Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-11-15-CAC-MIN Lexington Communications Advisory Committee Minutes of November 15, 2007 Meeting The meeting was called to order by chair Jeanne Canale at 6:40 PM. Attendees CAC members: Dave Becker, Dave Buczkowski, Jeanne Canale, Jim Gonzalez, Maria Kieslich, Linda Roemer, John Rommelfanger Selectmen’s liaison to the CAC: George Burnell LexMedia attendees: Kay Bell, Tim Counihan, Harry Forsdick, John Hayward, Shelby Kashket, Alan Lazarus Comcast representative: Jane Lyman Verizon representative: Jill Reddish Lexington resident: Jim Baker Minutes of the October 18, 2007 meeting were accepted as submitted Comcast report Jane Lyman gave an answer to a previous question: Comcast does NOT sell ClickStream data (information gathered for Comcast’s own marketing purposes while an Internet user is connected through the Comcast ISP). She also provided a draft proposed amendment to the Comcast license, under which Comcast would no longer be required to provide an I-Net service but would instead provide an annual payment to the Town. The Committee subsequently voted to ask the Board of Selectmen to approve the CAC’s negotiation of such an amendment with Comcast. RCN report No RCN representative was present, and no written report was submitted. Verizon report Jill Reddish reported that provision of basic cable service to 13 Town and School buildings has been validated, and should be established with a couple of weeks. She also reported that availability of FIOS service is well ahead of the schedule required by the Verizon license (i.e., that the service be available to all residents connected by aerial cable no later than October 30, 2007, and to all residents connected by underground cable no later than October 30, 2008). Jim Gonzalez, complaint person for November, received a call from a Harrington Road resident with aerial service who was unable to get FIOS service. Jill will investigate the circumstances and let us know the resolution. Lexington Communications Advisory Committee Minutes of November 15, 2007 Meeting Chairman’s discussion Jeanne Canale sought a sense of the committee on reducing the length of our meetings by setting time limits on discussions. It was decided to set some informal limits for the next meeting to see how they work out. Selectmen liaison’s report George Burnell reported receipt of approximately $50,000 from Verizon for the PEG account. Linda Roemer understands that Burlington received approximately $58,000 from Verizon for their PEG use, and wondered whether there might be a discrepancy. George will investigate. Cable account financial reports The Chair provided copies of financial reports on the two accounts for which the CAC has monitoring responsibility. There were questions on the meanings of several entries. George Burnell will investigate. Maria Kieslich and Dave Becker proposed a revised reporting form and offered a mock- up to show how it would work. George Burnell was not sure that the Finance Department would be able to create such a report. Appreciation to Lynne Pease The committee voted to commend Lynne Pease for her diligence in checking payments due from the cable operators. By her efforts, a neglected payment due from Verizon last February was identified, and the Town received the $769.97 that it was owed. RCN I-Net Dave Becker reported that we’ve met with RCN and the Town and School network managers and separately with those managers and Atrion, the monitoring and consulting contractor for our I-Net switch. The primary motivation for these meetings was to find out whether the RCN I-Net is technically capable of carrying live cable signals (analog and digital) for Town, School and LexMedia use. The preliminary answer seems to be “yes,” but there are some issues to work out. We also heard some of the Town’s plans for upgrading the I-Net. The committee has an interest in anything related to connecting additional sites to this network, as we have to discuss new sites with RCN under their license. We have learned that the existing switch has capacity for one more site in its existing configuration, and that the switch can accept one more expansion card, which would provide space for an additional 16 sites. There’s also a preliminary plan to upgrade the switch with one of higher capacity. Negotiation Subcommittee report There was no activity on the RCN renewal license this month. 2 Lexington Communications Advisory Committee Minutes of November 15, 2007 Meeting LexMedia Jim Gonzales and Linda Roemer have completed the LexMedia performance report for July 2006 through June 2007, and presented it for CAC approval. The committee accepted the report unanimously. Jim and Linda plan to submit the report to the Board of Selectmen in the next few weeks. The Town Manager and Board of Selectmen are discussing possible changes to the Town’s current contract with LexMedia to ease the cash flow problem. LexMedia gave a briefing on their status and plans. Their Executive Director recently resigned and the LexMedia Board of Directors has initiated a search for his replacement. In the interim, board members will take on the responsibilities of the ED. A key question for LexMedia is the pace of construction for Kline Hall. They have a price commitment from at least one contractor that will expire soon if the proposal is not accepted, and yet cannot get clear answers from Avalon, owner of the property. LexMedia can stay at Kite’s End, their present studio site, until June 2008 on a month-to- month basis, if necessary. Repairing and resiting the Scola antenna and receiver is part of the Kline Hall construction work. In the present view, Scola will be unavailable on the PEG channels until the damaged antenna can be relocated. When that happens, LexMedia plans to use the antenna to receive other video signals of interest to the community as well. The committee was very impressed with the spirit and specific plans of the organization, and looks forward to a rejuvenated access organization. Wireless status Ed Vail and Jim Gonzales submitted a written wireless status report. - 6 Merriam Street application received, comments returned to originator - 397 Lowell Street (Verizon) application approved and sent to Board of Appeals - 313 Marrett Road (T-Mobile) under construction, not yet completed - 313 Marrett Road (Verizon) wouldn’t meet code, tentatively withdrawn The wireless subcommittee plans to meet with Board of Appeals Chair on proposed revisions to the wireless zoning article. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 PM. Submitted by David Becker and John Rommelfanger 3