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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/08/1997 COW minutes III I 1 ! u/I,-~1~,,1 'COMMITTEE OF THE wHOLE ,~,, ~ ,~ ~ JULY CALL TO ORDER ,~ ,~, ,, , : , ~Mayor FaHoy ~,alled ~ihe meeting~'t© or:der 'at 7:35 p.m. Pr~&Seht ~at ihe' meeting were: .Tr:ustees Ge0rge:Cl0wes, Timothy C0rcoran, Paul H0efff~, Richard Lohrstorfer, Daniel. Nor, chi and Irvana Wilks. Staffpresent included Village Manager Michael Janonis, Assistant Village Manager David Strahl, TCl'~representatives and Ameritech-New Media representatives.. ~ ri' ~ · ~ ' , , Approval of Minfites of June ',24,' ~i 997. Motion ~nade 'by T~:usi~e Hooferl and Seconded by,Tru, stee Wilks to, appr0ve,,the Minu~te~. ;,Minute~,we're approved. Minutes frown Juno ~1~0, '1997 weico provided to Boa~'d members for their information Sinc~ this Minutes had beedi:evised and approved at the previous mo~ting. C,T,Zi ,S TO HEARD ! ~ ,,,~ None, c e SION FF~NCHISE 'DISCUSSION e e Franchise ~discussions Mayor Farley op n d the,discussion y ating tha able' need to get underway and this discuSsion would c~nter on whether the Village Board is interested in maintaining a regulatory mode contained within the Village Code or focus on more competitive practices as dictated through !he Franchise Agreements themselves Village Manager Michaoi danoni$ Aa[od th"i:this presentation is intended for educational purposes and to provide general information to the ~ Village Board members as to how the current cable television landscaPe appears today and into the future., He stated the environment has changed and there continues to be inroads in terms of competition within communities and there is, movement away from regulatory mode. He stated that the ~llage is currently in a peri6d to consider renewal of the TCI Franchise Agreement and the Village has also been approached by Ameritech-New Media. He stated the competition may not solve all of the existing problems with the incumbent franchise provider but it should address many of the outstanding issues that continue to occur. James Szczepaniak, Ameritech-New Media representative, spoke. He stated that Ameritech is building a totally separate network for cable services and it is separate from the existing phone services. The system which is being built in other communities is designed to be easily upgradable as additional services become available. He stated they ~r~e Currently in four metropolitan areas and are in communities of Naperville, Arlington Heights, Glen Ellyn and Glendale Heights in the Chicago metropolitan areal' He stated that they are building a fiber backbone and are following construction practices which minimize disruptions. He stated the standard offering is 82 channels with the Disney channel vas .part of the basic li0e- up. He stated that much of their focus is on customer SerVice and they have found ~ that incumbent Franchisees have altered ,existing customer service once they enter 'int0 the market. He' stated that he'wo~ul8' not promise that'r~tes would go down but 'would be compebbvely pn~ced. He stated that compe?bon has forced upgrades of in(~u~ben~ operators~an~l has sloWed so~me annUal ~rate'increasesl George Keller, attorney for Amedte~h'-New Media, .,~poke.; He Siated'that there are some sections of the VillageCode which may not encourage,competition and his review of the Code has pointed out these issues. Among the items of concern . are the extensive reporting req,u!remen!s, the broad amendment provi, sions, the PEG ~:e~q~iremehts, customer service provisions Which~appear to be somewhat b~rden'some ~nd the Most Favo~'ed Nation clause. He. ~tated that 'Ameritech is in~terested in a competitive environment and a less regulatory environment. 'Jim Sz~zePani~k"stated'that Most Favored Nation clause~tYpically focus on individual community needs and create complexities with!n the overall system which should be avoided. He feels that the additional service woulcJ ~pand the pie of subscribers and not just redistribute the current subscribers. He stated that their standard offering is three PEG channels. They are currently offering four PEG channels in Arlington Heights and he stated that they could accommodate Mount Prospect programming;~ He'stated, of course, there would- b~'an 'issue necessary of discussion to. provide the interconnect between service providers. He stated that ';%m'e'riteCh is in 26 to~ns th~:ough0bt ~th~ countr~ where there' is at' least one ~additional'providei' beSideSAmerite~,h~ Hestated that Ameritech would put in its "- own cable lines Which Wbdld be separate frdm TCI. :All TCI line~ would remain. ~'Am~ritech ~would ha~)e to prOvide a secend drop at each home or subscriber. He stated that based on the capacity available, it may be necessary for Ameritech to consider expanding their facility to serve Mount Prospect customers. ~-'~John ~Rig~ins,~ TCl'~representafive,' spoke., .He'stated ~that TCl welcomes competition as long as the playing'field remains level. 