HomeMy WebLinkAboutTelecommunications Board - Minutes - 05/04/1999TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD
MEETING MINUTES
****May 4,1999 ****
*** 6:00 PM ***
Council Liaison: Kurt Kastein Staff Liaison: Liz Stroh
Members Present: Tim Tillson, Tom Maher, Howard Lowell, Greg Smith, and Lawrence
Bontempo
Members Absent: David Augustine, Braun Mincher
City Staff Present: Gary Gordier, IT Director
Liz Stroh, Telecommunications and Systems Manager
Guest: Kathy Stewart, TCI Area Manager
Chair Greg Smith called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM
Approval of Minutes:
Tom Maher moved to accept the minutes as corrected, Tim Tillson seconded the motion,
which was carried unanimously.
TCI Update:
Liz Stroh reported on the public hearings being conducted as part of the Franchise review
process. The first hearing was held at the Senior Center on April 26,1999. Three citizens
attended it. Of those, two questioned programming decisions and indicated they would prefer a
system that allowed them to pay for what they use rather than having to pay for a package.
Another subscriber reported problems with the quality of the picture on Channel 18.
At the second hearing, on May 3 at the Northside Community Center, 1 citizen attended to
complain about requests to bury a cable drop that had been ignored.
Kathy Stewart was present at both hearings, and immediately followed up on getting the
complaints resolved.
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Kathy Stewart reported that TCI would be putting additional plant in the north part of town. She
also indicated that TCI had received permission from CSU to perform an assessment of the CSU
Dorm wiring and determine how to upgrade that portion of the system. The system upgrade is
on schedule.
Tim Tillson asked about the status of the @Home service. Kathy responded that the "soft"
launch had been moved to July. This will allow those testing the system to identify issues or
problems. The service will be made available to subscribers beginning in September if they are
in the sections of town that have upgraded service. Tim mentioned an article that he cad seen
that compared @Home with DSL (the digital service from the telephone companies). He will
forward the article to board members.
Tim mentioned that the system upgrade was completed in his area, and that the picture quality
seems improved. Tim also asked about the T1 line installation. Kathy reported that it was not yet
installed.
Kathy reported that the merger is moving forward, and there would be a shareholder meeting
soon to finalize the process.
Franchise Renewal Update.
Liz provided a status update on the Franchise review process. (See above for report on public
hearings). She asked for volunteers from the board to participate in the panel for the live call in
show scheduled for May 13.
Board members agreed it would be beneficial to have an outside firm compile the results of the
survey, and suggested that hiring a firm to do the financial audit might be better than trying to do
it in-house.
Other Business:
Gary and Tom discussed potential for using PRPA fiber as part of link to the Internet2 access
being considered at the state level. Gary explained that an RFP for a consulting to devise a
strategic plan for use of the fiber would be issued within the next few months. After the study is
complete, funding for implementation needs to be identified and allocated to the project.
Tom made a motion to recommend funding be found in the next budget cycle to make efficient
and timely use of the PRPA loop fiber strands that are owned by the City. Larry Bontempo
seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Motion to Adjourn:
Howard Lowell made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Tom Maher, passed
unanimously.
Meeting adjourned at 7:15 PM
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