Minutes Cable TV Regula 9 10 03MINUTES OF CABLE TV REGULATORY COMMISSION MEETING
September '10, 2003
CITY HALL ANNEX CONFERENCE ROOM # 2, 1300 MAIN ST.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
MEMBERS ABSENT:
OTHERS PRESENT:
Charles Ellis, Chairman, Michael Pratt, Ron Tigges,
Walt Webster, one seat remains vacant on the commission.
Kathy McMullen, General Manager of Mediacom
Merrill Crawford, Cable Franchise Administrator
Mr. Ellis called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m.
1. Acceptance of the Agenda.
Upon a motion by Mr. Tigges, seconded by Mr. Pratt, the agenda was approved as
distributed.
2. Approval of the Minutes of the February 12, 2003 Meeting.
Upon a motion by Mr. Tigges, seconded by Mr. Pratt, the Minutes of the March 12,
2003 Commission meeting were approved as distributed.
3. Public Comment.
There was no one present to address the Commission.
4. System Upgrade.
Mr. Crawford and Ms McMullen bdefed commissioners on the cable distribution
system upgrade to 750 megahertz which had been underway since summer, Ms
McMullen told commissioners that the task was about 70 percent complete and
she expected to be finished by September 25, with new services being introduced
sometime next year.
5. Status of Telecom projects in Dubuque.
Mr. Crawford told Commissioners that construction continues on the new water
tower near the intersection of JFK Rd and the Northwest Arterial, and that the city
is prepared to lease antenna and ground support equipments space at that facility
to wireless telecommunication system providers. He also told Commissioners that
the city continues in the construction of it's own conduit in the downtown area, ice
harbor, and in preparation to serve facilities on Kerper Blvd.
6. Franchise Renewal.
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Mr. Crawford told Commissioners that communication continued between the cities
attomeys, consultants, and Mediacom representatives, and behind the scenes
were continued to refine information about building contacts, demarcation points,
and capacity needs for the proposed institutional network sites. Ms McMullen told
Commissioners that Darrin Dean was spending many hours on measuring,
specifying equipment, and estimating cost for the institutional network as
invisioned.
Medicom General Managers Report.
Ms McMullen reported that a program of door-to-door sales had recently been
implemented in response to competition for direct broadcast satellite, she also
described Mediacom's plan to establish a virtual call center which would include
current and new kinds of information resoumes to subscribers about available
products, status of their own accounts and billing, and response to problems. She
described how local and regional call center representatives would support each
other to respond to subscriber needs via telephone.
Ms McMullen also announced a new regional manager had been hired for
Medicom.
Cable Franchise Administrator Report.
Mr. Crawford update Commissioners on revisions to the fiscal 2004 budget based
upon projected revenue deficit from the state and from Cable Franchise fees.
He also told Commissioners of the progress in specifying and purchasing
audio/visual equipment and systems for the new Grand River Education and
Conference Center, which is to open in late October.
Future agenda items.
There were no additional items to be added to the agenda
Adjournment.
Upon a motion by Mr. Pratt, seconded by Mr. Tigges, the meeting was adjourned
at 6:07 p.m.
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