5.5.A SWCSR 04-23-2020
Sherburne Wright Cable Commission
Equipment, Technology and Production Report
April 19, 2020
Council Chamber Presentation System Upgrades
At the last meeting the commission voted to move ahead with updating all the 10 member cities
presentation systems. With the closure of all the city halls we were able to get easier access into
them. So far we have been able to complete the installation of 6 of the council chambers and
several meeting rooms.
So far we have completed the council chambers upgrades in Elk River, Cokato, Dassel,
Watertown, Maple Lake, Buffalo and we are nearing completion in Delano. After we are
finished in Delano this week (week of April 20th) we are scheduled to move to Big Lake
followed by Monticello and Rockford. Rockford was partially done in 2019 so it will be quicker
to complete. We also completed some work in Monticello meeting rooms.
The upgrades involved changing out all the wiring inside the walls, ceiling and in the dais. We
also had to upgrade all the modules that feed the signals to the TV monitors, computers and other
video equipment. We also needed to install new HDMI switchers into the podiums and the
control rooms. Some cities needed new wall plates or
The results have exceeded expectations. Documents finally display correctly and are easy to read
for the audience and council members. They look much better for the cable TV viewers.
Spreadsheets are much easier to read and are finally the same size as the computers that they
were created on. In this era of using Zoom for council meetings, the HDMI upgrade has also
helped to display that effectively. There is a marked difference in the Zoom display with the
cities that have been upgraded.
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Relationships
This has been the most challenging but..... rewarding period in my working relationship with the
commission and the member cities. I'm sure every one of you has multiple stories to tell about
this period. I jokingly tell friends that some day we will all tell our grand kids what we did
during the great Virus War of 2020.
Having said that I now want to qualify my statement by saying that I'm so happy that I don't have
the challenges of a City Administrator, City Clerk, First Responder or any of the other jobs in
municipal government, but I'm so proud that I work with all of you.
We have all faced incredible challenges during this time. Residents have no idea what all of you
are doing behind the scenes for them to keep the water running, the sewers working, the streets
clear etc. I'm in a unique position where I've watched all of you do heroic jobs holding your
cities together during unprecedented times. I'm in awe of all of you. The residents have no idea
how good they have it! Seriously You don't get the credit you deserve.
For me the challenge has been trying to get parts when I need to keep things running. Most of my
equipment suppliers have either shut down, are working with skeleton crews or have gone out of
business. It has become nearly impossible to find replacement parts.
I jokingly tell people I feel like the Professor on Gilligan's Island making things work with
coconuts and seashells.
Which brings bring me to my word of the day "Relationships. The few vendors that are left have
been priceless and the relationships we have developed over the years are paying off in ways I
could never have imagined.
Michigan has one of the most restrictive "Shelter in Place" orders in the US. Leightronix the
vendor that supplies our playback and streaming equipment has given me their personal cell
numbers and found a way to give support in spite of the order. AV Solutions, Minneapolis,
picked up equipment on a Friday night and delivered it back repaired on Sunday morning so that
we'd have it available for a Monday council meeting.
This is what I mean by "Relationship".
It's during times like these that you find out who your friends are.
Nexus Server Upgrades
We recently replaced the servers for the Ultra Nexus Channel Playback Servers in Big Lake and
Buffalo. Next up we are replacing them in Delano, Monticello, Elk River and Maple Lake. These
units were older Windows 7 computers are now upgraded to Windows 10.
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Elk River Multi Purpose Facility and Buffalo Fire Department Time-lapse
The Commission provided Elk River with 3 special time lapse construction cameras to document
the different phases of building the inside and outside of their new facility. We helped them
mount the first camera last fall on a telephone pole near the football field. the second and third
cameras were mounted inside the buildings.
Elk River periodically posts updates on their city Facebook page so that residents can see the
progress. The commission is in the process of mounting a camera for the start of construction on
the new Buffalo Fire Department which is going up across from City Hall.
Zoom
By now most of you are old Zoom pro's. In the beginning of the pandemic we went from city to
city and helped cities with connections to the cable system so that they could connect their Zoom
meetings (or equivalent software) into the control room equipment. If you have further questions
or need additional equipment please give me a call.
Rockford and Cokato TriCaster Upgrades
Since our last meeting we have upgraded the control rooms in both Rockford and Cokato. This
included upgrading the TriCasters and completely rebuilding the control room equipment.
RockfordCokato
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Converter Exchanges
We had planned to start discussions with Charter for the trade up of our old cable TV converters
for newer HDMI converters after the council chambers upgrades were completed. So far they
have been good about giving us new converters when we need them as older ones fail. The plan
was to do this in a city by city group. I'll keep the commission updated.
Merton Auger
In 1990 the Sherburne Wright Cable Commission at the time had an attorney named Tom
Creighton who was acting as their Cable Administrator. Tom and another attorney had written a
large share of the cable franchise agreements in the Twin Cities and the surrounding metro area.
I had just finished working in the 10 city Roseville Cable Commission as their Interim
Administrator. Tom was the Attorney there so I knew him pretty well. He told me that I needed
to meet a City Administrator named Mert Auger.
"You'll like this guy'' Tom said "but he's been kind of a pain because he wants to put some kind
of new technology into his city hall and I have no idea what he's talking about, can you please
talk to him and get him out of my hair!" and that's how I met Mert for the first time.
Well when I met Mert and he showed me around Buffalo's Council Chambers, they had a small
sound system and nothing else. He described what he was hoping to add and much to my
surprise he wasn't difficult at all. In fact he was the first City Administrator that I had met who
was kind of a nerd about technology!
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Bob Vose, our Commission Attorney started working for the commission while in law school
back in 1993 for Tom Creighton. Bob had switched law firms in 1999 but came back and became
the commission's attorney in 2004 just as we were going through a difficult franchise renewal.
His first impressions of Mert were of his unique combination of a calm and even demeanor
paired with a razor-sharp wit. Bob didn't come out and say this, but I'm guessing he also
respected Mert's total intolerance of corporate excess as we negotiated with the cable company
during that first franchise renewal.
Bob commented that Mert seems amazingly well preserved for being a man of 107.
As a founding member of this Cable Commission, Mert has taken great pride in watching the
incredible growth that these 10 cities have taken together. It's incredibly difficult for two cities to
partner on anything, but to have ten cities stay together for this long is a testament to the
community leaders that create that bond. It's no secret that Mert enjoys technology and could see
what the future held and wanted to bring that future to Buffalo and share it with the surrounding
communities. We have come such a long way since this commission started!
We thank Mert for his service to the Sherburne Wright Cable Commission.
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