HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-10-27-CAC-min.pdf CATV & Communications Advisory Committee
Minutes of October 27 , 1994 meeting
Attendance Bussgang, Cunha, Gharibian (chairing) , Longcope,
Mairson, Spencer, Stanton, Triessl, Warner. David Green
representing Cablevision
Discussion of warrant article to be prepared by Spencer, Longcope,
and Triessl. Expected dollar amount to be requested to be 40-50K
Voted on wording "To fund information infrastructure to broaden
townwide access to Lexington Information Network (LINK) " . Norm
Cohen, Town Counsel, will prepare article if provided with a name
for the article, the objective, and the dollar amount being
requested. The rationale is to emphasize that the article is for
the benefit of the entire town rather than individual departments
A warrant article is seen as more appropriate than several
disparate line items in various budgets The scope will include
the Nearnet connection, the Libraries, and the Senior Center.
Mairson: The Senior Center is more interested in programs from
schools than in Internet The staff is more interested than are
the participants An education program was suggested as a
possibility to raise awareness.
The summary of the hearing was unanimously approved
Corrections to the minutes of September 22, 1994
Paragraph 1 - Questioned the method of computing installation
overcharge refunds Green responded that the method was approved
by the state Bussgang confirmed that the state has written to
confirm that statement. Bussgang's second request was for a
response to a previous query regarding channel count Reference to
Hanscom was deleted in this item. Paragraph 2 , regarding the
religious channel- replace last sentence with "Committee cannot
give guarantees but expressed the hope that the channel will
continue to be available" Regarding complaints the specific
concern with the phone system is the long wait after the initial
connection is made until the called makes contact with a human
being Green reported that an electronic bulletin board in the
customer service area advises representatives of the longest
waiting time in seconds of the calls in the current queue The
minutes were approved as amended
Bussgang and Warner Town ordinance in Ashland gives local
government more control over its cable company because details of
its operation can be specified Bedford's cable committee
rescheduled its meeting with Ashland Lexington is invited to
attend Date will be given later
Fray has not yet arranged interviews with users groups Committee
members will do interviews using prepared lists of questions and
key users.
Negotiations: David Green has been officially named to represent
Cablevision in the negotiating process The Committee needs to
name a negotiating team. We ask that Cablevision respond to our
written questions so that potential discussion points may be
identified early in the process Committee also requested that
Cablevision submit items for discussion Green says money items
will be the most critical
Green Apologizes for not advising the Committee at the September
meeting that a rate increase (2 7%) due to inflation would be put
into effect
Warner Will compose a general letter advising those with
complaints about what is within the Committee's power and what
restrictions exist Selectmen's office will be asked to take calls
of complaint and refer them to the Committee Cablevision will
list the Selectmen's phone number on the bills once Phyllis Smith
has okayed the plan We were reminded that the committee is
required to notify Cablevision and ask their assistance in
remedying problem situations Gharibian will work out a plan for
making the handling of complaints a shared responsibility among all
committee members Warner and Bussgang joined in thanking
Cablevision for good assistance at supervisory levels in resolution
of problems Management and first line staff were identified as
being less responsive
Membership of Committee is currently authorized for 12 Selectmen
have indicated a willingness to increase the number if so
requested Issue of what a manageable size would be was raised
There are currently 3 openings Stanton has contacted 2 of 3
technically knowledgeable candidates who will submit resumes to the
Committee Longcope will contact Bill Lucas who has knowledge of
Federal regulations
Bussgang reported on regulatory matters 1 - a 71% increase in
basic rates over the period of the contract Green responded that
the $10 60 rate went into effect in July The next increase is as
of November 1 2- The Lexington Minuteman article regarding the
sports channel describes a negative option billing Green
confirmed
All other agenda items were deferred
Next meeting Wednesday, Nov 16th at 5 30 pm. December meeting will
be Thursday, December 8th at 5 30 pm.
Respectfully submitted
J lie Triessl