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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTelecommunications Board - Minutes - 10/08/1996TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD MEETING MINUTES October 8, 1996 7:00 PM Council Liaison: Chris Kneeland Staff Liaison: Liz Stroh, Michael Gitter Chairperson: Phil Wadas Phone: (W) 221-1764 (H) 221-0065 Presiding Chair: Larry Rowland Phone: 229-2280 H 226-6303 Members Present: Larry Rowland, Tom Maher, Ernie Powell, Greg Smith Members Absent: Barbara Bain, Howard Lowell, Phil Wadas City Staff: Liz Stroh Columbine Staff: Bob Carnahan Vice Chair Larry Rowland called the meeting to order at 7:15 PM. Meeting Minutes Vice Chair Larry Rowland asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting. Tom Maher noted a change to the following: On page 2, under TCI Update, the second bullet should read "The current Digital Music Choice service will be changed out to the new Digital Music Express (DMX) service. Customers can expect a slight interruption of service when the change out is due". This combines the second and third bullet. Greg Smith moved to accept minutes as amended. Tom Maher seconded the motion. The minutes passed unanimously. Customer Survey Liz Stroh explained that staff is beginning the process of developing a customer survey to send out to a sample of TCI customers, and asked for input from the Board regarding the content of the survey. Ernie Powell suggested some questions concerning satisfaction related to programming. Larry Rowland pointed out the survey question would need to be worded in such a way to make sure respondents understand the City and Board has no control over programming so people don't have an expectation that 11 • things might change relating to the information. Greg pointed out that providing TCI with the results might give them some data upon which to make decisions. Ernie suggested some general questions regarding some of the recent channel changes. Tom suggested providing information to respondents related to potential programming possibilities would let people know what is available. The responses would then be easier to collate into general programming categories desired. Ernie mentioned the lack of channel capacity is limiting TCI's ability to provide the variety of channels desired by the community. Larry commented that information about the PEG channel viewership is always important information. Telecommunication Board Bylaws The Board completed their review of the revised Telecommunication Board bylaws and made several suggested changes. It was moved and seconded to accept the bylaws as amended. Approval was unanimous. Cable 27 Policies Tom Maher shared thoughts about the prohibitions section of the policies. The phrase "not as political forum" may need some clarification since it is mentioned in several other places the purpose of the channel is to provide inclusive political discussion. May need to amend these policies to clarify that. He also questioned listing lottery information as an item prohibited, since we have a State government supported lottery. Telecommunication Policy Update Liz Stroh gave a brief update on the action items underway. The Wireless Telecommunications Systems ordinance was passed on second reading on Oct. 1, and staff is beginning to work with River Oaks Communication Corporation on a model Telecommunications Ordinance. TCI Tour Liz Stroh reported the tour of the TCI facility in Denver is confirmed for October 24. Board members desiring to attend need to be there at 9:30 AM. The tour will last about 2 hours. Members wishing to car pool should contact Michael Gitter or Liz Stroh at 221- 6790. TCI Update Bob Carnahan mentioned a correction to last months meeting minutes. The minutes should reflect that three football games would not be available because they are aired by stations that TCI doesn't carry. Bob reported that negotiations with broadcast stations for retransmission consent is beginning. This is allowed every three years. TCI will have to negotiate with Denver stations. The "must carry" issue is currently before the Supreme Court, based on First Amendment rights arguments. Some Denver stations don't meet transmission requirements, but others do. Specifically, a Denver shopping channel meets requirements for must carry and they have asked to be carried. If TCI is required to carry their programming, other programming will have to be dropped in order to • accommodate the requirement. Bob passed out a quarterly report that incorporates suggested format changes. This report is prepared quarterly now, and Bob was looking for feedback as to whether it will meet the Board reporting criteria as well. Bob pointed out that TCI had approximately 2900 installs in September. The consensus of the group was that the report contained all the information from the old form and added some important information as well. Liz Stroh will investigate whether the information contained on the new report meets the terms of the franchise. Larry noted that test points were missing from the old report, and appreciated having that information made available on the new report. He also suggested Bob provide a descriptive key of the items listed to clarify the topics contained in the report. Bob reported that Fox News has been added, and TCI is still trying to change the music channels.. Larry Rowland complimented TCI on the addition of the INFO channel. The sampling of different programming is a good addition to the existing programming line up. Meeting was adjourned at 9 PM, with three members voting for adjournment, and one abstaining.