Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTelecommunications Board - Minutes - 12/09/1997C7 TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD MEETING MINUTES Council Liaison: Chris Kneeland December 9,1997 7:00 pm Staff Liaison: Liz Stroh, Michael Gitter II Chairperson: Phil Wadas Phone: (H) 221-0065 (W) 221-1764 11 Members Present: Tim Tillson Ernie Powell Howard Lowell Greg Smith Phil Wadas Members Absent: Tom Maher Barbara Hain City Staff Present: Liz Stroh, Telecommunications Manager, ICS Department Eric Dahlgren, Light & Power John Duvall, City Attorney Office Guests: None Chair Phil Wadas called the meeting to order at 7:08 pm. I. Approval of Minutes The meeting minutes of the previous month's meeting were approved unanimously. II. TCI Upgrade and Franchise Compliance Liz Stroh distributed copies of a letter from the City Manager to TCI regarding compliance with the franchise agreement. The letter stated that the City of Fort Collins believed TCI's plans to provide digital compression did not meet the terms of the franchise requirements for a system upgrade. Tim Tillson asked about the criteria for determining non-compliance. Liz explained that while the franchise allows for technologies other than the specific architecture outlined in the franchise, it also requires that the alternative be as dependable, reliable, flexible, and be state Telecommunications Board Page 1 Meeting Minutes December 9, 1997 of the art. Based on the City's assessment the digital compression technology does not meet those criteria. Tim commented that the fact that the current system had to drop certain programs to add others indicated lack of flexibility. Members voiced concern about the potential for increased cable charges to subscribers if the fiber upgrade was required by the City. Others were concerned about the potential for TCI to abandon the system because of the cost of the upgrade. Phil Wadas noted that all subscribers would have to have converter boxes if system was upgraded to fiber. With the proposed digital compression system, only those subscribing to the expanded service would have to have converters. Liz will ask Kathy Stewart to provide information at the next meeting regarding potential rate increases. Tim Tillson asked about remedies to the contract breach. John Duvall mentioned that the City does have the option to revoke the franchise as well as to assess damages as outlined in the franchise agreement. Tim suggested that any penalties be rebated to subscribers. Liz suggested that the City would also consider using any penalty assessment to defray the costs associated with the situation. In general, the Board agreed that the City's position in the matter was appropriate based on the details contained in the letter to TCI. Additional discussion will be included on the next month's agenda. III.PRPA Project Eric Dahlgren reported that he had met with TCI engineers from Denver and discussed the Electric Utilities plans for a fiber system. After review of City maps, TCI believes that some routes may be the same. Eric will continue to work with them on the possibility of a partnership regarding a fiber ring installation. Another provider has contacted the Electric Utility and offered to provide video services if Light & Power and PRPA overbuilt the TCI system with a hybrid fiber/coax system to the home. The expense is probably prohibitive. IV. Other Business Howard Lowell asked about the potential for influencing US West service delivery. There continues to be a lack of availability of lines, particularly in the downtown area because of the age of the switch at the downtown central office. Mr. Lowell also asked about any plans the Electric Utility might have regarding expanded billing services. Eric explained that Light & Power is currently in the process of evaluating billing systems that will provide additional flexibility to provide residents with a combined bill for utilities and other services. The meeting adjourned at 8:40 pm. Telecommunications Board Page 2 Meeting Minutes December 9, 1997 A54 Amk7bdry'a B.dIwL COMMENTAR The Platte River Powering afi Authority is in the process of installing a city v The optic cable loop around the chies M - fort Collins, Loveland, Longmont Il�ay question: Is It appropriate for local govern- and Estes Park. television and Internet access. meets to use their fiberoptic systems This high-speed, high -capacity cam- However, it also gives city govern- to provide such services as local munications'pipelino' could encour- ment the opportunity to provide even phone connections, Internet access age competition among companies more services already supplied by pri- and cable TV, in direct competition that provide telephone service, cable veto industries. - with private companies? Government fibersooptic cable OK? instant Lm- advanced cote, when ■ tarsec- n rubd what cations n esx- ,1. activities sro vies is, a cuu, '. domain of.. rant to sine s owed. Lung. ltover'sm?aa aeid:'1fie' 'Op>jn>lon: montbusi- legitimate obleet ofir . neeses identi. nrnment is b do fors Tied improved community ofpeople. PRO W==M- whatever have down, bunt cannotto do Leona Stoecker �ti� key to at all in their separate .detaining and individual capaci-.: ties" Services each as fire and police proteo- don, and water, sewer and electricity are so important to the prosperity of all citi. won that municipal government is con- sidered to be the aooromiate wmvider. or improving thefrcompetitivenese. A community fiber-optic network improves the city's ability to retain adet- ing businesses, and attract new budness- ai. We expect our broadband network to be an economic engine that powers pmse iaM'4NMY$a.:.. -. fihepop The question isfrii�`ivhather private service etimdaI entmprieecewprorideadvencalcommu. tima,er nicatiom, entertainment and true rma- ssrvicee tion services, The questions for Long- coneum, mount —and the enawers that evolved 'I tineran..,..a,.,,...,.l.n.....r............a_ control, • `Whoa wig private companies pro- vide advanced services in Longmont? Not for a long time. ..