Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-01-17-CAC-minCommunications Advisory Committee Meeting, January 17, 2013 Legion Room, Cary Hall Attendees (CAC members): Jim Goell, Nick Lauriat, Ken Pogran, Linda Roemer, Dorinda Goodman and Dave Becker Chairman Jim Goell called the meeting to order. Minutes: CAC members made small corrections throughout the December meeting minutes. Ms. Roemer motioned to approve as corrected. Passed unanimously. CAC - Selectman liaison report: Mr. Burnell wasn't present. The committee noted that Mr. Burnell wouldn't be running for reelection to the Board of Selectman, so the committee would likely have a new liaison. Carrier Reports: No carriers present. Chairman's report: 1. Committee opening. The chair asked Mr. Pogran to post the opening to the Lexington List. The committee agreed we were looking for a town resident, not a town employee to join the committee. 2. Letter to RCN concerning HD PEG. To be discussed later in the meeting. 3. Closed caption letter. To be discussed later in the meeting. 4. Next meeting. The next meeting may be held in the Town Office Building. Details pending. LexMedia: 1. Backup server. Ms. Goodman is still trying to get pricing from Verizon for additional bandwidth at the 201 Bedford Street building. She said she sent an email and followed -up with a phone call. Neither has been answered. Mr. Goell will provide Ms. Goodman Verizon contact information. 2. HD Broadcast. Mr. Pogran sent an email in December to Mr. Steel confirming the conversation and the desire to move forward. In early January Mr. Pogran pinged Mr. Steel for a response. Mr. Pogran read Mr. Steel's response aloud — Mr. Steel indicated that there was concern at RCN about "setting a precedent," that he "needed more time to present the idea internally in as favorable a light as possible" and he would try to have an answer by our February meeting. Mr. Becker noted that there is a clause in the contract that allows for a fourth PEG channel if there is sufficient "original" programming per some interval. Mr. Becker will draft a letter to be sent to LexMedia to see if they've achieved that threshold. Closed Captioning. See below. Cary Hall: Ms. Roemer noted that initial committee recommendations had been presented to the Board of Selectmen on Monday. The report and the associated PowerPoint presentation are on their website. Their recommendations were broken up between Life Safety / Accessibility (18 %), Building Systems (47 %) and Usability (35 %). The next phase will require approximately $500k for design and engineering work. Apparently, that phase is "shovel ready." While there is no specific recommendation for WiFi, Mr. Manz from the Board of Selectmen has indicated that he generally supports putting in the wiring for WiFi. Ms. Roemer noted that LexMedia wanted the same cameras as they have at the high school in a renovated Cary Hall — even though the initial budget called for better cameras. Ms. Goodman indicated that she was moving forward with putting WiFi in several town buildings for employee access. She indicated "it will be ready for the public at the flip of a switch — but that's a big political issue." Ms. Roemer said that the Board of Selectmen thanked the committee, and asked them not to disband so that they would be available for future phases of work on Cary Hall. G -15: Ms. Goodman showed a picture of the renovated meeting room. The room includes a projector and a whiteboard. There is appropriate ducting to upstairs for a LexMedia camera, but no camera or wiring (yet). There are also microphones in the ceiling, and an appropriate connection in the corner for connection to the camera. The meeting room is now known as the Parker Room. Library Sound Ms. Roemer noted that she had recently watched a meeting at the library on TV, and thought the sound was significantly improved. Open Meeting / Town Email Address for Committee Emails: Ms. Goodman noted that the town was in the process of setting up email addresses for committee chairs. Emails to the Chair would go to that address and the chair would be obligated to respond from that address. That would ensure all committee correspondence was preserved in accordance with open meeting laws. Apparently, the town is looking for at least one "example" committee to start using this new system. The committee discussed the implications of this, and different potential approaches (mailing lists, etc.). There was some thought that as the "communications" committee, this committee would be a logical place to start. Mr. Goell expressed that he was reluctant to get another email address he was responsible for checking on a regular basis, especially if the address had a very low volume of email. As such, Mr. Goell was reluctant to volunteer the CAC. The town clerk is responsible for this policy, and for now, this is the approach the town has decided on. Comcast Negotiation: An initial meeting was held earlier in the week with Comcast. Comcast reportedly told the subcommittee that they were eager to use a generic contract with all of their towns. The subcommittee told Comcast: "that's funny; we're eager to use a generic contract with all three of our providers!" Comcast indicated that they were unable to help on any sort of data / Internet request, since they perceived this as a cable contract — which was a separate business. They do have a program to provide free bandwidth to libraries, which is a standard for them. Comcast indicated that they were eager to help with more set top boxes for schools, and that didn't even have to wait for the new contract. The subcommittee noted that they already had a public meeting. They're aiming for a completed contract to be sent to the Board of Selectmen in March, 2014. The existing contract expires in August, 2014. The subcommittee meets again on March 5, 2013. Closed Captioning LexMedia got a price estimate for closed captioning an hour of content. It was $330 and required two or three days for turnaround. Mr. Goell said he would forward the estimate he received from LexMedia to the committee. The committee discussed different types of closed captioning, including "real- time" and "non -real- time" closed captioning. This price estimate was clearly for non - real -time closed captions. The committee agreed that more information was needed before pursuing this type of closed captioning. Ms. Goodman suggested a question on LexEngage, and Mr. Goell would ask about equipment cost for "real- time" closed captions. Technical Initiatives Funds Mr. Becker reviewed the balance of the account used for "technical initiatives" payments and payments in lieu of providing I -Net service. The committee noted that there were considerable payments in to that account over the last few years, and few withdrawals. The committee discussed either setting up a subcommittee or having a recurring agenda item to discuss this topic. Mr. Goell agreed to put the topic on the agenda for the next meeting. Wireless Report None. Complaints None. Mr. Pogran made a motion to adjourn at 8:05 PM, Ms. Roemer seconded. The motion passed. Respectfully submitted, Nick Lauriat