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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-06-16-CAC-min TOWN OF LEXINGTON COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JUNE 16, 2016 Call to order: Communications Advisory Committee (CAC) Chair Ken Pogran called the meeting to order at 6:40 pm in the Parker Room (G-15), Town Office Building, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington. Members Present: Ken Pogran, Chair; Dorinda Goodman; Tim Zack; David Becker; Dave Buczkowski; Frank Cai; Smita Desai; Steve Iverson; Ben Moroze Members Absent: Nick Lauriat; Maria Kieslich Quorum: A quorum of members was present. Others present: Tom Steel, RCN; Jane Lyman, Comcast; Joe Pato, Selectman; Elaine Ashton Materials Referenced: Minutes of the meeting of May 18, 2016; letter from Daniel D. Klasnick, attorney for Verizon Wireless to David George, Zoning Administrator, Town of Lexington concerning "small cell" installations. 1.Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes The minutes of the meeting of May 18, 2016 were unanimously approved as amended. 2.Carrier Reports Jane Lyman of Comcast reported on Comcast Cares Day, the upcoming NBC Olympics coverage; and Comcast's customer experience focus. Comcast collected $176,000 in fees and remitted them to Lexington over the past year. Ken Pogran asked if Comcast planned to extend its pilot program getting low cost internet to senior citizens in Boston more generally. Ms. Lyman outlined the needs-based programs available in Lexington, and said that the senior citizen discount is currently a pilot program in Boston and a few other locations. Mr. Pogran asked how Lexington residents access the needs-based discount and Ms. Lyman explained the process. There was further discussion on the number of residents accessing the discount programs, and how the discount applies with Comcast's product bundling. Tom Steel of RCN deferred his report until the discussion of the RCN Hub relocation plan and license renewal later in the meeting. Jill Reddish of Verizon was not present. 3.Selectman's Report Mr. Pogran said that the Committee had sent one contribution for the Selectmen's goal setting to the Board of Selectmen. Joe Pato replied that the Board planned to begin its review of committee goals shortly. 4.Chairman’s Report a.Committee membership Mr. Pogran reported that several memberships were expiring and up for renewal in September 2016: Dave Buczkowski; Frank Cai; Maria Kieslich; and Ken Pogran. Mr. Pogran asked that these members let him know by the end of August if they wish to be reappointed. b.2016-2017 meeting dates and locations The next meeting of the Committee will be at 6:30 PM on Thursday, September 15th, 2016. The remaining meetings will be on the third Thursday of each month through June, 2017. c.2016-2017 recording secretary assignments Mr. Pogran is working on a schedule for recording secretary assignments. Tim Zack will be the recording secretary for the September 2016 meeting. The complaint schedule is up-to-date through December, 2016. d.RCN PEG and license payment issue resolution The RCN payment is now correct. Mr. Pogran met with Assistant Town Manager for Finance Rob Addelson to make the corrections on the Town's books. 5.RCN Hub relocation plan and associated license issues The RCN license renewal process starts in July, 2016. Mr. Becker explained the process by which the licensee informs the Town they wish to renew. Mr. Becker confirmed with Mr. Steel that RCN will send in the forms initiating renewal by September, 2016. Mr. Becker asked for permission to go to the Board of Selectmen meeting following the date the forms come in, and mentioned that the Committee should send letters to the Town Manager and School Superintendent to see if they had anything they would like RCN to help them support. LexMedia was visited by RCN technicians as part of the relocation of the RCN hub from the Liberty Mutual building on Bedford St. in Lexington to the RCN office in Arlington. RCN is giving up the hub at Liberty Mutual and consolidating in Arlington. Ms. Goodman said that RCN had already relocated its head end from Liberty Mutual to the Lexington DPW building on Bedford St. Ms. Goodman expressed concern that the Town does not know the exact path of the fiber RCN has or is moving as part of this relocation. Mr. Pogran mentioned that the text of the RCN license makes references to the "hub in Lexington", and thought that RCN should have asked for the Town's permission before doing the relocation. Mr. Steel agreed but said that RCN had moved forward because of limited subscriber and Town impact. Mr. Steel said that 70% of subscribers are already transitioned, and that RCN plans to move the Town's INET and then LexMedia. The plan is to be out of the Liberty Mutual building by October as RCN's lease there is expiring. Mr. Steel said RCN was willing to amend the license to remove the hub in Lexington language, but mentioned that the license was renewing soon. Mr. Pogran said the cable attorney thought that the current license's language should be cleaned up to reflect reality. Ms. Goodman stated that the Town wanted to clearly understand where all the RCN fiber would be located after the change, and would like a map. Ms. Goodman expressed concerns about changes in the length of fiber, and wondered what effect the changes would have on RCN's ability to service new Town buildings. Mr. Steel said that these hub changes were a good time to let RCN know about any new buildings. Mr. Becker stated that Ms. Goodman's request for as-built documents was not the first time the Town had asked this of RCN. Mr. Steel asked about LexMedia's plans for the additional HD channels RCN is providing. Mr. Pogran said that LexMedia approved the purchase of an additional modulator to use the HD channels, and that LexMedia expected this to be a summer project. Mr. Pogran asked Mr. Steel about the glitch in program guide lists with Newton. Mr. Steel explained that this is a TiVo issue and that the guide has been a problem. Mr. Steel also mentioned that RCN is allowing customers to stream Netflix and Hulu as though they were cable channels. 