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TC 01-06-93Cable Television Advisory Committee Regular Meeting Jan. 6, 1993 MINUTES CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairman Mike Wincn at 7:04 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Wincn, Len Batchelor, Jane Chiavacci, Laird Huntsman (arrived 7:10 p.m.), Carol Marble. Absent: None Staff present: Donna Krey Channel 30 staff: Ron Fish TCI staff, Wendy Sefton, Daryl Henderson Guests: Jean Yeager, Bill Lauer, Linda Grodt, Martin Bishop, Robert Verhroost. APPROVAL OF DEC. 2, 1992 MINUTES Chiavacci made a motion to approve the minutes as written; Marble seconded and the motion passed unanimously. ,: ~, COMMUNICATIONS.~: ~ :'. Oral: Resident Robert Verhroost expressed dissatisfaction with receiving East BaY news channels on the Cupertino system~ Seffon from TCI explained that TCI-Cupertirlo*s' headend currently is fed from Hayward. She noted that the situation will change in April whefi?Cupertino begins its headend fiber optic feed from Sunnyvale. Verhroost also asked why the rates had gone up just before the new Cable Act was passed and was told by Sefton that ~the in~e~s~.,had been costs. ~.~erhroost ~oted~that his former planned prior to the legislation to help offset operating cable company in Texas was technically superior than Cupertino's. ChiaVacci.requested Verhroost to provide a written summary of his complaints for the committee's future reference. Yeager infoi-iiied the committee that 15 On the Move access shows will be aired on Ch. 54 on Sundays at 6 a.m. in ~pilot project. She also said some of the programs were.played in:Japan during five'different'festi~'alk · ~" ' Written: Krey passed out articles on the' n6w Cable Act. Public hearing to determine satisfaction with TCI-Cupertino: Follow~n~:dV.?hr00S[~S testimony under Oral Communications, Chiavacci stated that the use of TCI'S e6~i~verter'. 'boxes was very confusing ahd wondered if on-air training could be prowded by t[~ ~cab~ company. Sefton said explanatory booklets are distributed with each converter box ~:?cusf0mers could also call the office and be "walked through" the procedure for locking out'a~i:~"have other questions answered Committee members said none of them had rec iCea!: % 0 i t wittti~eir boxes and asked Seft0n t6 check that this was actually being done. KreT)~tetl' to in the Cupertino Scene saying the booklets'a~:hvailable and suggested a~ ~6te ~o the'}a~h~'effect be placed on the bills. OLD BUSINESS Discounted Rate Proposal: Martin Bishop discussed a proposal for a basic cable service discount of between 50 and 80 percent for elderly and disabled very low income Cupertino residents. The present discount is 15 percent. He estimated the number of those eligible for such a discount would be between 250 and 300 residents. He asked the committee to consider including his proposal in its recommendations to the negotiating team. He also suggested a means of funding be negotiated that would allow a non-profit third party, such as Cupertino Community Services, to administer the application process. He said the suggestion was prompted by his concern about consumer privacy issues. Committee members raised several questions including what is currently considered "basic cable;" how the estimate of 250-300 eligible was calculated; what involvement the city would have in the application process if handled by a third party; whether or not any misuse of confidential financial information had thus far occured; and how elderly and disabled is defined. Henderson said a federal privacy act ensures that confidential information cannot be given out and indicated that TCI could handle any application process. He said he would check to see if a further discount would result in a tax deduction for the company. Huntsman said he supported the proposal and would like to ensure that it was economically feasible for TCI. He said it would be difficult to define the program. Chiavacci said she was uncomfortable requiring a private company to provide such a discount. Wincn suggested alternatives to cable TV, such as antennas and satellite dishes. Chiavacci made a motion to forward Bishop's proposal to the city council with no recommendation. Batchelor seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Status of Refranchising Effort: Wincn went over his timeline and format for drawing up recommendations for the city council. Members agreed to tackle major franchise issues as two- person teams and submit drat~ recommendations at the next committee meeting. Drafts are due Jan. 26 to the public information office. Wincn and Huntsman will work on technical issues; Chiavacei and Batchelor will work on customer service and public access; Marble will team with Batchelor on INET recommendations. Krey will work with ail groups as needed and will concentrate on cable issues brought on by the new bill. The committee also agreed that the recommendations to the council be summarized in bullet form on the first page, with supporting materials following. Discussion on Grants Program: Krey read a report submitted to the city council and approved by them in October on the new grants program. She offered to draf~ a simple application for the committee's review next meeting. NEW BUSINESS Election of New Officers: Committee members discussed several options for the roles of chair and vice chair. Representation on the negotiating team was also considered, with the assumption being the chair would assume that duty. Batchelor made a motion to continue the terms of the current chair and vice chair for one more year; Marble seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Reports: I-NET--Marble said De Anza engineer Bill Levan has written a summary on the I- NET which she will forward to school representatives who have shown interest. She also said the college now has a fully equipped remote truck staffed by students which could be made available to the schools. Krey asked that a copy of Levan's summary be made available to the committee. TCI--Henderson said the Cupertino system was one of four in the state--among the top 30 percent--in budget performance last year. He said this was especially significant since premiums are dropping and people are opting not to buy expanded services. The local system is now part of a recortfigured group including Fremont and Sunnyvale. Henderson reports to Tom Lacey in San Jose. According to Henderson, the new cable bill has prompted TCI corporate to list five commitments: installing digitable compression and fiber optics; reasonable entry level tier rates; improved customer service; no buy-through (customers may purchase additional services without needing the second level of basic); developing standards to interface cable with home electronics and outreach to broadcasters. He said although digital compression probably won't occur in 1993, preparations for it would begin. De Anza's Ron Fish asked why Ch. 30 was moved from Ch. 3 and said viewership was lost with the repositioning. Batchelor said the switch occured with the headend was relocated to Hayward. Fish said he'd like to see it moved back when channel realignment occurs in April. Marble asked Henderson to provide a list of what schools are scheduled to be connected to the I- NET and when. Huntsman requested a date when the I-NET cable servicing Monta Vista High School would be repaired. City of Cupertino--Krey reported that Laura Domondon Lee had been reassigned and would no longer be attending meetings. She brought the committee up to date on FCC progress with the new cable bill and said the League of California Cities will be issuing comments on the 24 regulations associated with the bill. She also told the committee that The City Channel has gone to more of an all-meeting format to maximize staffresources. De Anza College--Fish spoke of beginning a weekly Cupertino news show using active producers, and said the idea has generated positive reponse. He also plans to distribute release forms to local musicians and music stores, for those who would like to submit their work for use on the public access channel. Musicians would get exposure with a credit line. Fish said three local bands have already submitted videotapes and the project could result in producers having use of much better and varied music. In addition, Fish said the equipment is working; a newsletter has been started for producers; an inventory program has been developed and a new assistant has been hired to replace Carol Romo. ADJOURNMENT Batchelor made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:45 p.m.; Huntsman seconded and the motion passed unanimously. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. in Conference Room A, City Hall. APPROVED: