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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTelecommunications Board - Minutes - 06/13/1996• TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD MEETING MINUTES June 13, 1996 7:00 PM Council Liaison: Chris Kneeland I Staff Liaison: Liz Stroh, Michael Gitter Chairperson: Larry Rowland Phone: (W) (H) Presiding Chair: Larry Rowland Phone: H Members Present: Warren Berman, Tom Maher, Larry Rowland, Greg Smith Members Absent: Barbara Hain, Ernie Powell, Phil Wadas City Staff: Liz Stroh Columbine Staff: None present. Board Chair Larry Rowland called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM. A motion was made by Tom Maher and seconded by Greg Smith to accept the minutes of the April meeting. Board By -Laws The 1996 work plan includes a review of the Board's by-laws to determine any changes that need to be made as a result of the change from Cable TV Board to Telecommunications Board, and include that title on the document. The board members discussed the current by-laws and made the following suggestions: Article ll: Tom Maher suggested using the language of the Telecommunications Policy to help define the purpose and function of the Board. After discussion, it was agreed to include the role of oversight and consultation concerning the cable television franchise, as well as to "help shape the community's vision and the City's role as a telecommunications promoter, provider, regulator, user and consumer advocate." The wording should include the change from Columbine to TCI and include others that may come about as a result of other future franchising agreements. The suggestions were made and agreed to that the wording in the Telecommunication Policy summary helps define the focus. Other activities or roles of the Board contained in the Policy should be incorporated into the new by-laws. Page 1 Warren Berman commented that the e.;isti g Article 1 - Purpose and Objectives - provides the mission statement and suggested Bros-ening it to include telecommunications providers as well as cable operators. Article III:Tom Maher reminded staff that ; eferences to Columbine Cablevision need to be changed to incorporate the change to --Cl -nd to include provisions that a company representative should attend all meetings. Larry Rowland expressed concerns about losing contact with TCI and agreed that a representative needs to be at the meetings. The Board discussed expanding the number of "ex officio" members to include other providers. Larry mentioned that might not be productive because of proprietary information being discussed. Ex officio members could possibly include those companies that have franchise agreements with the City. At this point, Colorado State law limits cities ability to grant franchises to any providers other than cable operators.. Staff will explore inclusion of language to deal with the ex officio members. Larry Rowland suggested reviewing genera : ules and guidelines that apply to all boards and commissions and make sure they are compatible with the new by-laws.. Tom Maher asked about term limits. Specif, ;ally, if a board member is chosen to fill a vacant position, does that still limit the number of yc irs a member can serve. (Note: Liz Stroh contacted the City Clerk's office. Tom Mahi was appointed to fill a 2 year term vacated by a resignation and those 2 years do not apply the term limits. Theoretically, if Mr. Maher was reappointed to the Board, he could serve as many as 10 years). Article IV: Larry Rowland mentioned that past minutes have not shown how each member has voted on actions taken by the group. Larry suggested that in the future the minutes state that all members present voted unless otherwise noted. This will clarify whether or not a member has abstained. Second sentence. Change the second sentence to read "The ex-officio members shall have no voting rights." Attendance: Reference city handbook relatirg to this Article V: Board members agreed this secti m was still accurate and could remain the same Article VI: It was suggested that information about the City Council/Board liaison be included, explaining what that role is and the process for communicating with Council through that liaison. Greg Smith suggested language that states "the Board will cooperate with staff in providing information to council," in order to clarify that Council will receive input from both the Board and from staff. Article VII: Tom Maher pointed out some daplica�e words and grammatical changes that need to be made. Otherwise, Article VII can remain as is. Pale 2 Article Vill: Board agreed to include language indicating that regular meetings are held on a monthly basis except as workload dictates. Suggested striking the reference to time. Larry Rowland suggested changing #5 to read "A quorum, consisting of a majority of the members, shall be present at every meeting." Article IX: Board agreed that this section should state that official minutes will be kept and maintained as part of public record in the City Clerk's central records site. Include language that suggests the record be made available using alternative technologies (for example: maintaining copies on the City's World Wide Web site). Article X: Larry Rowland suggested reviewing by-laws every 2 years, or more frequently if required. Copy should be provided to everyone who is appointed to the Board. Larry Rowland asked for a motion to direct staff to change the wording as directed . The motion was made by Greg Smith and seconded by Warren Berman. The motion was passed unanimously. After the Board reviews the draft, they will identify any additional changes or additions that need to be made. Discussions of 1996 Work Plan: Larry wants to move ahead on TCI site visits to help spur communication that seems to have lapsed. Tom would like to schedule the visits during the summer. Warren expressed concern about TCI not having a representative at the last few Board meetings. With the change of ownership from Columbine to TCI, it is even more important to receive regular reports and updates concerning changes of policy, etc. Larry Rowland suggested that we request an update from Columbine on the status of the rebuild along with a quarterly report, as required by the franchise agreement. Tom Maher