• 'Will such services be easily and equally available to everyone?" Probably na< a `Will there be adequate ..petition in source a wide choice of service, and the greatest benefit ofthe community, or coilloarotibne4 endhlden more than The fact is, private service providers are not,11sa ly interested in building ubiquitous broadband network in Lung. ;, not by themaehv What's Willy walls"o? Thaload Jahip4mm company stated that decleiom;(n delivK'fair ces such tie lY recover invastmgpt ADd, make a profit Certainly, ss existing service providen Point oat, smite ofthe enhanced .mmu- a nation, products and services our citi- sans desire are already available. The problem is with that little word, "ever." — some ofthe servion, some ofthe time, cor e� customers, in stun. parts ofthe only an the provider'. term. and ' conditiona. r , Our vision in building a municipal" broadband network inflmtruchu it to afierd all members ofthe communityan equal opportunity taBactua119 cut to grew automatically, with diversity. We the bybe�ts�of a.mmudtyowmd fiber-optic system will include: . 1. Economic vitality. The demand for and choice. Inve.thur teacher • a al muds- • pal Pa- • mes nis, behave they carn offer inexpensive tales to Cohlates t tion prod. ucts and seerons pmd- pets and services, by RB rings nomad the rommunitiai of Largmma; Loveland, Fort Collins and • Fates Perk. It all stands very promising — antit • you look at the facia State and local governments across • the country are moving to'privatize ,; public services, mostly because elected . • officials realize that private industry does thing, faster, better and cheaper • than the public sector. Plus, if they don't like the results, they can go to another • vendor. Can go""nont do B better? • Yet, some people here are ronvinced • that governmentran previde better soil vice than the ale ommun cetione pto sionels like U S Wait,ATaT and other, • who have been delivering service for more than a century. • That assumption is, wrong. First of all,. nitiea Connecting doctors, hospitals, din- -ice, what some officials want to create hero businesses and homm will enable • - already exists. more effective medical services. Online The communities involved in this awes, to city government and social sear. • endeavor are currently being served by vices will allow citizens to be more one of the most advanced telerommuni- involvedand more informed. • cations networks in the world. U S West's 4. Protection of city rights of way. embedded investment in the local net. Building one infrastructure that. every- • work exceeds $200million .The mvait- one can use enables the city to protect meet in Loveland, Fort Collins and Long - rights of way and minimize disruption to • count for 1996 and 1997 alone is more bu®nmeee and citixers. ,. than$9S million. S.Advanced electric. services. Con--. • The network serving the area commu- eumerewill eoonhew . choice of electric nities is, ¢very bit m robust es, these net- s,rvice pmviders.7b prepare for rompeti- - works serving Denver, Phoenix and Seat lion, the municipally operated electric tie. Today them are no advanced telecom- depertment can us, the advanced..- munication services available in metro munications capabilities of the city's • Denver that ere not available in Long. ,yetem, remote Pricing, cueramrzed Dating Services and a variety ofother now services and cus- ton enaupportactivities. Building alikeness, Finally, our goal fiom the beginning. bee been to build a broadband infrastruc- tore that positions the city to develop alliances with private Service Providers for.hared access m consumes. We believe this partnership approach provides the greatest benefit to the whole community. It's a win -win approach that enables the city to develop enhanced govern- ment, social, education and cultural am - vice. while allowing private enterprise is devdopand deliver competltive common dal as rice% W budnes, sad residential cusWmee.. Leona Stooef en has been the major of ongmont aince1993 and aeroes on,the card ofelirmtors ofthePlatte River buerAuthanty• _ moat, Imeland and Fort Collins. That's a • fact The plane for these communities • emphasize the construction of fiber, optic backbone.A backbone such as this • represents only about 10 percent of a it* comprehensive telerommumeadous • network — whether for cable TV or tele- phone. • More taxes to eons • Connecting the proposed network with the rest of the world is, a very tom- 0 plat tank To complete the job, a publicly funded telecommunications network will • require spandivg million of additional taxpayer dogata That's quite a gamble, con.idering that the services government • hopea to offer are now already available from several elecommuicatione • providers Another concern: By entering into the • phone bu , local governments will actually drive away competitive bidding • and stifle competition as they go after highmd uses like hospitals and schools. • It's a good example ofthe government .'cherry -picking" its own community. In addition, because local governments enioy, privilege. in the aurae of texea, ow ter - Opinion: ship ofrights of wag and a CON es. -my etno d- Capiugh Ytvlie Pehl-Peterson ounce anit public free, new tel ones to ca- spns pleyera with private money to spend,willlikely. elaewhero. Who? Because these cities will wbe rap, eeen.a markers dosed would y reel want to —ter rkeyoutwbeworld you Wants, enter a market where one provider can make the rules and use taxpayerobviou obvious money to compete? The answer is U 3 West has already designed and implemented one tithe moat ers an networks in the nation. Engineers and are to technicians, numbering in the comethousands are located throughoutupdate Colorado rontmu- dttes to maintain and update. 