Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-12-16-CAC-min RECEIVED 21123 '1 ,Jain, &A9 am TOWN OF LEXINGTON TOWN C , ERK COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE LEXINGTON MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF DECEMBER 16, 2021 CONDUCTED BY REMOTE PARTICIPATION 1. Call to order and roll call. Communications Advisory Committee (CAC) Chair Kenneth Pogran called the meeting to order at 6:34 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; Smita Desai; Steve Kaufman; P.K. Shiu; Ramin Taraz; Rita Vachani; Nick Lauriat Members Absent: Dorinda Goodman Quorum: A quorum of members was present. Others Present: Tom Steel, RCN; David von Moritz, RCN Materials Referenced: Draft minutes of the November 18, 2021 meeting 2. Review and VOTE to approve minutes of the CAC November 18, 2021 meeting The minutes of the November 18, 2021 meeting, recorded by P.K. Shiu, were reviewed and approved by roll call vote as amended. 3. Select Board liaison report—Joe Pato Mr. Pato was not in the meeting, as such there was no Select Board liaison report. 3. Service provider reports - Tom Steel (RCN), David von Moritz (RCN) Mr. Steel introduced his successor, David von Moritz. Mr. Steel noted that since Mr. von Moritz is based in Washington State, he's eager to see us continue to meet via Zoom. Mr. von Moritz introduced himself. He noted that he's been with RCN and its predecessors for just over 10 years, working on a number of different regulatory issues. Mr. von Moritz said that he was always available and looks forward to continuing the productive relationship. Mr. Steel confirmed that RCN will be known as "Astound powered by RCN" temporarily, and eventually just"Astound." Mr. von Moritz said he would send his contact information to Mr. Pogran (david.vonmoritz,a)wavebroadband.com). Mr. Pogran explained the complaint procedure to Mr. von Moritz. Mr. Steel confirmed that there's no change in control as part of the renaming. Mr. von Moritz said the licensee name isn't going to change—just the trade name. Mr. Avallone described an issue he's having with his RCN service. Mr. Steel encouraged him to send him an email, and he would pass it along internally. 5. Chairman's Report: Ken Pogran Mr. Pogran described the "first cut" at a small-cell wireless policy approved by the Select Board, and promised to distribute that to the committee for review by the wireless working group. Mr. Pogran noted that in June the first two-year period of the LexMedia contract ends. Prior to July 1, the committee needs to work with LexMedia on their budget for the next two-year contract. Mr. Pogran said the issue of LexMedia funding would be on the committee agenda for the January meeting. 6. Verizon FiOS cable television renewal license: Ken Pogran, Dave Becker, Dave Buczkowski, Nick Lauriat Mr. Pogran summarized the status of the negotiation with Paul Trane on behalf of Verizon. Mr. Pogran noted the informal 45-day extension had expired two days ago. Mr. Pogran reviewed the open issues that had been addressed since the last meeting—license length, termination, arbitration versus mediation provision, HD PEG channels, Mr. Pogran reminded the committee that the effective date of the license will be October 31, 2021 —the day after the previous contract expired. Mr. Pogran described the one remaining open issue— service to public buildings, including the history of the "621 Order" and Verizon's various proposed approaches to implementation. There have been several exchanges with Verizon today Mr. Pogran said he was hoping to get agreement very soon on how to word that issue. Mr. Becker and Mr. Buczkowski expressed their frustration with Verizon. Mr. Pogran noted that by allowing Verizon to remove the "free drop" from their license, Comcast could invoke their"level playing field" clause. The committee further discussed the free drop issue. Review of the final license may be able to wait until the January committee meeting or may require a special meeting of the committee ahead of the January committee meeting. 7. Wireless facility permitting procedures and application review: Nick Lauriat Mr. Pogran introduced the topic, and Mr. Lauriat continued by describing the issues with the personnel changes —both at the town and at the committee— and also the changes with FCC criteria. Mr. Pogran explained that one of our roles may be trying to figure out which"bucket" each application fits into. Mr. Becker asked Mr. Pogran about the small-cell design guidelines approved by The Select Board. Mr. Pogran explained the difference between small-cell-site rules and macro-cell-site rules. Mr. Taraz suggested checking with other towns and investigating the processes they follow. Mr. Porgran explained a few more details about the history of the town's permitting process. Mr. Becker expressed willingness to help, and Mr. Pogran encouraged him to look into the zoning bylaws. Mr. Taraz suggested asking the zoning personnel /planning what they perceived our role to be. Mr. Pogran agreed that a meeting with Ms. Page, the Planning Director, might be appropriate. 8. Town IT update: Dorinda Goodman Ms. Goodman was not present, no update provided. 9. Complaints: P.K. Shiu(November), Steve Kaufman (December) There were no complaints in November and none in December to-date. Upcoming: Dave Buczkowski (January), Bob Avallone (February). 10. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:49 PM. Respectfully submitted, Nicholas Lauriat Recording Secretary