HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-05-16-CAC-min
TOWN OF LEXINGTON
COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF MAY 16, 2013
Call to order.
CAC Chair Jim Goell called the meeting to order at 6:33 PM in the
Selectmen’s Meeting Room, Town Hall.
Present:
CAC Members: Jim Goell, Chair; Ken Pogran; Dorinda Goodman; Frank Cai,
Maria Kieslich; David Becker; Nick Lauriat, Geoffrey Xiao and David Buczkowski.
Others: Joseph Pato, Selectman, Florence Delsanto, LexMedia & David Ilsley,
LexMedia.
1. Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes.
The minutes of the meeting of April 9, 2013 were approved with a correction to Item 5e
to read “Dave Becker”.
2. Selectmen’s Liaison Report.
Mr. Pato introduced himself to the CAC
3. Carrier Reports.
None
4. Chairman’s Report.
a. The school cable box issue has been resolved.
b. Mr. Goell sent a letter to the Board of Selectmen on the Liberty Mutual
building issue. Mr. Pato reported that there is nothing current going on but that
something could happen in the future.
c. The next CAC meeting is scheduled for June 20, 2013 in Room G-15 of Town
Hall.
d. Mr. Goell announced that his family is moving away from Lexington in June,
and that he was therefore was resigning as chairman, effective June 1, 2013. He
will remain on the CAC until his moving date.
5. New Chair.
Upon the nomination of Ken Pogran by Mr. Buczkowskiand second by Ms. Kieslich,
Mr. Pogran was unanimously elected Chair with only Mr. Pogran abstaining. He will take
office on June 1, 2013.
6. LexMedia Update
Patriot’s Day Parade.
The temporary arrangements for video and sound
transmission worked very well, and comments on the production and the on-
demand recording have been very positive.
Quarterly Report.
The report was submitted to the CAC and the LexMedia
subcommittee has drafted a response. In general, the CAC believes that
LexMedia is meeting its contract obligations very well.
HD Broadcasts.
RCN has agreed to provide a high definition PEG channel in
addition to the three standard definition channel required under their license.
Equipment needed for transmitting this signal has been ordered by both LexMedia
and RCN, and initial transmissions may begin as early as this June.
We are requesting a similar channel in our Comcast renewal license negotiations,
but do not yet know what their response will be.
Fourth PEG Channel.
LexMedia believes that it has met the requirements under
Lexington’s cable licenses for obtaining a fourth PEG channel. It must now
decide whether it is ready to use the additional capacity before the CAC requests
that the cable operators supply the new channel.
Backup Server Location.
Nothing new to report. LexMedia is investigation
transmission alternatives.
Closed Captioning.
Dave Becker supplied LexMedia with contact information
for the WGBH Media Access Group, an operation that provides closed captioning
services for video producers. LexMedia has been in contact with them to
understand their process requirements. The CAC is considering whether to
request LexMedia to close-caption cablecasts of Town Meeting sessions, as was
the practice prior to LexMedia taking responsibility for Government Access
production in 2005.
7. Use of CAC Funds for Technical Initiatives.
The chair asked Dave Becker to draft a position paper on the possible uses of non-PEG
funds in the Revolving Fund.
8. Rules on Prompt Removal of Downed Communication Lines
In response to a request from Police Chief Corr, we are trying to identify ways to speed
up the process of identifying owners of downed cables and either repairing them or
removing any safety hazards from our streets. We are asking for information on this
from state agencies responsible for overseeing companies having cables on local utility
poles.
9. Contacts with Other CACs (Bedford, Framingham).
We supplied the Town of Framingham with documentation of the process we used in
modifying Comcast’s license when they could no longer provide us with their I-Net.
We exchanged information on the ascertainment process with the Town of Bedford.
They sent us an analysis of returns from a Bedford cable subscriber survey, some of
which may also apply to Lexington.
10. Cary Memorial Building Issues (WiFi).
The final report will be reviewed and the CAC position will be finalized.
11. Promotion of CAC WiFi Position
Dave Becker is to draft a proposed policy statement on wireless communications in Town
facilities to present to the Board of Selectmen for their approval.
12. Comcast Negotiations Update.
Nothing new to report. The subcommittee will meet on May 21, 2013 to finalize the list
of demands and circulate them to the CAC. The next negotiation meeting is June 10,
2013.
13. Wireless Report.
Nothing new
14. Complaints.
None.
15. Log status.
Up to date.
16. Committee Candidates.
No action at this time.
17. Open Discussion.
The CAC voted unanimously to thank Mr. Goell for his excellent service to the CAC and
to the Town along with wishing him well on his upcoming move.
16. Adjournment.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 PM
Respectfully submitted,
David Becker and David J. Buczkowski