Minutes Cable Reg 3 12 03MINUTES OF CABLE TV REGULATORY COMMISSION MEETING
MARCH 12, 2003
CITY HALL ANNEX CONFERENCE ROOM # 2, 1300 MAIN ST.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Charles Ellis, Chairman, Ron Tigges, Walt Webster
MEMBERS ABSENT: Kevin Nekvinda, Michael Pratt.
OTHERS PRESENT:
Jim Barefoot, Mediacom
Merrill Crawford, Cable Franchise Administrator
Mr. Ellis called the meeting to order at 5:31 p.m. and welcomed Mr. Barefoot who was
representing General Manager Kathy McMullen.
1. Acceptance of the Agenda.
Upon a motion by Mr. Webster, seconded by Mr. Tigges, the agenda was
approved as distributed.
2. Approval of the Minutes of the February 12, 2003 Meeting.
Upon a motion by Mr. Webster, seconded by Mr. Tigges, the Minutes of the
February 12, 2003 Commission meeting were approved as distributed.
3. Public Comment.
There was no one present to address the Commission.
4. Status of Telecom Projects in Dubuque.
Mr. Crawford told Commissioners of the pending approval of a request by AT & T
Wireless to upgrade their antenna facility on the West 3rd Street water tower. He
also told Commissioners of efforts to notify the area's wireless communication
carriers of the anticipated increase in wireless services demand in the Ice Harbor
area as the vadous America's River facilities open for business.
5. Franchise Renewal.
Mr. Crawford told Commissioners that an additional temporary franchise extension,
to June 30, 2003, would be the subject of a public hearing on the City Council
agenda of March 17, 2003. The Commission discussed elements of the CBG
Communications cable needs ascertainment study and recent changes in the
television market due to the DISH Network introduction of local broadcast signals,
and other factors.
6. Mediacom General Manager's Report and Multi-media Presentation.
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It was noted that a multi-media presentation was not planned for this meeting, but
that an oversight had retained that item on the agenda from last month. Mr.
Barefoot informed Commissioners of a telemarketing glitch which had resulted in a
Dubuque Mediacom internet only subscriber receiving a telephone offer from an
Illinois telemarketer, which was not valid in Dubuque. Commissioners chose the
opportunity to discuss community programming opportunities and challenges with
Mr. Barefoot.
Cable Franchise Administrator's Report.
Mr. Crawford told Commissioners about the temporary hiatus of the selection
process of the vendor for the Municipal Cable Telecom Feasibility Study. Primarily,
the City is watching to see what happens in the Iowa Legislature regarding
Mediacom sponsored bill that would terminate municipal telecommunications and
cable utilities in the state. He also told Commissioners of the hosting of a visitor
from Hungary, who had visited City facilities as well as the studios and headend
facilities of Mediacom.
Mr. Crawford distributed a series of articles, including one about a court in Des
Moines upholding Mediacom's refusal to cablecast public access footage of
persons entering an abortion clinic, another court upholding Comcast in a lawsuit
by a subscriber claiming that adult movie channels constituted obscenity, an FCC
fact sheet regarding the tier buy-through prohibition, and an article reporting that a
number of electdc power utilities are testing broadband networking over existing
power lines.
Mr. Crawford also told Commissioners that City Expo would be held on Tuesday,
April 15.
Future Agenda Items,
It was suggested that some time be allocated in an agenda to discuss use of the
City website to present more answers to frequently asked questions and similar
information about cable and telecommunications. The Commissioners noted that
the regular April meeting would be held on Wednesday, April 9, which is expected
to be the eve of franchise negotiation meetings in Dubuque. If this schedule holds,
the April 9 meeting will not be held.
Adjournment.
Upon a motion by Mr. Webster, seconded by Mr. Tigges, the meeting was
adjourned at 6:21 p.m.
MC/cj
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