HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-02-17-CAC-min RECEIVED
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TOWN OF LEXINGTON LE,XING"rON M
COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF FEBRUARY 17, 2022
CONDUCTED BY REMOTE PARTICIPATION
1. Call to order and roll call.
Communications Advisory Committee (CAC) Chair Kenneth Pogran called the meeting to order
at 6:30 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
Members Absent: Dorinda Goodman; Nick Lauriat
Quorum: A quorum of members was present.
Others Present: Joe Pato, Select Board Member Liaison; Florence DelSanto, LexMedia.
Materials Referenced: Draft minutes of the January 20, 2022 meeting; FY2022 Q2 CAC
Capital.pdf, LexMedia FS 6-2021.pdf, Q2 2022 with all headings.pdf(LexMedia report); CAC
Response to LexMedia FY2022 Q2 Report Draft; Lexington Verizon Renewal License - Fully
Executed 2022 January 24.pdf
2. Review and VOTE to approve minutes of the CAC January 20, 2022 meeting
The minutes of the January 20, 2022 meeting, recorded by David J. Buczkowski, were reviewed
and approved unanimously by roll call vote.
3. Select Board liaison report—Joe Pato
Mr. Pato mentioned that the site of the cell tower near the new police station will be determined
soon.
4. Service provider reports
No service providers were present and hence no updates were available.
5. Chairman's Report: Ken Pogran
Mr. Pogran noted that the two recent wireless applications did not include the engineering
materials. Since FCC regulations did not require wireless applications to include engineering
material, it may not be necessary for the Committee to be involved in the approval process for
wireless applications. He would investigate if the Committee needed to be involved in the
approval process.
Mr. Pogran also noted that the process for LexMedia contract renewal will begin soon.
6. RCN HD Channel Issues—Bob Avallone
Mr. Avallone reported that the issues that he had encountered with RCN HD channels were
fixed.
7. Verizon FiOS cable television renewal license: Ken Pogran, Dave Becker, Dave
Buczkowski, Nick Lauriat
Mr. Pogran reported that Verizon renewal license had been signed by both parties. The renewal
was approved by the Select Board on January 24, 2022.
Mr. Pogran also thanked Dave Becker, Dave Buczkowski, Nick Lauriat for their efforts to get
Verizon license renewal process through.
8. LexMedia items
a. LexMedia update Florence DelSanto
Ms. DelSanto reported that Verizon had begun the process for HD channel implementation.
Once completed, LexMedia will select the best of the programs from their three SD channels to
transmit over HD. The studio has opened again. Some of the programs were Coffee with
Candidates, MLK Day events as well as involvement in Lex250 celebrations.
b. Review LexMedia Q2 report and VOTE to approve CAC response to Q2 report Bob
Avallone, Smita Desai, Rita Vachani
Ms. Desai had a question about fundraising shortfall for the first two quarters. Ms. DelSanto
indicated that the shortfall was mainly due to the studio being virtual and LexMedia planned to
catch up during the next two quarters. Ms. Desai also recommended that the capital budget for
prior years and current year should be aggregated with a note outlining earlier year's unused
funds
Mr. Avallone had suggested the complaints be tracked as comments and reported in the quarterly
report.
Mr. Pogran recommended that an explanatory note be added in cases where there are large
variances from budget.
The response to Q2 report was approved unanimously by roll call vote.
c. Review LexMedia FY21 financial report Bob Avallone, Smita Desai, Rita Vachani
Mr. Pogran suggested that the financial report should indicate Fundraising Expenses as
Fundraising & Outreach Expenses to reflect the time spent by LexMedia employees.
d. LexMedia contract renewal and budgeting Bob Avallone, Smita Desai, Rita Vachani
Regarding the contract renewal next two-years beginning July 1, 2022, the consensus seems to
be to continue with level service from LexMedia and work with the town to slowly phase in
additional contribution—other than PEG funds -beginning FY 2024. The request for additional
contribution for FY 2024 must be submitted to the town by early summer 2022.
Mr. Pogran suggested that LexMedia also prepare a capital budget for the next few years.
9. Town IT update: Dorinda Goodman
As Ms. Goodman was not present, no update was provided.
10. Complaints: Dave Buczkowski (January), Bob Avallone (February)
There were no complaints in January and none in February to-date. Upcoming: Ken Pogran
(March), Dave Becker(April)
11. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 7:47 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Smita Desai,
Recording Secretary