HomeMy WebLinkAboutTelecommunications Board - Minutes - 05/04/2004TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD
MEETING MINUTES
***May 4, 2004***
*** 6:00 PM ***
Council Liaison: Kurt Kastein Staff Liaison: Liz Stroh
Chairperson: Curt Cramer Phone: 482-9822 (H)
Members Present: Larry Bontempo, David Heiberg, Herb Saperstone, Curt Cramer,
Chip Cushman
Absent: Robert Reichenberger, Tim Tillson
City Staff Gary Gordier, Herb Saperstone, Liz Stroh
The meeting was called to order by Chair Curt Cramer at 6:05 PM
Minutes:
Larry Bontempo made a motion to accept minutes, with a second by David Heiberg
The motion passed unanimously
Public Access
Liz discussed the report that discussed various approaches to Public Access funding.
There are three options, with various combinations.
O A city government funds both the operational and capital needs of the public
access organization.
O There is a combination of funding from PEG fees for equipment purchase and
replacement, and operational funds are received from either the City, grants,
donations, etc.
O Public Access is set up as a non-profit organization, and is funded totally on the
basis of donations, grants, endowments, with no contributions from the City.
Herb Saperstone also commented on threats to public access that are the result of
regulations that require that cable operators must only provide bandwidth for a channel.
He commented that in Fort Collins, the PEG channels are an asset to their business,
and many people in the area are interested in local programming.
A citizen commented that, in his opinion, Comcast is not meeting the requirements of
the current franchise regarding studio access. Chip Cushman asked about the
possibility of working with CSU to use facilities they might have available. The citizen
further mentioned a group of concerned individuals were exploring the option of
creating a non-profit organization to administer and support public access efforts.
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Larry suggested that the board review the information that was distributed and discuss
it further at subsequent meetings. Larry reiterated that Comcast is required only to
provide bandwidth, and anything further will be the result of negotiations. Herb
mentioned that the PEG entities need to cooperate and work together on this issue.
Larry also mentioned that the rates are already high, and it might be problematic to
increase or add fees associated with PEG programs.
Curt asked for information about the current activities. He requested that the Board get
information from the needs assessment, as well as other information that would be
helpful in determining issues and priorities. Liz will follow up with Ken Fellman, the
City's outside counsel, to determine when the document will be available.
A question came up about the role of the advisory board in this process. Curt stated
that the board is advisory to City Council, and as such, should provide information to
them related to issues, suggestions and priorities. The Board can bring an unbiased
view to the discussion, and provide information to Council regarding needs of the
community and future technology advances. Members briefly commented on the state
of competition for broadband video, including wireless and other providers such as
Qwest. It's important to make sure the franchise provisions are neutral in the sense
that one franchisee has more onerous requirements that another company.
Larry stated that he is opposed to adding any kind of fee or tax, and feels any funding
should come from the Franchise fee.
There were questions related to the role of the City in the creation of a board or other
non-profit governing group. There were also concerns expressed about censorship.
Who decides what plays, when it plays, and other issues will need to be addressed if a
non-profit organization is formed.
Herb suggested doing some sub committees because there are so many other issues
to talk about, and the Board's meeting schedule would not allow all of them to be
discussed by the whole committee. Herb and Chip volunteered to serve as the sub-
committee to research and recommend options for the Public Access issue.
Other Business: None
A motion was made by Larry Bontempo to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Chip
Cushman. The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 PM.
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