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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-02-21-CAC-min TOWN OF LEXINGTON COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF FEBRUARY 21, 2019 Call to order. CAC Chair Kenneth Pogran called the meeting to order at 6:33PM in the Parker Room (G-15) of the Town Office Building, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue. Members Present: Ken Pogran, Chair; Bob Avallone, Dave Becker, Dave Buczkowski, Smita Desai, Dorinda Goodman, Nick Lauriat, Ben Moroze, P. K. Shiu, Rita Vachani. Members Absent: Ramin Taraz. Quorum: A quorum of members was present. Others Present: Joe Pato, Selectman; Jim Malloy, Town Manager; Florence DelSanto, Executive Director, LexMedia Materials Referenced: Draft minutes of the January 17 meeting; LexMedia Q2 report and cover letter; Draft CAC response to LexMedia Q2 report 1. Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes. The minutes of the meeting of Jan 17, 2019 were unanimously approved with corrections. 2. Introduction to and discussion with Town Manager Jim Malloy The Chair introduced Jim Malloy, Town Manager to the committee. The chair summarized his earlier meeting with Mr. Malloy. He had briefed Mr. Malloy about the role and charter of the CAC as well as key initiatives of the CAC. Mr. Malloy thanked Mr. Pogran and the CAC for creating a thoughtful response to the FCC “in-kind contributions” rulemaking, and offered assistance to the CAC as the need arises. Mr. Malloy acknowledged that LexMedia is important to Lexington. It is a good source of information that the public historically has relied upon. The committee discusses the trends of cord-cutting and the move towards on demand streaming media distribution. Ms. Goodman noted that the audience wants only a small subset of events broadcast live, such as sports events, town meetings, and senior proms. A discussion was held on possible cost structure changes if LexMedia move to utilize more on-demand streaming. The Chair extends an invitation to Mr. Malloy to attend any future CAC meetings. 3. Selectman’s Report Mr. Pato reported that there are no new items for the CAC. 4. Service Provider Reports No representatives from RCN, Comcast or Verizon were present. No service provider provided a report to the chair. 5. Chairman’s Report a. The Chair reported on his meeting with Mr. Malloy as mentioned earlier. The main takeaway from the meeting is that Mr. Malloy is willing to be flexible to support matters relevant to the CAC. b. The Chair reported that it may be possible to use a lighter process to handle the up-coming LexMedia contract renewal. A discussion was also held on whether it is desirable to change the LexMedia contract period to something less than10 years. The committee noted that with changing technology, and possible fall out from the FCC “in-kind contributions” rulemaking, a longer contract period may not be desirable. 6. LexMedia Update Ms. Delsanto reported that the studio had additional improvements including a large green screen. New programming includes Coffee with the Candidates, writer shows and podcasts, and a still photography club. The new LexMedia website will be launched next week. It will have Google analytics and a complaint form will be available. Mr. Shiu recommended that complaint input should be moderated before displaying on the website. Ms. Delsanto reported that they have received requests to broadcast live from locations that do not have a direct line to LexMedia, including the DPW, Community Center, and the Depot. Ms. Goodman offered to coordinate access to the ethernet connection within the DPW network, to facilitate these broadcasts. Ms. Goodman indicated utilizing existing town communication infrastructures is preferred for these situations, especially if it is after school hours. Ms. Delsanto reported their new part time community producer has been producing promos for the library and community center, and Mr. Malloy or the new Public Information Officer Sean Dugan is willing to do updates from the town manager office. Mr. Becker thanked Ms. Delsanto for all the improvements at LexMedia. 7. LexMedia Q2 report The Chair thanked Ms. Desai, Ms. Vachani, and Mr. Avallone for the CAC draft response. The committee has reviewed the draft and unanimously approved the response. Ms. Delsanto informed the committee that Verizon has given Waltham a HD community channel. 8. RCN license renewal The Chair reported that RCN has formally submitted their renewal applications to the town, and checked the “informal process” box. The Chair noted there was a description of the iNet infrastructure and the committee should verify that it reflects the current configuration. The committee discussed asking for more bandwidth in anticipation of changing technology. 9. PEG accounts update No new update. 10. FCC “in-kind contributions” proposed rulemaking update The Chair reported that FCC has no update on the rulemaking. Comments continue to be submitted. One item of interest is a comment from a group of small to medium cable companies making the case that in-kind contributions are inhibiting them from investing in broadband in rural areas. The comment letter included a signature from Tom Steel, representing RCN’s parent company RCN/Grande. This comment was countered by the National Association of Telecommunication Offices and Advisors indicating the lack of substance in the letter. Mr. Becker and the Chair discussed putting pre-emptive language in the contract to explicitly keep the in-kind contributions intact in case of rulemaking changes. 11. “Net neutrality” update Mr. Avallone reported Sen. Ed Markey would “soon” introduce a bill to permanently reinstate the net neutrality rules that were repealed by the FCC. 12. Town IT update Ms. Goodman reported Cary Library is looking to update their website; the town and AT&T is revisiting the AT&T Tower relocation project due to scheduling conflicts with the multi-step relocation of the police department. 13. Wireless site applications Mr. Moroze reported that he and Mr. Lauriat attended the Zoning Board of Appeals hearing on the Verizon small cell site on LHS property and it was approved. Mr. Moroze reported a case from May 2018 regarding a ham radio tower installation that was brought back to the ZBA and the board asked whether the CAC has any input. The Chair commented that the CAC role is in the commercial wireless domain only and the CAC has no input to matters regarding private ham radio businesses. 14. Complaints No complaints were received in January, and no complaints have been received to- date in February. The committee recommended putting the complaints log Excel spreadsheet into Google sheets. Mr. Moroze will move it to Google sheets. 15. New business No new business was discussed. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 8:02 PM. Respectfully submitted, PK Shiu Recording Secretary