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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-12-18-CAC-min.pdf 01/14/1998 13:08 7816741195 THE KANTERS PAGE 02 LEXINGTON CABLE TV& COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF TILE MEETING, DECEMBER 18, 1997 The meeting was called to order at 5:50 PM in the Selectmen's Meeting Room of the Town Offices Building by Jane Gharibian, Chair; with David Kanter acting as Clerk. Other members present were David Becker, David Buczkowski, Julian Bussgang, Stephen Ellis, Theodore Mairson, Julie Triessl, and Robert Warshawer Also present were Rob Travers (Director of Programming) and Ron Rego (Director of Local Programming) representing A-R Cable Services, Inc. (Cablevision). Minutes of the Previous Meeting It was moved seconded, and unanimously agreed to accept the Minutes of the November 20, 1997 meeting after amending them to reflect that Julie Longcope was also in attendance. 1998 Point-of-Contact Assignments for Subscriber-Service Issues Members were asked to sign up for the month during which they would be the point of contact for the Selectmen's office regarding any queries received from residents on cable- TV matters. Candidates for Committee Membership After review and discussion of the three applications by persons wishing to join the Committee, it was moved, seconded, and unanimously agreed that Raul Marques-Pascual be the primary recommendation to the Selectmen, and that David C Carver be the alternate recommendation, to replace resigning member William Lucas. Massachusetts Cable Division Hearing (November 6, 1997) on CATV Form 100 David Kanter reported on his attendance at the Division's public hearing regarding the proposed revision of their license-application form. There will be a follow-on working- group meeting in ,Ja nuary and the Division accepted David's offer to be a member of that group. Massachusetts Cable Division Hearing (December 2, 1997) on Rates Julian Bussgang report on his and David Kanter's attendance at the Division's public hearing regarding Cablevision's filing for new rates. The Town had submitted questions in advance. Those, and related issues were addressed during the hearing. Cablevision is to reply to the Division and the Town by December 22, 1997 Julian extended an invitation to Ms Audrey Hall, Cablevision's General Manager, who was also at the hearing, to attend a meeting of this Committee. Licensing of a Second Cable-TV Provider David Becker reported on the status of the actions related to the licensing of RCN-BecoCam as an additional cable-TV franchisee. It was moved, seconded, and unanimously approved to authorize the Committee's Chair to request, whenever she feels that adequate progress has been made on negotiations with RCN-BecoCam; that the Selectmen then select and announce the date for the required public hearing to assess RCN-BecoCom s qualifications 01/14/1998 13.08 7816741195 THE KANTERS PAGE 03 The Committee discussed Cablevision's reply to the Committee's earlier request addressing matters related to the concurrent operation of two franchisees. As it was not felt that reply was responsive, the Committee recommended a follow-up letter be sent. Cablevision Matters (General) Rob Travers advised that Peter Atherton, Cablevision's most-recent usual attendee at the Committee':: meetings, was no longer with the company There was a general discussion of the cable-TV operations. Matters addressed included Picture-in-Picture (ideas on connection options were welcomed), Cable Guide (content not descriptive enough), Internet Access (Cablevision can't provide until they rebuild the system), Religious-Access Outage (Cablevision to determine where and when service was being checked) and an upcoming Connector-Change-out Program (Cablevision will be alerting subscribers about the 8-week, midnight-to-6 AM, potential interruptions). The Committee commended Cablevision on their prompt on-the-air posting of the results from the Tow' 's voting on December 8, 1997 David Kanter reported that Cablevision had made an offer earlier that day which may resolve the long-standing issue that the Drummer Boy Green condominiums have with the company's operation, at that property Next Meeting Following discussion the next meeting of this Committee was scheduled for Thursday, January 15, 1998, at 5:45 PM in the Town Offices Building(specific place to be announced later). Adjournment There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made, seconded, and passed unanimously at 7:02 I'M. Respectfully i.ibmitted, David G. Kanter Clerk Pro Tern 2