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TC 09-07-94Cable Television Advisory Committee Regular Meeting September 7, 1994 MINUTES CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:03 p.m. by chairman Laird Huntsman. ROLL CALL: Present: Huntsman, Carol Marble, Donna Poggi Absent: Jane Chiavacci, J. M. Wincn Staff: Donna Krey, Laura Newman TCI Staff.' Daryl Henderson, Kathi Noe Guests: Len Batchelor, Linda Grodt, Sam MacNeal APPROVAL OF JULY 6, 1994 MINUTES Donna Poggi made a motion to approve the minutes as written; Carol Marble seconded and the motion passed unanimously. COMMUNICATIONS Oral: Daryl Henderson introduced Kathi Noe, TCI's Governmental Affairs Manager for the San Jose area. Ms. Noe said for the last eight years she had been working for TCI in Dallas, Texas at their area office which encompassed 31 franchises. The committee welcomed her to the meeting. Written: Donna Krey distributed publications from the Alliance for Community Media (formerly NFLCP) and the Coastal Access newsletter. Krey directed the committee members' attention to a flier in their agenda packet on the Alliance for Community Media Far West Regional Conference to be held in Palo Alto. The committee asked for this item to be included on the agenda at its October meeting in order to discuss who will attend from the committee. Krey also pointed out the copy of the letter she had been requested to write to TCI following last month's meeting as well as Daryl Henderson's response. This response addresses the billing problem as well as the representation of a TCI person at each CTVAC meeting. Huntsman requested that the committee discuss TCI's late charge policy for the next meeting. OLD BUSINESS Discussion regarding grants policy: This item was continued to the next month's meeting. Update on rate regulation: Krey reported that the city received TCI's Form 1200 on the date they were due, which was August 14. She then notified TCI that the City would be using the 90-day extension it is entitled to. The City's deadline for making a finding is December 14. She said a consultant may be hired to assist with the deciphering of the Form 1200. The previous forms were very confusing to decipher and a consultant's assistance seems a necessity. Noe offered to join TCI's rate specialists in explaining the figures prior to the cornmittee deciding whether or not to hire a consultant. Krey thanked Noe for the offer and said she would pass it on to the other sub-committee member for consideration. Report on Alliance for Community Media Conference: Krey distributed information from Chiavacci regarding the Alliance for Community Media Conference. She also read a note from Chiavacci. "The conference in Honolulu for the Alliance for Community Media was a grand success with good attendance and good weather. As always, it is inspiring to see the amazingly professional work being done for cities in the public welfare area. The winning video at the opening luncheon was a news program very similar to the one that Ron has worked on. Unfortunately, the program from Cupertino was never entered. A great deal of conference time was devoted to strategy concerning refranchising and methods of negotiation in the current sea of regulations. Following are some notes and handouts from the seminars. Although I can't be at tonight's meeting, I would be happy to talk with any of you who have questions or ideas about the materials. See you next month." Huntsman asked that this item be placed on the agenda for next month to allow Chiavacci to discuss the conference in further detail. Report on insurance for access producers/equipment: Ron Fish gave Huntsman the information he received from the Arts & Entertainment Insurance Company for review. This item will be agendized for next month's meeting. Status of re-franchising effort: Krey reported that there had not been a meeting with TCI for a couple of months, and TCI was in the process of putting together a draft re-franchise agreement for use when the talks begin again. Henderson is compiling a document containing everything that has been agreed upon up to this point. No meeting has been scheduled until the draft documents are ready for discussion. NEW BUSINESS Discussion of second educational channel for De Anza College: TCI has agreed to add another educational channel, to be used only by the 7,000 subscribers to TCI-Cupertino. The committee's assistance would be needed in deleting a current channel. Committee members believed the second channel could benefit the elementary and high school districts but any additional De Anza channel must operate the same as the first educational channel. Krey will draft a letter to the school districts asking if there is any interest in utilizing an educational channel. Henderson emphasized the reach of the channel and the expenses associated with it. Once the interest level is determined, then discussion of deleting a channel could be brought back to the committee. City of Cupertino: Krey informed the committee members of the upcoming public hearings on the Diocese property, which will begin with the Planning Commission on September 22. There will also be a public heating on October 11 about the "Heart of the City." She also encouraged everyone to attend the grand opening of Highway 85 on October 15. De Anza College: Fish said he is looking for volunteers to help register attendees, work in an information booth and assist with transportation needs at the upcoming Far West Conference in Palo Alto. He described a demonstration of a new piece of equipment which he and Chiavacci viewed while they were at the recent Media Alliance Conference. This new piece of equipment, an on-line editor, is called the "Flyer" and would be compatible with the video toaster which they already have. He is planning to attend a "hands-on" demonstration next week and will provide further information at the next meeting. He has taken on the task of checking the equipment inventory at the TV Center. One of the producers will produce a live, interactive bingo show, using a 50s theme, and prizes will be given to the winner from the gifts donated for the infomercial project. TCI: Henderson distributed copies of his report and reported that Cupertino is now at 6,954 subscribers. He pointed out the inclusion of the San Jose portion of subscribers and pay- per-view numbers as had been requested. He confirmed that TCI notifies the City by letter of any changes. Each member was asked what was the biggest problem of TCI. Responses ranged from picture quality, customer service, accurate bills, etc. Krey asked Henderson for a list of people to contact when there are technical problems on The City Channel. He said he would provide her with phone numbers of the 24-hour customer line. I-NET/Educational: Marble reported that Karen Bumett of the Fremont Union High School District has taken another position with Solano County as Administrative Librarian. Joe Hamilton will be the contact person until a replacement is hired. Harvey Barnett of the Cupertino Union School District left a message to encourage moving ahead with getting all of the schools wired for cable. ADJOURNMENT Marble made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:17 p.m.; Poggi seconded and the motion passed unanimously. ATTEST: City Clerk APPROVED: