HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-18-CAC-min
TOWN OF LEXINGTON
COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF APRIL 18, 2024
CONDUCTED BY REMOTE PARTICIPATION
1. Call to Order and Roll Call
Communications Advisory Committee (CAC) Chair Ken Pogran called the meeting to order via
Zoom at 6:37 PM and conducted roll call. The meeting was conducted over Zoom.
CAC Members Present (via Zoom): Ken Pogran, Chair; Bob Avallone, Smita Desai, Steve
Kaufman, Rita Vachani, Dorinda Goodman, Nick Lauriat, Dave Becker (6:54 PM), Shabbir
Bagasrawala (7:14 PM), David Buczkowski
CAC Members Absent: PK Shiu, Nick Lauriat
Others Attending Remotely: Mark Sandeen – Select Board
Quorum: A quorum of members was present.
Materials Referenced: Draft minutes of March 21, 2024 meeting. FCC Press Release: “FCC
Increases Broadband Speed Benchmark” dated March 1, 2024.
2. Review and Approval of Minutes of the March 21 Meeting
Motion by Mr. Avallone, second by Ms. Desai. Minutes of the March 21, 2024 meeting were
approved unanimously.
3. Select Board Report - Mark Sandeen
Publicly available WiFi service will be installed in the Town Center from the Police Station to
the Battle Green, as well as at Town Athletic Fields. The goal is to have WiFi in place by the
250th Anniversary celebration in April 2025. This service will be separate from the current
public WiFi service in Town buildings, and will be cellular-based.
4. Service Provider Reports
No service provider representatives were present.
5. Chair’s Report – Ken Pogran
Mr. Pogran reported that Florence Delsanto of LexMedia has asked about the streaming of
LexMedia’s channels on Astound’s IP channels. It is unclear exactly what this means, and what
impact this might have on PEG access in Lexington. Mr. Pogran stated that he had invited our
Astound representative, David von Moritz, to attend a future CAC meeting to discuss.
Mr. Pogran reported that a new suite of remote meeting equipment has been installed in the
Parker Room, where the Committee typically meets. Laptops will no longer be required to
operate the system. There are multiple fixed cameras similar to the OWL system being replaced.
6. LexMedia Update
Ms. Delsanto was not present but reported to Mr. Pogran that Patriot’s Day was great for
LexMedia. They have begun planning for the Lexington 250 Celebration.
7. Comcast License Renewal Update – Ken Pogran
Progress has been made. We have heard back from Comcast’s Kerry Morris and are engaged in
another round of edits to the draft license. Key issues are that Comcast has offered one HD PEG
channel, but only as a replacement for one of the current SD channels. Comcast will upgrade the
SD channels to SD-SDI digital interface. Comcast has offered a $20,000 per year PEG capital
grant. Not acceptable to the CAC is Comcast’s deletion of the paragraph in the license that
requires a customer service office n Burlington or equally convenient location. The goal is to
have a draft license by the May CAC meeting. Only 80 Comcast subscribers currently have no
access to HD channels. We will need to consider whether it would be acceptable to upgrade one
of the PEG channels to HD, even if some subscribers will no longer be able to receive it, or if we
should accept the SD-SDI upgrade for all three PEG channels.
8. LexMedia Contract Extension
Ms. Vachani reported that the LexMedia’s contract with the Town will enter the final two-year
renewal period of its six-year term on July 1. For FY 2024 and 2025, we expect that PEG funds
will be supplemented by $100,000 per year in Town funds. A budget discussion should be
scheduled for early June. LexMedia wants to add a half-time paid position and would, therefore,
need to increase its budget. The team’s view is that both a “level services” budget and an
“expanded services” budget should be presented to the Select Board. The key question to be
answered is, to what extent does the Town want to invest in LexMedia?
Mr. Becker expressed concerns about decreasing PEG revenue payments from Comcast and
Verizon.
Mr. Sandeen wondered how many meetings, etc. are required to be recorded by LexMedia. Many
meetings beyond the contractually required ones were recorded during the pandemic. Is it all
necessary now? An open-ended discussion ensued.
9. FCC Broadband Regulation Update
The Federal Communications has updated its definition of what speeds constitute Broadband.
This is part of the FCC’s effort to investigate and improve the availability of Broadband Internet
service, especially in rural areas. Mr. Sandeen had previously asked how this might impact
Lexington. Mr. Avallone pointed out that we are not really rural. Mr. Becker asked what the
expectations are for the level of service.
10. Town IT Update – Dorinda Goodman
The AT&T antennas are now in place on the new Cell Tower behind Cary Hall. Much testing
must be done. It won’t go live until the Police department is commissioned and occupied which
is expected at the end of June.
11. Complaints
No service provider complaints were received. Ms. Desai is the complaints person for May and
Mr. Buczkowski for June.
12. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 7:37 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
David J. Buczkowski,
Recording Secretary