HomeMy Public PortalAboutCable Television Advisory -- 2007-06-05 MinutesMinutes of the meeting of the Brewster Cable TV Advisory Committee scheduled for 7:00 pm on Tuesday
5 June 2007.
A quorum is lacking at 7:15 pm. At 7:18 pm Larry calls Art Stringer who says that he will not be coming
tonight.
At 7:20 pm Ellie Smith arrives late -the lateness due to a scheduling problem.
The meeting is called to order at 7:23 pm on Tuesday 5 June 2007 by Larry Greeley.
Members present at this time are: =~
o
Larry Greeley
Norman Adams
Walter Powers `~
Ellie Smith w
There aze no persons present in the audience area. t
Larry has prepared for and now distributes to each committee member a packet containing the sigrrificant
material that he has received or collected as chairman of this committee since our most recent meeting
which was on 6 March 2007.
Norman Adams distributes copies of the draft minutes of the meeting of Tuesday 6 Mazch 2007.
Larry makes and Ellie Smith seconds a motion to accept the minutes of the meeting of Tuesday 6 March
2007 as presented. T'he vote to accept is unanimous.
Larry reviews with the committee members the numerous items in the packet:
Item I .Photocopy of a printout of the main menu page of the Town of Brewster website, plus a
photocopy of a printout of the page of various regulazly scheduled meetings, plus a photocopy of a
printout of a Town of Orleans "Draft Policy Statement" for the "Town Government Access Channel"
dated 23 May 2007 and identified as "J-7".
It is noticed that on the main menu page the meeting schedule for this committee has yet to be updated
from "First Wednesday..." to "First Tuesday...".
It is noticed that the page of various regulazly scheduled meetings does not include the meetings of this
committee.
Larry here focusses on money issues. He points out that we are accumulating money and we need to buy
equipment (a modulator? the Anycast system? and?). Ultimately there may well be a warrant at a Town
Meeting, perhaps at the fa112007 Town Meeting. We will have to get more specific and we will need to
have a meeting with the Board of Selectmen.
In regazd to such hardware considerations there will have to be a site for the hardware here in this
building. Lary says that Charlie Sumner suggests that it may be possible to bump out the route 6A side of
the wall of room B to make space for a control room. Such a room would also be the location of the end
of the uplink to Comcast and would therefore contain the modulator necessary to drive that uplink.
At this point we all walk to that spot and look at the suggested site. No serious problem is noticed. Then
we return to our meeting room and continue with our discussions.
Larry says that based on his experience in covering meetings in Brewster and elsewhere he has estimated
that about 124 hours of camera work per yeaz would be required for all the meetings of the Board of
Selectmen plus two Town Meetings, which at say $25 per hour would cost $3100 per yeaz.
Item 2. Photocopy of a printout of a letter dated 2 June 2007 from the Lower Cape Public Access
Regionalization Group (LCPARG) to the Boazds of Selectmen for the towns of Brewster, Eastham,
Orleans, Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet, accompanied by a photocopy of a printout of a letter from
John Hoskinson to John Kelly dated 25 May 2007.
Larry says that while this LCPARG letter was intended to be in final form, in fact there has been a
subsequent change at the LCPARG meeting on 2 June 2007. The change is to include a recommendation
that Mr. Solomon be hired as the attorney for the Lower Cape side of the proposed joint negotiations.
Item 3. Photocopy of a printout of a letter dated 23 May 2007 from Peter Johnson-Staub to Chazles
Sumner (and also to many other people), forwazded on 24 May 2007 by Jillian Douglass to Larry Greeley.
Item 4. Photocopy of an e-mail cover letter dated 24 May 2007 from William Solomon to Larry Greeley
and to Tom (presumably Cole), stapled to a photocopy of a letter from William Solomon to Timothy
Smith dated 24 May 2007.
Item 5. Photocopy of a printout of a Town of Orleans policy statement for the "Town Government Access
Channel" dated 23 May 2007 and identified as "J-7".
Larry suggests that any attorney for the Lower Cape side of the proposed joint negotiations be asked to
review such policy statements as the Town of Orleans policy statement cited in item 5 above.
