HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-12-20-CAC-min TOWN OF LEXINGTON
COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF DECEMBER 20, 2018
Call to order. CAC Chair Kenneth Pogran called the meeting to order at 6.31 PM in the
Parker Room (G-15) of the Town Office Building, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue.
Members Present: Ken Pogran, Chair; Bob Avallone, Dave Buczkowski, Dorinda Goodman,
Nick Lauriat, Ben Moroze, P. K. Shiu, Ramin Taraz, Rita Vachani. Dave Becker joined by
phone.
Members Absent: Smita Desai.
Quorum: A quorum of members was present.
Others Present: Joe Pato, Board of Selectmen; Florence DelSanto, LexMedia.
Remote Participation: At the start of the meeting, in accordance with the Open Meeting Law
requirements, CAC Chair Ken Pogran announced that Dave Becker would be participating via
teleconference due to an Emergency. All votes at the meeting were taken via roll call.
Materials Referenced: Draft minutes of November 15, 2018 CAC meeting; Letter from
Mass. DTC to Board of Selectmen re RCN license renewal; Draft response to Mass. DTC
from CAC/BoS; LexMedia FY19 Q1 report; Draft CAC response to LexMedia FY19 Q1
report; Final version of the Town's "Reply Comments"to the FCC.
1. Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the meeting of November 15, 2018, as amended, were unanimously
approved.
2. Service Provider Reports
a. RCN: Tom Steel informed the Chair via email that RCN would respond to questions
from the CAC working group regarding RCN's license renewal, and that RCN would
file Form 100 with the Board of Selectmen.
b. No representatives from Comcast or Verizon were present.
3. Selectmen's Report—Joe Pato
On behalf of the Board of Selectmen, Joe Pato thanked the CAC for its work in drafting
the "Reply Comments"to the FCC's Further Notice of Proposed Rule-Making regarding
inclusion of"in-kind" contributions within the 5% franchise "tax" limit.
4. Chairman's Report -Ken Pogran
a. State Ethics Commission Conflict oflnterest training reminder
Ken Pogran reminded the Committee members to acknowledge receipt of the Conflict
of Interest material to the Town Clerk and to complete the training if needed.
b. Letter from Mass DTC re RCN license renewal
The draft reply to the Mass DTC, as amended to correct the date, was approved.
c. Wireless Services Working Group meeting
This working group will restart its activities next month.
There was discussion of how best to introduce the Committee's work to the new Town
Manager. Ken will invite the Town Manager to one of the upcoming meetings.
5. RCN license renewal progress report -Dave Buczkowski, Nick Lauriat, Dave Becker
Dave Becker is documenting the current fiber network layout and usage, and other
relevant parameters, so that these are explicitly stated and available for the future when
different individuals may be involved in the license renewals, both from the Town and
from RCN. The team is also working with the Town IT department to assess future
bandwidth requirements and include these in the license terms.
6. LexMedia update—Florence De/Santo
Florence provided an update on LexMedia's annual meeting, on the changes in
LexMedia's Board, and on the recent Town events covered by LexMedia. Highlight reel
on LexMedia is available on its YouTube channel. LexMedia is currently also working on
updating its website.
7. LexMedia FY19 1Q report Rita Vachani, Bob Avallone, Smita Desai,
a. LexMedia's report
A few suggestions were made for future reports: mention that interns are not paid; state
that no training requested by members of Town Boards/Committees;provide
information on sources for non-LexMedia produced content.
b. CAC draft response
Draft response, as amended, was unanimously approved.
8. Discussion of Town of Lexington "Reply Comments" to the FCC FNPRM -Ken
Pogran
The draft comments were sent to the Board of Selectmen and discussed at the BoS
meeting on December 3, 2018. They were approved by the BoS and submitted to the FCC
before the deadline of December 14, 2018.
9. PEG Account—Rita Vachani
No new update. A few pending questions re PEG TV revolving fund need to be discussed
with Carolyn Kosnoff.
10. Net Neutrality -Bob Avallone
No new update.
11. Town IT update-Dorinda Goodman
IT is exploring moving some computing services to the cloud. The School System has
purchased additional bandwidth from RCN for their use, and also to enable wifi calling
inside school premises where cellular coverage is weak.
12. Wireless site applications -Nick Lauriat, Ben Moroze
One new application was received from Verizon for a small cell site on Lexington High
School property. It is going through the normal zoning approval process.
13. Complaints —Dave Buczkowski (November), Ken Pogran (December)
No complaints were received.
14. New business
No new business was discussed.
Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 7.40 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Rita Vachani
Recording Secretary