250 in this employ business. More then to es Went employees live, work and prig taxes in Fort Collins, Loveland and Longmont Wshe keeping rap U S Wait invests billions yearly to keep up with everchanging technology, Millions more are spent on treiningjust to help our employees stay abreast of technology. It's difficult to see how local government ran provide what we do for e living without getting into the back pock- ets of taxpayers and reducing the choices for consumers. Changes are taking place at a breath- taking pant New technology is, diepla ing or making use of existing technology. Technological innovatious continue to make this industry complex and full of rink. Competitive marketplaces are sonic. Lured to deal with such compleaftim and Asks. Governments are not If elected officials want to gamble in the face of these realities, the only loners in the end will be the taxpayers who will be asked W cover such risky bete and the consumers who may be required to axis the government network. It's too bad that the talent, energy and political effort that would go into build- ing a government network couldn't be directed instead to changing policies and regulations that would permit U S Wait and other private telecommudcatious providere W speed up their inventmenta The present come,, ran afraid, will disappoint enthusiasts ofgoverament networks and further stifle private investment. That's too bad, but that's usually the consegueneee when government decides to give up its role as, referee and catalyst to become a player in the provision of services to the public, Bonnie Pell -Peterson has served as northern and eastern Colorado area manager for U S West Communieatiara fur nine yeas and has been rudh the comn- paay, for 20 yenta. She lire, in Grand Junction.• § 2411 DIVISION 30. RESERVED' Sees.2-411--2-417. Reserved. FORT COLLINS CODE DIVISION 31. TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARDt Sec. 2-418. Creation. There shall be and is hereby created a Telecom- munications Board, hereafter referred to in this Division as the "board." (Ord. No. 78, 1987, § 3, 5-19-87; Ord. No. 9, 1996, §§ 1, 4, 2-20-96) Sec. 2-419. Membership; term. (a) The board shall consist of seven (7) members appointed by the City Council. (b) Each member shall serve without compensa- tion for a term of four (4) years, except that mem- bers may be appointed by the City Council for a shorter term in order to achieve overlapping tenure. Appointments shall specify the term of of- fice of each individual. All members shall be sub- ject to removal by the City Council. If a vacancy occurs on the board, it shall be filled by the City Council for the remaining unexpired portion of the term. No member shall serve more than two (2) consecutive four-year terms. (Ord. No. 78, 1987, § 3, 5-19-87; Ord. No. 92, 1992, § 3, 9-15-92; Ord. No. 9, 1996, §§ 2, 4, 2-20- 96) *Editor's note -Section 2 of Ord. No. 117, 1996, renumbered and renamed Division 30, Storm Drainage Board as Division 33, Water Utilities Board. tEditor's note -Section 1 of Ord. No. 78, 1987, adopted May 19, 1987, amended Ord. No. 158, 1986, adopted Nov. 4, 1986, to delete all sections pertaining to the Cable Advisory Board. Sec- tion 4 of Ord. No. 158, 1986, had been included as ff 2.136-2. 140. Section 3 of Ord. No. 78, 1987, amended Ch. 2 by adding sections designated by the editor as §§ 2-136-2-140. Section 4 of Ord. No. 9, 1996, adopted February 20, 1996, moved this Di- vision from Division 8, changed the name from Cable TV Board to Telecommunications Board, renumbered §§ 2.136-2.140 as §§ 2.418-242Z and renumbered Diva. 31-34 as 32-35. Crow reference -Cable communications, Ch. 6. Sea 2-420. Function. The board shall advise the City Council on all telecommunications related issues, including but not limited to cable television and telephony. (Ord. No. 78, 1987, § 3, 5-19-87; Ord. No. 9, 1996, §§ 3, 4, 2-20-96) Sea 2-421. Officers; bylaws. The board shall elect annually from its member- ship a chairperson and such other officers as may be required. Bylaws may be adopted by the board, which bylaws, shall not be inconsistent with the Charter and the Code. A copy of the bylaws shall be filed with the City Clerk for the use of the City Council immediately after adoption by the board, and the same may be subject to the approval of the City Council. (Ord. No. 78, 1987, § 3, 5-19-87; Ord. No. 9, 1996, § 4, 2-20-96) Sec. 2-422. Minutes; annual report; work plan. The board shall take and file minutes in acoor- dance with the requirements of § 2-73 of the Code. On or before January 31 of each year, the board shall file a report with the City Clerk setting forth the activities of the board for the previous year. On or before November 30 of each year, the board shall file a work plan with the City Clerk for the following year. (Ord. No. 78, 1987, § 3, 5-19-87; Ord. No. 79, 1988, § 3, 6-7-88; Ord. No. 92, 1992, § 3, 9-15-92; Ord. No. 9, 1996, § 4, 2-20-96) Secs.2-423-2-425. Reserved. DIVISION 32. TRANSPORTATION BOARD See.2-426. Creation. There shall be and is hereby created a Transpor- tation Board, hereafter referred to in this Division as the "board." (Ord. No. 29, 1992, 3-3-92) Supp. No. 42 180.2 [The next page is 181]