Item 6. Photocopy of a letter from Comcast signed by Mary O'Keeffe received on 4 June 2007 by the
Selectmen's Office of the Town of Brewster.
Item 7. Photocopy of a letter dated 24 May 2007 to "Deaz Municipal Official" from Verizon signed by
Peter T. Bannon(?) (the signature is semilegible) identified as "Verizon Vice President, External Affairs -
Massachusetts and Rhode Island" received on 25 May 2007 by the Selectmen's Office of the Town of
Brewster.
Larry points out that the first bulleted paragraph says that municipalities "can set .. fees" rather than "can
get .. fees" -the point being that the fees would presumably arrive at the state level and might well be
absorbed at that level.
Item 8. Photocopy of a letter dated 10 May 2007 to "Dear Local Leader" from Massachusetts Municipal
Association signed by Geoffrey C. Beckwith identified as "MMA Executive Director" received on 16 May
2007 by the Selectmens Office of the Town of Truro, with attached photocopy (of the several pages of an
attachment to the above letter) identified as "Cable Francising Campaign Kit".
Item 9. Photocopy of a letter dated 10 May 2007 from Jillian Douglass, Assistant Town Administrator, to
All Town Departments, on the subject "Senior Volunteer Property Tax Abatement Program", complete
with photocopies of the attachments.
Larry suggests that such volunteers (who aze in fact paid a low hourly rate) might become available to do
some of the camera work covering meetings.
Item 10. Photocopy of a Fax Transmission from Comcast with a cover page identifying the sender as Mary
O'Keeffe, concerning connection of cable service to a home on Bog Hill Road in Brewster.
In the discussion of this communication the question arises that there may be an easement through which
the Town of Brewster could provide access by Comcast to the home in question that is much shorter than
the 3400 feet mentioned in this item. There might even be such an easement within the l50 feet mentioned
in this item.
After some discussion a motion is made by Larry and seconded by acclamation, that Larry be empowered
to further discuss with Comcast, orally or in writing, this communication. The motion is approved
unanimously.
Item 11. Photocopy of a cover letter dated 28 February 2007 to Jillian D. Douglass mentioning an attached
newsletter "Verizon Massachusetts's Cable Choice Bulletin" plus a photocopy of the cited bulletin which in
fact bears the masthead "Local Viewpoint", all received on 5 March 2007 by the Selectmen's Office of the
Town of Brewster.
Item 12. Photocopy of the Brewster town copy of a cover letter dated 30 Mazch 2007 to the chairpersons
of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities & Energy [of Massachusetts] with an attached
photocopy of the Brewster town copy of the attachment ie: "Proclamation and Resolution In Relation to
Maintaining Local Licensing Authority of Cable Tetevision" signed by the several members of the
Brewster Board of Selectmen.
Item 13. Photocopy of an e-mail response dated 30 Apri12007 from Ben Rogers to Larry Greeley
("iceman@c4.net") concerning "Service Inquiry: Wireless Internet Access".
Some discussion recalls the publication of the possibility of a proposed wireless network on the Cape to be
used by local governments for emergency situations. What was the name of this proposed network project?
Item 14. Photocopy of a letter dated 10 Apri12007 to "Cable Advisory Committee" from Leonazd
Kopelman of the legal firm Kopelman and Paige, P. C., including photocopies of attached material
concerning their experience in cable televison licensing.
This concludes our review of the material in the packets distributed by Larry.
After a little discussion concerning the fact that the regulaz date & time for the next meeting (ie at 7:00
pm on the first Tuesday of the next month) falls on July 3 which is the eve of the holiday of July 4, each
member present says that that date & time does not present problems for that member. Hence the next
meeting of the Brewster CTVAC is not rescheduled from the regulaz date 8t time to wit 7:00 pm on
Tuesday 3 July 2007.
The meeting seems to be out of other business to be taken up tonight, and Walter Powers makes a motion
to adjourn. It is seconded by Ellie Smith and is passed unanimously. The meeting is adjourned at 8:40 pm.
Submitted by Norman Adams, Clerk, Brewster CTVAC