asked to suspend order of agenda and discuss the change of meeting times. Tom suggested letting TCI know about the proposed change of day. Tom moved that the meeting day and time be changed to Tuesday at 7 PM. Members present agreed with the change. Staff will poll the remaining members, then notify TCI of the change. The Board then continued with a discussion of the 1996 work plan. Larry offered to work on a Web page for the Telecommunications Board. Staff will work with ICS Department staff on this. The suggestion was made to include the meeting agenda on the Web page so the public could decide if they wanted to attend. Staff will inquire with Loveland as to meeting times, and come back to Board to finalize a meeting. Warren asked to be included in tour of TCI educational facility. Page 3 International Report: Larry Rowland took a few minutr,s to ;hare some observations from his trip overseas. Germany is discouraging private use I Imemet, perhaps because the phone system is government run and the required nternet capacity may put additional stress on that system. Public access to information is encouraged in Germany... not in Japan. Other Business: Tom: reported that federal court issued an in;unction against decency clause in the 1996 Telecommunications Act. This decision was based on the premise that the individual has to seek out the areas they want to browse, they are not automatically displayed. Since the individual is in control of what (s)he views, no regulations are needed. Cable Survey: The Board discussed surveying TCI subscribers. Larry suggested that a pre- and post -rebuild survey would provide useful data. Warren suggested it would be interesting to compare previous results with data collected after 6 months of TCI ownership. Warren explained he was interested in subscriber's perception of the change. Tom Maher asked staff to send copies of old surveys. The Board would like to pursue adding the development of a survey to their work plan. Warren would like to see district's channel included. Tom Maher made a inotion to formally thank Warren, and commend him for his years of service to the Board. Greg Smith seconded the motion. Approval unanimous. A citizen attending the meeting asked about the upgrade. Larry Rowland explained that an upgrade is required in 5 years after the new franchise agreement adopted in 1992, and that the City and the Board cannot be involved in programming decisions. Tom explained that the Board didn't want to specify technology for the upgrade, but wanted to review plans regarding capacity of the system. Tom Maher moved to adjourn at 8:30. Greg Smith seconded; all approved. Staff will mail out an updated work plan with the minutes. Page 4 City of Fort Collins Cable Television and Community Information System Survey The City of Fort Collins annually conducts a survey to measure interest and satisfaction with the information services provided to citizens by means of the City's cable channel (Channel 27) and Automated Community Information System (CityLine). Please take a few minutes to respond to the questions below. If you do not subscribe to cable, you can still help by answering the relevant questions. Results will be available upon request. Contact Liz Stroh at 221-6522. Thank you for your time and feedback, The City of Fort Collins 1. How many people in our household are in these age ranges? Below 10 _ 10-20 _ 21-30 _ 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81and Above 2. What is the subscriber status of your household? (check one or more that apply) Subscriber status for Basic Service: Subscriber status for Premium Stations Currently subscribe Currently subscribe Previously subscribed Previously subscribed Never subscribed Never subscribed 3. How do members of your household learn about local issues and governmental services? (check all that apply) CityLine Telephone Information Service Channels 10, 14, 25, 27 (Local origination cable channels) Newspapers, radio and other news media Other If your household has never subscribed to Columbine's cable service, please proceed to question 10. 4. How long has your household been a Columbine cable subscriber? Less than I year _ 1-4 years _ More than 4 years Inapplicable or don't know 5. The local origination channels in our community provide news, informational and educational programming, and coverage of public meetings. These channels are: Poudre R-1 School District (Channel 10), Columbine (Channel 14), CSU (Channel 25) and the City (Channel 27). Please indicate how often these channels are watched in your household by checking the following: Channels: Regularly (more than I/month) Occasionally (1/month) Never Don't Know PoudreR-I (Channel 10) Columbine (Channel 14) CSU (Channel 25) City (Channel 27) 6. How do members of your household find out about local programming? (check all that apply) Flipping through channels Weekly Program Guide Newspaper (daily listings or articles) _ Other Dort t know How valuable do members of your household consider the programs on Channel 27? (Place a check in the appropriate box) Channel 27 `fiery Somewhat Uncertain Not Very Not At All Worthwhile Wort' while Worthwhile Worthwhile City Council Meetings City Council Work Sessions CrossCurrents(League of Women Voters Forum) Legislative Committee Finance Committee Police Beat First Alarm CityTimcs Planning and Zoning Board Meetings Bulletin Board (Community/City Calendar of events) 8. How valuable do members of your household ci, 7sider the programming on these local origination channels? (Please indicate your response by channel numbs �. Place a mark in the appropriate box. Channels: Very Worthwhile Somew. it Worthwhile Uncertain Not Very Worthwhile Not At All Worthwhile Poudre R-1 (Channel 10) Columbine (Channel 14 j CSU (Channel 25) City (Channel 27) 9. How could Channel 27 better meet your informs ion needs? 10. Have you used thy+ City's Information Line, CITi l"INE? Yes No 11. Are there other topics members of your household would like to see added to the CityLine system? (see page EZ 27 in your US West Telephone directory for a coinplete listing of all topic,'). Thank you for your cooperation in completing this survey. Please use the enclosed postage -paid envelope to return the survey to City Hall, 300 LaPorte Ave, by May 25, 1994.