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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-12-19-CAC-min TOWN OF LEXINGTON COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF DECEMBER 19, 2019 Call to order. CAC Chair Kenneth Pogran called the meeting to order at 6:33 PM in the Parker Room of the Town Office Building, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA. Members Present: Kenneth Pogran, Chair; Ben Moroze; Ramin Taraz; Rita Vachani; Nick Lauriat; Bob Avallone; P. K. Shiu; Dorinda Goodman; Dave Becker; Dave Buczkowski Members Absent: Smita Desai Quorum: A quorum of members was present. Others Present: Florence DelSanto, LexMedia; Jim Shaw, LexMedia; Charles Hornig, Planning Board; Materials Referenced: • Draft minutes of the November 21 meeting • LexMedia Q1 report • LexMedia cover letter • Draft CAC response • PEG Access contract timeline • PEG revenue, expense, and subscriber trends • Email re planning board concern about the wireless site permitting process 1. Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes (November 21 meeting). The draft minutes of the meeting of November 21, 2019 were unanimously approved. 2. Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes (June 20 meeting). This item was delayed until next month's meeting. 3. Service Provider Reports There were no carrier representatives present. None have submitted reports. 4. Chairman's Report a. Committee Mailbox Mr. Pogran said he had not done any further work on this. b. Cell Site Siting To be discussed later in the meeting. 5. LexMedia Update Florence DelSanto provided the LexMedia update. Ms. DelSanto reviewed changes to the LexMedia board. Ms. DelSanto indicated the podcast studio was very busy, and that they've been covering a lot of concerts. Ms. DelSanto said they are down a person—they don't currently have an outreach coordinator, and they're trying to figure out what they need in that position. They have some contract help for social media outreach in the meantime. Mr. Pogran discussed the conflict between the LexMedia annual meeting and the November CAC meeting. Ms. DelSanto indicated that there's no requirement for the meeting to be that night; the only requirement is that the meeting take place in November. 6. LexMedia Q1 Report a. Discussion of Q Report and draft CAC response The committee reviewed the report and the draft CAC response. Mr. Avallone indicated that he believed there were reports missing from the website, but Ms. DelSanto wasn't sure. Both the committee and Ms. DelSanto remarked on success b. VOTE to approve CAC response Ms. Vachani provided a motion to approve the CAC response, Mr. Moroze seconded. The committee approved the response unanimously. 7. PEG Access contract status Mr. Pogran said that Mr. Malloy indicated a competitive bid would be required. Mr. Pogran has reached out to Mr. Malloy to understand the bidding process, and previous approvals by Town Meeting. Mr. Pogran said the Board of Selectmen were interested in an update in January on the PEG access contract, and PEG access funding. Ms. Vachani said that she, Mr. Avallone, Mr. Shaw and Ms. DelSanto had met briefly to discuss the contract process. Ms. Vachani said that a performance review was required before the end of the contract, and she was eager to get that process started soon. She also said she was eager for discussion amongst the committee about the contents of the RFP. Mr. Pogran discussed his perspective on contract length and performance. He recommended structuring requirements in the new contract around how things are working, since he believes things are working well. One idea he discussed was whether the contract could accommodate future configurations of LexMedia, including LexMedia providing service to other towns. Mr. Moroze indicated that he believed the Town Meeting had approved a change to town code that would permit this type of contract and would alleviate the need for going back to town meeting for approval of a new contract. The committee discussed the contract, and that the town needed to be ready to back up the contract, however it is eventually written. Mr. Pogran committed to getting back in touch with Mr. Malloy, and the working group committed to continuing discussions. Much of the January meeting may be dedicated to preparing for a session with the Board of Selectmen. 8. PEG accounts review Ms. Vachani reviewed the charts distributed ahead of the meeting. The committee discussed the cushion between revenues over the last decade versus the expenses. The committee agreed that understanding the size of that cushion determines how long the committee can confidently recommend contracting with LexMedia, knowing that adequate funding is available. Mr. Pogran said that he believed we could use the leverage of a new, large contract to get help from the town analyzing the status of the accounts. 9. Planning Board concern regarding wireless siting process and recent FCC requirements (originally item #11) The committee reviewed the email from Mr. Hornig. Most significantly, Mr. Hornig reminded the committee that the "shot clocks" can't be met with existing zoning bylaws. He believes the existing zoning bylaws need to be revised to be fully compatible with updated federal law. Mr. Hornig indicated that the planning board put something on the Town Meeting warrant to update the zoning bylaws, although the specific nature of that is still to be determined. Mr. Hornig said that the town can still enforce requirements for health and safety (tower height) and can express preferences for aesthetics. Mr. Pogran summarized that there are two issues —around existing requirements and around the process. Mr. Horning believes that a streamlined process is required. He believes we can still have standards, but that there is a lot of stuff having to come out of the bylaws. That represents an opportunity to insert things in the bylaws, if our committee believes any are appropriate. Mr. Horning thought a public hearing may be required in February. Through the process of removing the "special permit"text, he had removed a lot of text, and thought it might be appropriate to re-add some of the text as non-discriminatory guidance. 10. Wireless services working group update The chair indicated that this was adequately covered during the previous topic. 11. Verizon license renewal(originally item #9) Mr. Becker proposed reaching out to Verizon to support a public hearing in January as part of the ascertainment process. Mr. Pogran suggested that February may be required. The consensus of the committee was that the working group should reach out to Verizon to get the hearing scheduled for January or February. 12. Town IT update No updates. 13. Wireless applications No applications. 14. Complaints Mr. Becker said there were none received in November, and Ms. Vachani said that there were none to-date in December. Upcoming: Ramin Taraz (January), Ben Moroze (February) 15. New Business There was no new business. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 8:12 PM. Respectfully submitted, Nick Lauriat Recording Secretary