Loading...
09-20-2018 SWCSR MIN Minutes of the Sherburne/Wright County Cable Commission Thursday, September 20, 2018, 1:00 p.m. (Buffalo City Hall) Present: Chair Tina Allard (1 1k River), Vice Chair Gina Wolbeck (Big Lake), Commissioners Mert Auger (Buffalo), Andrew Carlson (Cokato), Terri Boese (passel), Paula Bauman (Delano), and Rachel Leonard (Monticello). Commissioners 1.eeAnn Yager (Maple Lake), Dan Madsen (Rockford),Shane Fineran (Watertown) were absent. Also present: Technology Consultant Bill Bruce, and Attorney Bob Vose. 1. Call to Order—Chair Allard called the meeting to order at 1:10 p.m. 2. Approval of Minutes —February 1, 2018 Commissioner Auger motioned to approve the February 1, 2018 Sherburne Wright Cable Commission Meeting Minutes as presented. Seconded by Commissioner Carlson,unanimous ayes,motion carried. 3. Treasurer's Report a. Financial Statements — Treasurer Mert Auger presented the financial statements as outlined in the staff report. Commissioner Carlson motioned to accept the September 2018 Treasurer's Report as presented. Seconded by Commissioner Boese, unanimous ayes,motion carried. b. Return of Franchise Fees - Auger stated the return of the August 2018 Franchise Fee payment to each member city would be appropriate at this time to help defray some cable related expenses. Commissioner Wolbeck motioned to approve a return of all provider's August 2018 franchise fees to each member city. Seconded by Commissioner Carlson, unanimous ayes,motion carried. 4. Attorney's Report a. Small Cell Wireless Update— Vose reported the FCC will meet on September 26, 2018 to adopt final rules on small cell wireless. The State of Minnesota passed legislation in 2017 allowing private utilities to access right of way for their own poles or use city-owned poles. The Minnesota law delineated the timeline, fees, and conditions cities can utilize during the process; the law also exempted municipally-owned utilities. The FCC rules conflict with the Minnesota law and the FCC language does not exempt municipally- owned utilities. In addition, the FCC is denying other previous municipal utility exemptions as well. The rules will likely be challenged through litigation. Vose will continue to monitor the situation as some member cities own municipal utilities. b. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking — Vose reported the Proposed Rulemaking includes language with potential to impact the Cable Commission. First, the FCC proposes to require PIG fees be used solely for P1wG capital costs. The term capital costs is being narrowly defined to include only construction of PEG studios, not maintenance or replacement of equipment or existing facilities as the cable commission is doing. Cable companies will likely argue in favor of this requirement;cities can comment against. If adopted, the ruling is certain to be challenged in court. Sherburne Wright Cable Commission Meeting Minutes from 09-20-18 Page 2 of 3 Second, the FCC proposes to allow cable companies to count the value of services or facilities toward their franchise fee payment. This would encourage cable companies to designate a high value to significantly reduce or eliminate the franchise fees they pay. Again, the proposed rules are likely to be challenged by franchising authorities, but the changes are troubling. The potential reduction or elimination of franchise fees would significantly impact the finances of the Cable Commission, and could influence Charter's franchise renewal position to the detriment of negotiations. c. Franchise Renewal Update — \lose. reported the franchise renewal had been going well until recently. Charter's most recent redlines to the ordinance were dramatic changes and seem to build off the proposed FCC changes. Commissioner Allard requested Vose and Bruce continue to work with Charter on the agreement; next step will be a meeting between the parties. Bill Bruce updated the commission about the request for HI) channels and converter box fee resolution. Charter has agreed to provide HD channels as well as newer boxes,but it is only willing to provide one free converter box in each city to facilitate monitoring the channel. Vose noted the company was willing to compromise and provide free service in other locations but not the free boxes. Bruce noted an additional box is needed to provide music for the channel; Charter also unwilling to pay for those boxes. Commissioner Auger advised the commission that the periodic return of franchise fees helps offset costs like those of the converter boxes. 5. Equipment Report - Bill Bruce a. Report — Bill Bruce provided the September 2018 equipment report. Bruce discussed recent problems with the truck and the roof air conditioner in the trailer. Bruce updated the commission on ongoing installation of new wireless microphones in cities as well as the transition to new monitors. The SmartBoard Sympodiums have all been replaced and there are no longer subscription fees. Equipment requests made at the previous meeting have been installed. Commissioner Wolbeck asked about the purchase of ipads approved at the last meeting. Commissioner Auger noted the purchase can be made; cities should submit the request to Bill Bruce and Mert Auger. b. Equipment Purchase Requests — Bruce reviewed equipment purchase needs which included completing the updates to the Tricaster system in the final two commission cities: Rockford and Cokato. The cost per city is S14,071.99. Bruce also requested concept approval for new equipment racks for 3 camera system. Bruce noted that the total cost of purchases equals: $28,143.98. Commissioner Wolbeck motioned to approve equipment purchase requests as presented at an amount not to exceed $28,143.98. Seconded by Commissioner Carlson, unanimous ayes, motion carried. 6. Programming Report — Bill Bruce a. Report — Bill Bruce presented the September 2018 programming report in conjunction with the equipment report. Bruce discussed the busy summer schedule with major events like parades, coronations, and movie in the park. Bruce noted the strong support from cities and volunteers given the departure of video producer during peak season. Sherburne Wright Cable Commission Meeting Minutes from 09-20-18 Page 3of3 Bill Bruce also stated with fewer people over the summer, he had to get creative with the covering events. I le used a 3 camera system with a portable rack. The new system avoids the need for post-production editing and allows programs to be loaded onto the channel faster. Will continue to use this method since it is more efficient and no additional equipment purchases were necessary. b. Upcoming Production Schedule — Bill Bruce noted upcoming candidate forums. lie requested commissioners contact him if cities need assistance. 7. Employee Committee Report a. Employee Search Update—1'he committee met on August 23, 2018 to discuss how to proceed with filling the vacant video producer role. They reviewed the job description, noted the need to review market pay rates, and discussed the possibility of dividing the work into two positions: one focused on video production and one focused on recording city events. Bill Bruce outlined the possibility of using contractors for video productions and only hiring someone for recording city events. Could result in higher production value of videos. Commissioner Auger stated Buffalo has contracted video production to secure higher quality. lie raised the question of whether cities should get prior approval if they pay for the production themselves. No decision on that point. Bill Bruce highlighted the potential limit to the field of candidates due to the difficultly maneuvering the current large truck and trailer. Commission members requested Bill Bruce put together a proposal for a smaller vehicle that would be evaluated at a future meeting. Commissioner\Volbeck recommended finding out the value of the current vehicle to offset some of the cost. Commissioner\V'olbeck also noted the committee discussed past practice of storing SWCC equipment in employees'homes. Looking at options for providing work space to store the equipment in a commission city. Committee is looking into using Elk River's job application program. They will contlitue to review the position with the hope of having the position(s) filled by spring 2019. 7. Commission Business a. 2019 Movie in the Park Date Selection —Bill Bruce collected initial city requests for movie dates to be input in the 2019 calendar.The calendar will be finalized in spring 2019. 8. Upcoming Meeting Date — By consensus the commission opted to delay setting the next meeting date until additional information regarding the Charter franchise renewal is gathered. 9. Ad./ern - Meeting adjourned at 2:39 p.m. Chair,Tina.Allard Secreta y, Rachel Leonard