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TC 03-02-88Cable Television Advisory Committee Regular Meeting Wednesday, March 2, 1988 Cupertino City Hall -- Conference Room MINUTES CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m. by Leonard Batchelor, Chairman ROLL CALL Committee members present: Batchelor, Bill Fletcher, Michelle Mann, Dorothy Schmid. Absent: Committee member Jane Chiavacci Staff Present: Donna Krey, Community Relations Officer Eliott Margolies, Channel 30 director Guests Present: Joe Wilcox, marketing director of United Cable TV APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF FEB. 3, 1988 MINUTES._ Wilcox asked that a change be noted in his report. Instead of recording that United had increased its monthly rate, the amended statement would read that United "had plans to increase" its monthly basic service to $16.45. Mann moved to approve the minutes with that correction and Schmid seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS There were none. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS The committee received copies of a letter written by Batchelor to the Mayor and City Council which transmitted the committee's support to open negotiations with Gillcable regarding the renewal of the franchise agreement Gill has with the City. STAFF REPORT Krey said that in light of United's rate hike, the City had received sur- prisingly few complaints --only one regarding rates and one other on a service problem. REPORT FROM JOE WILCOX, UNITED CABLE Wilcox submitted copies of a status report outlining subscriber statistics for the month of February and a summary of customer complaints. There were six com- plaints in February, one relating to the rate increase. He also spoke about promotions underway through United. Committee members discussed a Channel 30 call-in show which featured Wilcox and allowed viewers to call the station with cable -related questions. There was a steady flow of calls, but only a handful relating to the rate increase. Wilcox said inquiries ranged from callers wondering when Channel 32 would be reinstated to questions about the Cable TV Guide. He also reported that United's mailing house was late in sending out the March bills to subscribers and now that more people have their new bills, more complaints may follow. Mann asked to see a copy of the United bill. ACCESS COORDINATOR'S REPORT Margolies spoke about the first Valley Cable Recognition (VCR) awards ceremony which linked Cupertino, Mountain View and Los Altos access producers in a competition for different awards. He said Cupertino was well represented, with all Cable TV Committee members in attendance, as well as three councilmembers. Some 18 Cupertino programs were selected as finalists and five won a first or second place award. Costs for the event were shared by the three cities and Margolies said he would bring an expense report to the next meeting.Committee members discussed the idea of sponsoring another such event next year. Schmid said several senior citizens did not attend because of the Foothill College location and the number of steps to be climbed. CTVC Minutes March 2, 1988 P. 2 ACCESS COORDINATOR'S REPORT, CONT. Pros and cons of the VCR awards were discussed. Among pros, as mentioned by Mann, was the concerted effort by the three cities to join the access centers together. Cons included the such things as the event dilluding individual community spirit and, as Margolies noted, the number of people who don't win are much higher than those who do. Fletcher suggested a preliminary event for each city highlighting the "best of" Cupertino, etc. so that more people would attend the tri -city com- petition and more producers could be honored. Mann suggested to Margolies that he get more input from the other cities involved before making any decisions about whether or not to repeat the VCR ceremony. Margolies also reported on a trip he took to New York with a grant from De Anza and on Channel 30's student liaison projects. One project on Route 85 has gained much recognition, both he and Mann said. Two other projects are nearly done and one other did not work out. He said he will return the $100 grant for the latter project to the city. Margolies gave an update on the equipment at De Anza and said that while the college was waiting to okay funding for a new battery analyzer (which the committee had agreed to help fund) the cost increased by $1300. The committee's increased cost would be $433, representing one-third of the total increase. Margolies also submitted a "wish list" for next year's fiscal budget and requested budget worksheets for the next Cable TV meeting. EXTRA FUNDING FOR BATTERY ANALYZER Mann motioned to approve the extra $433 needed for the battery analyzer and Fletcher seconded. The vote was unanimous. REPORT FROM CHAIRMAN -- MEETING WITH GILLCABLE REPRESENTATIVES Batchelor discussed the Feb. 26 meeting with Bob Hosfeldt of Gill Industries and Gill's operational manager. Also at the meeting were the city manager, city attorney and community relations officer. Batchelor said the meeting was pleasant, with Hosfeldt indicating that there would be no changes in the system management with the Heritage takeover. He also said that city officials let Hosfeldt know of their desire to see Gill carry Channels 30 and 53 and Hosfeldt responded by saying he didn't know of the current status regarding that. Batchelor said the feeling from Gill was that their system could carry those channels via microwave set up at De Anza. Committee members wanted to know who would pay for installation, etc., but expressed enthusiasm for this idea. Mann asked how the committee would be involved in the Gill franchise renewal process. Krey responded by saying the City Council first needed to give the go-ahead for the process to begin and that she would send committee members copies of the city attorney's outline of the process. She said Hosfeldt had asked to speak to councilmembers at the March 7 City Council meeting. FUNDING FOR GARDEN GROVE REGIONAL BOARD MEETING Margolies reported that he had been asked to serve as a board member for the regional NFLCP group and that the March 12 meeting would be held in Garden Grove, Ca. He said he was not sure he could attend, but would like the option. Mann said his attendance at the meeting was important and moved to release up to $200 for a plane ticket from the committee's budget. Fletcher seconded the motion and it passed 4-0. DISCUSSION ON FEASIBILITY OF SURVEY REGARDING PEG VIEWERSHIP Committee members expressed concern that a survey conducted so close to the Gill franchise renewal may not be in the best interests of access. Margolies said tra- ditionally, surveys in other cities show access viewership at about 1 percent. Mann suggested that the committee does not have the expertise to conduct such a survey and said if it were to be done, it should be by a professional. Fletcher said he would like to see a survey to know where access stands now and to be better able to set definitive goals about the future. He suggested a postage -paid postcard with three or four questions CTW Minutes March 3, 1988 P. 3 f SURVEY, CONT. that could be stuffed in United Cable's monthly bill. Mann said she wanted to see what types of surveys are available, how much they would cost and who would do it. Batchelor offered to check into available options and asked Krey to find out from the city manager what the council's feeling on such a survey would be. ADJOURNMENT Schmid made a motion to adjourn; Fletcher seconded and Batchelor adjourned the meeting at 9:15 p.m.