HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-05-18-CAC-minTOWN OF LEXINGTON
COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF MAY 18, 2023
CONDUCTED BY REMOTE PARTICIPATION
1. Call to Order and Roll Call
Communications Advisory Committee (CAC) Chair Kenneth Pogran called the meeting to order
at 6:35 PM and called the roll. The meeting was conducted remotely via Zoom.
Members Present (via Zoom): Ken Pogran (Chair), PK Shiu, Nick Lauriat, Bob Avallone,
Dave Becker, Dave Buczkowski, Steve Kaufman, Rita Vachani, Dorinda Goodman, Ramin
Taraz, Smita Desai
Members Not Present: None
Others Present: Kerry Morris, Comcast
Materials Referenced: (1) PEG Financials Update May 2023; (2) LexMedia Q3 Report; (3)
Draft Response to the LexMedia Q3 Report
2. Review and Approve Minutes of the April 20, 2023 CAC Meeting – Dave Becker
Minutes from the April 20 meeting were still in development by Dave Becker. They will be
reviewed in the June meeting.
3. Service Provider Report – Kerry Morris (Comcast)
No specific updates were discussed from Comcast. There was question about whether Comcast
would provide free bandwidth to schools and libraries in the next license. Ms. Morris said this
could be discussed during the negotiation of the new license. There was uncertainty as to
whether this would be part of the negotiation or not, and Ms. Morris said she would look into it.
4. Chairman’s Report – Ken Pogran
The June meeting will have an open floor for public comment. This will be an person/remote
hybrid meeting. It will be in the Parker Room on the lower level of the Town office building.
5. LexMedia Q3 Report
The Committee reviewed the LexMedia Q3 report and the draft CAC response. The draft
response was approved unanimously.
6. PEG finances Update – Rita Vachani
Ms. Vachani reviewed finances. She showed that revenue has been declining per prior trend,
down 4% from 2022. Subscribers are down 10%. Expenses are rising. We will need higher
supplemental funding from the Town in future years, as well as drawing down the PEG fund
reserve. We may seek additional funding from the service providers.
7. Comcast Cable TV License Renewal – Ken Pogran
As part of the license renewal community ascertainment process, there will discussion at the
June meeting regarding additional capital needs for LexMedia, as well as a review of Comcast
performance, with public comment. We will need to have enough members attending in person
in order to have a quorum.
8. Town IT Report ∫– Dorinda Goodman
Ms. Goodman discussed the conversion to a new infrastructure for the Town’s phone system.
The old bandwidth provider was Windstream. New providers will be Verizon, Comcast and
Astound. This should be more robust than before.
9. Service Provider Complaints – Ken Pogran
No complaints were received in April or May. Steve Kaufman will cover June.
10. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 7:42 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Steve Kaufman
Recording Secretary