6.LexMedia update Mr. Pogran mentioned that LexMedia will be putting in two more HD channels provided by RCN, and that it might be a good idea to see if Verizon and Comcast would provide the same. The recent power outage in Town affected LexMedia. Surges during power restoration caused equipment problems for two days. LexMedia would like boom microphones available in Battin Hall in the Cary Building when broadcasting performances, where stage microphones can't be used. Mr. Pato was not sure if that was a town responsibility. The microphones could be purchased using PEG funds, but LexMedia preferred not to.There was brief discussion as to whether purchasing the microphones was "cable related". Mr. Pogran said he would check with Pat Goddard of the Department of Public Facilities to see if they planned to install microphones. 7.Wireless communications in Lexington working group update Mr. Pogran reported on the police station cell site project. The Town is working on the RFP. A public safety consultant said that the public safety antenna needs to be 120 ft. above ground to get line-of-site communication with other antennas. This would allow links to the Jean Road site. The Town is engaging with a consultant to specify the police station cell site. They are expected to specify a 30-36 inch diameter monopole. Mr. Becker asked if the Town site is subject to zoning regulations. Ms. Goodman replied that the height is within zoning limits. The Town is working to reduce the "cellular" appearance of the police station site, and is considering a big flagpole. The project is positioned as more of a Town public safety need than a cellular carrier need. Mr. Pogran said that aesthetics might dictate that only one cellular provider could be accommodated. Ms. Goodman mentioned that because of aesthetics in the center of town the flagpole concept, or a site using three large light poles were being considered. Ms. Goodman said that a 180 ft. height would be necessary if the police station site were to be a public safety communications hub, but that 180 ft. would not meeting zoning requirements. Mr. Pogran mentioned that because AT&T Wireless' lease at the Muzzey Condominiums was ending, AT&T was discussing the possibility of temporary cellular sites to replace coverage with David George, the Town Zoning Administrator. Mr. Pogran said that Verizon Wireless has started discussing the first-in-town "small cell" sites, which would be located on existing utility poles, as a way to fill in coverage gaps. Verizon initially wants to do two: one at Hayden Ave. and Spring St.; and a second off Concord Ave. near Pleasant St. The committee discussed whether these small cell sites fall under zoning regulations. Verizon says it is only subject to FCC regulations. Mr. Pogran said typically utility poles and equipment are not subject to zoning regulations. He said these small cell sites could be a good approach to the Committee's goal of improving wireless coverage in Town. He stated there is nothing that the Committee needs to do about this topic at this time. Ms. Desai wondered if the Town would be liable for any kind of claim of radiation harm from wireless sites. Mr. Pogran put forward the idea that the Committee could express its support for improving coverage through small cell sites, though it hadn't been asked to do so. Mr. Zack asked how much Verizon expected to improve coverage through these sites, and was there a heat map of coverage? Mr. Pogran said he will express the Committee's interest in learning how coverage would improve. 8.Town IT updates None 9.Working group timelines Mr. Pogran decided that the Committee would not discuss working group timelines in this meeting. 10. Wireless applications Mr. Cai and Mr. Moroze said there were no new wireless applications. 11. Complaints Mr. Iverson monitored complains in May. Mr. Moroze monitored complaints in June. There were no complaints. Mr. Lauriat will monitor complaints in July, Ms. Desai in August, and Mr. Buczkowski in September. 12.New business Ms. Goodman questioned whether RCN's move of their hub to Arlington might affect RCN's contractual commitment to connect any new Town buildings that are near their equipment. She wondered whether RCN could claim they have no fiber available to connect new buildings. Mr. Becker said he didn't think the RCN re-architecture was a problem. Mr. Pogran asked Ms. Goodman to send an email capturing these questions for discussion at the next meeting in the fall. Ms. Desai wondered if the fall would be too late, but Mr. Buczkowski said that an amendment to the RCN contract could capture this. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 8:23 PM. Respectfully submitted, Ben Moroze