Minutes Cable Telep 12 2 03MINUTES OF CABLE COMMUNITY TELEPROGRAMMING COMMISSION MEETING
DECEMBER 2, 2003
CITY HALL ANNEX CONFERENCE ROOM # 2
MEMBERS PRESENT: Sr. Carol Hoverman, Dan Wilant, Paul Kohl, Burton Evedst
MEMBERS ABSENT: Jennifer Tigges
OTHERS PRESENT:
Jim Barefoot, Mediacom
Merrill Crawford, Cable Franchise Administrator
Sr. Hoverman called the meeting to order at 5:40 p.m.
1. Acceptance of the Agenda.
Upon a motion by Mr. Wilant, seconded by Mr. Kohl, the agenda was accepted as
published.
2. Approval of the Minutes of the October 7, 2003 Meeting.
Upon a motion by Mr. Kohl, seconded by Mr. Wilant, the Minutes of the October 7,
2003 Commission meeting were approved as distributed.
3. Public Comment.
There was no one present to address the Commission. However, Commissioners
commented on having read a letter to the Telegraph Herald by Mr. Kohl commending
Loras video students for a recent project.
4. Access Equipment Expenditures.
Mr. Barefoot explained there had been some confusion in various Mediacom offices as
to how the remaining access equipment requirement of the current franchise was being
met and as a result the recent authorized equipment purchases had been delayed. The
resolution of the issue was to determine that the money would be spent from
Mediacom's operating budget and the order is now proceeding.
5. Access Programming.
Mr. Barefoot distributed his monthly access use report and called Commissioners
attention to significant increase in access programming activity on the educational
channel.
Mr. Barefoot told Commissioners that Mediacom had been approached with a proposal
to partner with a local radio station and others to produce a short local television daily
newscast on the local origination channel or perhaps in a local slot on CNN Headline
News. Although many details were yet to be worked out, the question of shadng space
or existing equipment with PEG access had arisen and Mr. Barefoot sought the
guidance of Commissioners. The Commission discussed the idea and the significant
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commitment in time, personnel, and quality production standards that would be required
for a successful venture particularly on a daily basis.
There was informal consensus to invite a spokesperson or representative of the project
to the next Commission meeting.
Mediacom Cable Franchise Renewal.
Mr. Crawford briefed Commissioners on the behind-the-scenes work of Mediacom
engineers to design options for a new institutional cable network, the virtual completion
of Mediacom's system upgrade to 750Mhz, and an introductory meeting he had with
new Mediacom Vice-president for eastern Iowa and northern Illinois, Scott Westerman.
On the other hand, he told Commissioners there had been no further face-to-face
renewal negotiations since June as the City awaited a response from Mediacom,
particularly to the I-Net and PEG access components of franchise renewal. The City
had finally placed a November 7 deadline for a meaningful response and by November
12 had received a sketchy letter from Mediacom's New York office showing little
movement from their opening conceptual position early in the year, but promising
additional design details in a separate mailing regarding the I-Net options. Mr.
Crawford told Commissioners that if analysis of the design detail turned up little reason
to continue investing in face-to-face negotiations, the team would offer other options for
the City Council to consider in mid-January, while still hoping for a more meaningful
response from Mediacom. In either case, the current extension of the cable franchise
will expire December 31, so the process is underway to request another six-month
temporary extension.
Outreach/Common Interest Communities.
There was no additional discussion on this item.
Mediacom Cable Report.
Mr. Barefoot had nothing additional to report.
Cable Franchise Administrator's Report.
Mr. Crawford distributed a number of recent trade media articles regarding the
diminishing of local television programming and recommending more local involvement
by cable companies. He also distributed an article from the Internet showing a devious
scheme by the telephone industry to generate grassroots Internet opposition to any
form of telecommunications regulation.
Mr. Crawford told Commissioners that City budgets including Cable TV budget would
again be extremely tight in the upcoming budget process and that franchise fee
revenues had decreased significantly as a result of the exclusion of cable modem
revenues from the cable company's gross revenues, and the decline of cable service
revenues because of subscriber flight to direct broadcast satellites.
10. Future Agenda Items.
Because of the holidays, Commissioners decided to schedule the January meeting for
the second Tuesday, January 13, and to place an item on the agenda for the Mediacom
local news proposal.
11. Adjournment.
Upon a motion by Mr. Everist, seconded by Mr. Wilant, the meeting was adjourned at
6:50 p.m.
MC/cj