HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-01-19-CAC-min RECEIVED
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TOWN OF LEXINGTON TOWN CL,ERK
COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
LEXINGTON
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JANUARY 19, 2023
CONDUCTED BY REMOTE PARTICIPATION
1. Call to order and roll call.
Communications Advisory Committee (CAC) Chair Kenneth Pogran called the meeting to order
at 6:40 PM and called the roll. The meeting was conducted remotely via Zoom.
Members Present (via Zoom): Ken Pogran, Chair; Bob Avallone, Dave Becker, Dave
Buczkowski, Steve Kaufman, Nick Lauriat, P.K. Shiu
Members Absent: Smita Desai, Dorinda Goodman, Ramin Taraz, Rita Vachani
Quorum: A quorum of members was present.
Others Present: Doug Lucente, Select Board
Materials Referenced: Draft Minutes of the December 8, 2022 CAC meeting.
2. Review and VOTE to approve minutes of the CAC December 8, 2022 meeting
The draft minutes of the December 8, 2022 meeting, as amended by B. Avallone were reviewed.
D. Buczkowski moved to approve the minutes, B. Avallone seconded. The committee approved
by roll-call vote.
3. Select Board liaison report: Doug Lucente
Doug Lucente indicated that there are budget challenges, but he indicated that the LexMedia
budget was expected to survive.
D. Lucente said the police station project groundbreaking was today, and there have been some
neighborhood concerns about the new monopole antenna behind the police station.
4. Service provider reports
No service providers present, and none provided updates to the chair.
5. Chairman's Report: Ken Pogran
Ken Pogran reminded the committee that the next meeting is scheduled for February 16 —before
the school vacation week.
K. Pogran said he would get caught up on posting the approved minutes.
K. Pogran said that Bob Avallone had volunteered to help with the committee website, and they
agreed to meet in two weeks when B. Avallone was back in Lexington.
K. Pogran said that it was still on his to-do list to understand if the CAC needs to be involved in
wireless applications.
K. Pogran said that they never did identify members for the wireless services working group.
But that he and Steve Kaufman had been in touch about reaching out to carriers. S. Kaufman
said that there are still significant"dead zones" in town and that there is limited 5G service,
despite the publicity. K. Pogran said that he anticipated it would be him, Dorinda Goodman and
S. Kaufman on the wireless services working group unless someone else volunteers.
D. Lucente said he worked with Mark Sandeen and that they did draft an update to the policy for
wireless applications. And that they're meeting with the Town Manager soon. K. Pogran asked
him to review the question of whether the CAC has a role going forward.
6. Comcast cable television license renewal update—P.K Shin and Ken Pogran
P.K. Shiu will be leading the effort, supported by other committee members. K. Pogran said that
Peter Epstein, the town's previous cable attorney is retiring, and that the town is transitioning to
P. Epstein's law partner, Bill August. And he anticipated a meeting with P. Epstein, B. August
and the working group members soon.
K. Pogran said that we're in the ascertainment phase, and that he expected the town to solicit
feedback(via a public hearing) from residents. He also said letters were going out to the Town
Manager and Superintendent of Schools to understand their needs.
K. Pogran expects to wrap up the ascertainment phase by the end of August, and that may
conclude by giving Comcast an RFP approximately a year before the end of the contract.
7. Town IT update—Dorinda Goodman
Dorinda Goodman was not present.
8. Wireless facility applications —Ken Pogran, Nick Lauriat
Ken Pogran said that he wasn't aware of any wireless applications.
9. Complaints
There were no complaints in December.
Ken Pogran said that he had picked up a January complaint through the Lexington List. A
resident had been frustrated by a recent experience with Verizon. K. Pogran said that by simply
invoking the specter of the CAC and Verizon's municipal liaison, a Verizon supervisor quickly
resolved his issue.
10. Other business
Dave Becker brought up the mixture of cable providers providing basic cable to town buildings.
K. Pogran agreed that collecting information about the existing status was a valuable activity,
albeit a low priority one.
10. Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 7:23 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Nicholas Lauriat
Recording Secretary