TC 09-02-98 Telecommunications Commission
Regular Meeting
September 2, 1998
MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Biff Mnnnion at 7:03 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Commissioners present: Bill Mannion, Sal Algeri, Ernest Tsui, Mike Winch L.T. Guttadauro,
Staff: Donna Krey, Linda Lagergren
De .A"'~ College: Bob I-Iaber
TCI: Dave Walton, Eddie Gareia, Dennis Seace
Guests: Linda Grodt, Nicholas Guttadauro
APPROVAL OF July 1, 1998 and July 29, 1998 MINUTES
Cmttadauro made a motion to approve the minutes as written; Algeri seconded and the motion
passed.
COMMUNICATIONS
_ Oral: C-rodt reported there was an article in the Business Journal about the BACE awards she
had won. Because of thnt article, .Anna Eshoo sent her a letter congratuloting her on receiving the
BACE awards.
Written: ~ did not have any additional written communication. Krey reported Karen
Burnett called and asked to have the agenda item continued and it be placed on the November agenda,
She wanted extra time to have a more complete report.
OLD BUSINESS
Project timeline: Winch asked for updates to the timeline. Mannion asked to update the
student video to Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. The education grants (#18) will be sent out Sept. 18. The deadline
for the education grants is eight weeks after that date.
TCI Rebuild Update - Garcia reported on the status of the rebuild. The system design and the
design fiber overlay are completed. Ail 14 nodes have been selected and mapped.
All conduits have been tested and repaired. The system electronics upgrade began the week of
Aug. 24. To date 4,200 feet of new electronics has been installed in the system. 15,312 feet of.fiber
cable and four power supplies have been installed. Pole attachment approvals from Pacific Bell have
been approved for most of the city. New system con~tmction in those areas served by the San Jose
system will begin during the second week of September.
· Distribution of pedestal notifications and doorknob hangers have been proceeding as planned.
The public relations office on Imperial Avenue has been open and accessible to residents.
TCI continued to provide information to the City for the Cupertino Scene and the city's website
page. TCI will look into making a map of the construction schedule available on the website. Krey
- asked Walton to also find out if the I-Net will be replaced with fiber. If not, the City Channel and
access will be susceptible to the same technical problem~ they currently have. Bi-weekly upl~ade
notices in the Cupertino Courier are proceeding as planned.
Replacement of psssive elements in upgrade - The replacement has been staffed in
node #5 area, but has not been completed. The system will be brought on-linc in sections. TCI will
leave thc old system in place, feeding into the new system at the node.
Production of videotapes - cultural diversity video: Manulon reported the cultural diversity video
was taped twice. The first taping was with two hostesses and the second with only one. After editing,
the video will be completed.
Annual report - Commission will bring to the next meeting a list of projects that were
completed in the las~ calendar year. These projects will be included in the anmm! report video.
Communily education event - Outline of Sept. 23 presentaiion - TCI distributed an outline of
topics that they will cover in the presentation to the Rotary Club. Cvarcia asked commission to review
the oBtline and e-mall to him any other suggestions. Algeri asked that quality of service be included in
the presentation.
Tsui reported he had attended the FUHSD technology plan meeting and the school district has a plan
that includes trai~ing teachers and finding out what needs to be done in the schools. Tsui said Karen
Bumett was very appreciative of the commission's attendance at the mec~in__g.
Reports from:
TCI: AT&T / TCI Merger - TCI di-~ulbuted handouts on the merger of AT&T and TCI. They
reviewed the structure of the merger. Under the term~ of the agreement, AT&T will become the parent
company of TCI. TCI will continue to exist as a corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T.
The cable television franchise will continue to be held by TCI subsidiary. No cable television franchise
will be Uansferred as a result of the transaction.
Inside Wiring Maintenance Program - Commi-~sion asked TCI for commellts on the
letter sent out to customers stating TCI would no longer be offering inside wiring maintenance service.
The reason for the discontimmtion of the inside wiring maintenance program in the Bay Area,
according to Walton, is because not enough people signed up for the service.
System Testing Procedures - TCI distributed the system testing procedures and asked
commission to review the report and forward any questions directly to Dennis Seace, TCI Project
Manager.
City of Cupertino: Krey said she had a conversation with the city of Sunnyvale, about Don
Yeager, an access producer who lives in Sunnyvale. Sunnyvale asked if Los Altos and Cupertino were
interested in sharing access programming. Krey said the city is interested in sharing access
programming because it would give producers a broader audience, however, the city is only interested
as long as there are no additional costs. She asked commi-~sioners for their input on the concept and all
agreed. Krey also reported the city council had unanimously agreed to the recommendation by the
Telecommunications Commission for De ,AnTA College to get the additional access channel.
De A~za College: Haber announced that Willie Pritchard of De Anza College hired him as the
Access Director for Cupertino on Aug. 18. The position was made official on Aug. 25. Hema Kundargi
will do another remote for her Indian cooJrlng show. A new episode of "Cupertino Access Pub" was
taped on ~July 30. The SCs production group began producing segments for their new access program
on Aug. 18. The show's host is Joyce Davis. "Bekee's Place" began production on Aug. 6. The
program is a.series of dramatic sketches. Haber had a meeting with Te,~i O'Connor, director of
marketing for De .a, nTA College. They discussed ways to promote the public access channel. Haber will
keep the commission informed of these on-going public relations and marketing plans.
Wincn made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:20 p.m.; C-uttadauro seconded and the
motion passed unanimously.
ATTEST: APPROVED:
Chnirperson