HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-09-22-CAC-min.pdf Cable TV and Communications Advisory Committee
Minutes of meeting held Sept 22, 1994
Present Bussgang, Cunha, Fray, Gharibian, Longcope, Mairson,
Spencer, Stanton, _ Triassl, _Warner_ __(officiating) r David—Green
(representing Cablevision)
Minutes of previous meeting were accepted
Rates and regulations
Bussgang reported on 2 filings with the Commonwealth 1)
challenging Cablevision's decision to give refunds to those
overcharged ge e`is .�1 . .,��s• increase
2 ) Form A 1200, regarding the number of basic channels Currently
the count includes Hansccom and Bedford stations which were not
requested by Lexington's licensing authority Asking for response
to pprevvious inquiry
Green There will be a review of rate fund plans Detailed
individual accounting was onerous for company The universal
approach making payment from a common pool is a possibility
Retroactive increases have not been made but no promises are being
made about the future
The Committee expressed its thanks to Bussgang for his actions
License Renewal
Triessl has tabulated results of customer satisfaction survey and
will distribute report Completed forms will be sent to
Cablevision for review Greater number of returns were from forms
in Lexington Minuteman rather than those distributed in municipal
buildings Green asks circulation of Minuteman Found to be 8126
paid, 56 non-paid
Fray will proceed to meet with users groups as part of the informal
ascertainment process He anticipates polling key town employees
and identifying other user groups
Gharibian/Warner indicated that there has been one formal
negotiating meeting with Cablevision to date Cablevision needs to
officially name their negotiator Green will see that his role is
made official
Contract issues-identified were the--I-Net, rebuilding the system,
studio operations, fiber/copper installations, channel capacity
Both sides should be making proposals for discussion
Spencer distributed list of bridges showing new installations
Discussion of possible town regulations such as those enacted in
Ashland was postponed
Town Budgeting for Information Technology
Copies of Mairson's memo to Selectman Dailey regarding technology
issues were distributed to Committee members Expiration of
'1,
contracts will mean that Town Meeting will need to provide funding
if programs are to continue
Nearnet contract expires June 1995
There have been problems with the response to Ethernet
difficulties Need to consider the possiblity of extending Ethernet
to residential service
Technical proposals for the schools will be submitted November 8
and 22
Discussion followed as to developing a unified source for this type
of information LINK was suggested Committee's role in bringing
crisis items to attention of appropriate Town Boards Mairson will
draft proposal
SCOLA
Scola/Distance Learning Project may need channels Stanton reports
that SCOLA is now a work in process They've changed satelites and
are considering condensing their signals which would mean increased
costs to MCET which may not be able to continue funding it
Religious Channel
Need to rename channel to open it to other uses
Hancock Church requests guidance from the Committee as to whether
it is worthwhile for the Church to invest in programming and
revitalized technology Committee cannot give guarantees but
expressed the hope that the station will continue
Complaints
Service issues regarding phone system.
Terminology "grandfathered family" has caused confusion
Committee Personnel
Several candidates have expressed an interest in serving Stanton
unsure of procedure to recommend to them Selectman Dailey told
Stanton to have applications submitted to Rick White Bussgang
pointed out that this is a departure from the usual procedure in
which resumes are submitted to the Committee which then evaluates
the candidates and the needs of the Committee and makes
recommendations to the Selectmen
Size of Committee an issue A number of current members announced
that they would like to resign
Other agenda items were not discussed due to a shortage of time
Next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 27th at 5 30 pm
Respectfully submittQed,
Julie Triessl