kerper Blvd. and may route past City Hall on the way.
The City government website RFP should be issued within the week, with
proposals due in March, and an aim of phased launching of the website before
the end of the fiscal year.
The new City government telephone system installation has begun, with the.
decision on a network service provider (QWeSt or McLeodUSA) to come by the
end of the week.
He spoke briefly about the recent announcement of the funding of the
America's River Project, and some telecommunications systems and work
which lies ahead on this project.
Franchise Renewal.
Mr. Crawford reported on the progress of hiring Tom Robinson of River Oaks
Communications on a retainer to advise the City in telecommunications
negotiation strategies with potential competitive service providers, and to
propose a future cable and telecom needs study that would satisfy franchise
renewal requirements, as well as give the City a better picture of strengths and
deficiencies regarding state-of-the-art competitively priced telecommunications
services. He then led Commissioners in a discussion of elements of the current
cable franchise which should be retained, those which should be updated, and
options for new ways to approach community cable needs. These included a
number of consumer protection and customer service issues, PEG access and
Inet issues, technical quality of service, particularly with regard to off air
broadcast signals and broadband Internet signals, etc. The Commission
expressed interest in scheduling a joint work session with the Cable
Community Teleprogramming Commission to discuss PEG access needs and
various models for addressing those needs in the future. Mr. Crawford will
communicate this desire to the other Commission.
Franchise Fee Expenditures.
Mr. Crawford reviewed with the Commission the FY 2001 and proposed FY
2002 Cable TV Division budgets, actual and anticipated franchise fee revenues,
and the balances and areas of expenditure of both the annual operating budget
funds and the reserve fund which is used for one time expenditures and
particularly for legal services. Commissioners expressed concern over the
amount and percentage of franchise fee dollars that were being used by the
City to support programs and capital expenditures not directly related to cable
television while Cable TV staff and resources are spread thin.
AT & T General Manager's Report.
Due to the weather, Jori Koebrick was unable to come to Dubuque from Cedar
Rapids to attend the Commission meeting. He had checked by phone with Mr.
Crawford earlier in the day and was researching the delay in the arrival of new
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public access equipment, which had raised a concern with the Cable
Community Teleprogramming Commission.
Cable Franchise Administrator Report.
Mr. Crawford distributed copies of S.F. 168, introduced in the IoWa Senate at
the request of AT & T and McLeodUSA, and led a discussion of the anti-
competition "ratchet down" effects of the bill, which the City opposes.
Future Agenda Items.
The topic of a joint Commission workshop on PEG access, future needs and
approaches will be returned to the agenda.
10. Adjournment.
Upon a motion by Mr. Webster, seconded by Mr. Tigges, the meeting was
adjourned at 7:1 0 P.M.
MC/cj
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