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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-07-15-CAC-min.pdf r CATV AND COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE TOWN OF LEXINGTON MINUTES OF JULY 15, 1993 The meeting was held in the Selectmen's meeting room at the Town Offices In attendance were members Julian Bussgang (Chair) , Jack Cunha, Lionel Fray, Ted Mairson, Martha Stanton, and Julie Triessl Leo McSweeney, Selectmen's representative to the Committee, and Joe Magno of Cablevision also attended Guests included members of the Town of Bedford's Cable Committee, led by Jim Shea Other guests included Lexington resident and Lincoln Lab employee, Claire Durocher, Ron Hallee of Lexington, John Curran of Bolt, Baranek, and Newman A quorum was present Members and guests were welcomed by Bussgang The Minutes of June 17th were corrected to reflect that the amount given for purchase of video tapes by the Town Members Meeting Association is $100, not $1,000 Jim Shea was invited to address the committee regarding activities of Bedford's cable committee He expressed an interest in cooperation between the committees and indicated that rate regulation is a common concern He said that in Bedford citizen participation in local access programing is stronger at the grass roots level than it is in Lexington There is no coverage of Town Meeting or parades as there is in Lexington Cindy Campbell is the access coordinator for Bedford Bedford uses the studio facilities at Kite's End Bedford has eight I-net channels which are reserved for upstream use Bussgang suggested that we notify Bedford of our next access committee meeting Lexington is invited to attend Bedford's meetings (the last Wednesday of each month at 7 30pm) Caleb Warner had sent a message asking that the Town identify which public meetings are significant and should be covered He suggested that the question be referred to McSweeney Mairson suggested that TMMA might be a more appropriate source Stanton spoke of the Lexington/Bedford Distance Learning project, citing cooperation between the towns Magno representing Jay Somers reported that negotiations are still being conducted regarding must-carrys New rate cards are expected to be developed in about two weeks Mairson led a discussion of a proposal involving Lexington, LANcity, Cablevision, Bolt, Baranek, and Newman, Lincoln Labs, and Digital Equipment Corporation BB&N is interested in using Lexington as a site for a project connecting the Town with Nearnet for one year In order to do so, the cable system would be extended 1/2 mile to Lincoln Labs for 10 megabit per second connectivity DEC is interested in joining with Cablevision in eventually marketing of a high data rate service, to be marketed nationwide Mairson suggested that Bill Spencer be named to manage the network He credited Spencer for the enterprise and initiative responsible for gathering all the interested parties to the LANcity project Claire Durocher of the Computer and Telecommunications Group at Lincoln Labs spoke of the Labs' interest in networking technologies and presented a diagram of the route the cable extension would take John Curran speaking for NEARNET, a division of BB&N since July 1, 1993, spoke of Lexington as an ideal site for the pilot project since town facilities are already tied into the cable system. He indicated that telephone leasing would be another avenue to Internet Bussgang offered a brief reprise for McSweeney when he arrived at this point in the meeting Bussgang asked how the schools anticipate using Internet in the classroom. Stanton announced that there is a summer workshop for teachers on using the Internet She expects that e-mail will be a much used tool in the classroom. Triessl spoke of the Library's current use of Internet as a research tool and a way of answering patron requests for information of all sorts She stressed its value as a source for current information Cary Library also uses Internet as a source of information exchange with other public and academic libraries and as a means of keeping current with professional developments Bussgang asked whether individuals could use the system from home Mairson's response was that the town in not in the business of connecting individuals but that individuals can subscribe to Internet through commercial providers such as Software Tool & Die Works, CompuServe, or Prodigy McSweeney asked how the Town might use the system. He was advised of the newsgroups, an example given of a town asking for information as it considered the purchase of new rescue vehicles Responses were offered from dozens of towns Legal rulings and political news would be instantly available to town officials Presidential press releases are issued on Internet simultaneous to their release to the press Discussion was held as to the order in which steps should be undertaken to facilitate this project Mairson and Bussgang will meet with Jeff Young of the School Department next week Bussgang will write to Cablevision officially advising them of the committee's interest in pursuing this matter Mairson will prepare a packet of information to share with Cablevision Magno asked about the cost of the I-net extension and the consequences if the pilot program is not picked up after the initial year's sponsorship by BB&N Letters will be sent to Cablevision and Fred Vote of Lincoln Labs Mairson again suggested that Spencer be named to manage the network He would be appointed by the Selectmen and would report to the Cable committee following the pattern of relationships between the Planning Director and the Planning Board and the Recreation Director and the Recreation Committee Consent will be sought from Dr Young in view of Spencer's position as a School Department Employee Bussgang thanked Mairson for his presentation Consumer issues were discussed Cablevision was congratulated on its handling of recent problems Triessl mentioned the complaint voiced by Nicholas Hay (who was present) and others about the quality of the sound when questions are asked by members of the audience at Selectmen's meetings Magno undertook the correction of this problem. Regulation issues were discused Massachusetts was identified as one of the few states seeking to regulate at the state level rather than the local level Bedford identified itself as being in the fact finding stage Regarding the Nearnet proposal, Shea raised, as a possible policy issue, how subscribers would feel about paying for municipal services from which non-subscribers would also be deriving benefit Bussgang advised Bedford that Lexington will begin negotiations for new licence in August Belmont has built and is operating its own system. The proposed information meeting with the state Cable Commission has not yet been scheduled Shea suggested that Bedford and Lexington consider becoming a single issuing authority Bussgang reported that Sara Schoman sent thank you notes to those involved in cable production this year Bussgang will write to the Selectmen requesting reappointment of Mairson, Warner, and Spencer Next meeting was set for Thursday, September 23rd at 5 30pm Meeting adjorned at 7 30pm. Respectfully submitted, Julie Triessl