'He stated that he is proud ~f~the Customer s&r~ice improvements which ha~e occurred at,TCI over the last ~: Y'ear.:?He~Stated that TCl'is working hard to develop a positive image with the Village and are looking to pr~ovide digital service ~n Mount Prospect within the next 2 Gloria c~-ayton; TCI representative,~ spoke. Sh'e Stated that their'e~Perience to date regarding ,competition is limited to Arlington Heights where the Village Board ~'ecently approved a Franchise Agreement With both Am~i:itech and TCI. General ~V c~mmen~s 5 illage Board members ~include'd the f011b~ingitems: A numbe~ of T~st~es stated that Constituents ~egula~lY' Stop elected &fficials to dis~ss ~ble se~i~. There i~ a febling that the customers are n~ot happy with the service provided by the incumbent provider. Comments were directed at TCI ~epresentatives info~in~ them that there is a need to develop relationships with the subscribers ,whic~ hasn0t be~n Uddedaken inthe pas[. ~ There Was a~so some question about the length of time be~een Fmn~ise Agreement'and actual se~i~ being provided. Jim Szczepaniak, ~med~6ch; spoke~ ,H~ ~tated {he length'of Ume ~'commit to se~ice being P[0vide~ to subscribers is starling to expand as other towns are sig~ed uP~and Come on line: He stated'~that their goal ist0,put s~'ctions of communities on lin~~ at one time. ~He stated theY'were able ~o provide ~e~ice in Arlington Heights within bne year dueto favbrable,conditions~ Coblen~,a~omey, ~poke.~ H~ stated that the existing Ordinance was not rewritten when the Franchise Agreement was originally Signed~ .. He felt that this would be ah ~pprOpri~'~ ti~e ~o alte~ the Ordinahce if i~ w~s the Board'~pleasure once the Franchise Agreem'ehts 'had been ~'~ncluded.~' He stated recent Telecommuni~tions Acts from the Federal government have focused on ~mPetiti°n and a~e forcing~ towns ~a~ay from ~egulato~ modes.' He stated that ~egulation will Still exist'Qnder a '~m~etitive model; however, in a different form than exists ~oda~.~' He stated the key ~ega~ding c0mp~tihg Fran~ise Agreements is the 'fa~t that ~nditions ~ be~no more'favdrable or burdensome for a new provider th~n 'an in~mbent provider. B~th providers must have similar Agreements in pla~. He also stated there may be some right.f-way ~Pacity issues which would have t0 be addressed a~ pad of any Franchise discussions.~ He stated"that it would be ~.'a~propriate to iook~at;an aPproximate six-mont~ negotiation window to ~mplete Franchise neg~tiation' .~ V~llage Manage~ ~ano~is~stated'th~t he ~i~ Iooking"f0r some direction from the Village Board in te~s of ~i~ area they w0bld like to focus on whethe~ regulato~ or competition. He stated that obviously the Village staff would follow Federal ~' '.~e~gulation~ and address the needs of the'~ommunity which maybe more unique than o~er communities.~ It is his intention'to continue to utilize Peter Coblen~ for adviso~ ,~pacities but WOuld look fbr SOme'additional assistahce from outside ~ ~UI~ p~t the ~ C coun el or con ant to corn e ro ess . General discussion by the Vii!age Board memb,ers included the,following items: Board membe~:s ~ver:e $:Up rti'v~ of relaxir~g !he regulations .... ~ to.encourage additional c(~mpetition'witl~in the ~6om'munit~/.'' There wai~ Conce~'n ~vhether abandoning all ,regulation would affect the ability to provide service to,the community. There was als0 general support in'obtainirYg additional assistance to c(~mplet~ the n~egotiation process. Board members felt ,the Village could benefit from the experiences of ,other:,communities, in dealing v~ith competing Franchise Agreer~ent~. ~ consensus of :the Village'Board members was to direct staf~ to ~lraft an RFP for consultant seYvices' and enter into Frahchise neg(~tia~ioi~s with 'roi :and any i,o~ther' competito, rs wh!..ch ~may, be i6te~ested in providing service' to Mount Prospect residents. COMMUNITY ACCESS PROGRAMMING OPTIONS , ~-.,. Mayor,Farley stated'that he may have to lea,ve the meeting shortly a~d requested the Village, Board appoint a Mayor Pro-Tem at this point so that he could leave the meeting without causing ~disruption io the flow of the 'cliscu~sis'n.' ,'~',.,' Motion made by Trustee Clowes and Seconded by Trustee Wilks,to appoint Trustee Corcoran as Mayor ,Pro-T, em fo~, this m~et!ng and t..b assume chairmanship of the meeting at: ,the 'time ~.the. Mayq,,' vacstes the, ~dias-, ,, ~,~Tru~s!e~.Oorcoran' was ?'"~ ly (~ Tem; , unanimpus approved for Mayor Pr - , .., ,: ~, , ,, . ~llage Manager Janonis asked,Ameritech and TCI ~:eprese tat es about public ~:access infrastructure and studios .... He state~J~ t'fi'at the V!!l~g~ staff I'ias been researching options,for Public Access Studios and have recommended a number of opt!ons, however, these °ption~s may be impacted' due to the actions Of TCl and ' '" hfch y c~ Villag any other,competitor w ma pr vide service to ti~e e Of Mou~it' Prospect. ')chh Higgins .of,'i;cI,-spokb. He slated that he fully Supports PEG'acce~s and the -,.:investment in the.studio ,was obvio~us based ~'n' TCrs rec, ent, C0mp!e!i6n of the Public Access Studio. He stated that locally produc~ programming.provides a competitive advantage to TCl over other competitors: He would just Want to point 'lout that ,there js a need for a level playing field and that Federal law~,allows for up to 5% Franchise Fee to communities for th,e,se t p~ qf,,0Pera!!Pns ..... Jim Szczepaniak,,AmeritechrNew Media, s :,He stated that Ameritech is reluctant to build studios but,have,c~ntribut,ed finan, cial,as'si§t~r~F-.e~,. beyond the :normal Franchise,Fee to support th,e PEG progra.~ming. He stated the studio in Mount Prospect is considered,a regional studio and,is availabld~for other towns' subscribers to use. He stated that the~& has been varying interest in PEG use in other communities. He stated that the cost of providing PEG programming is eventually passed on to subscribers which should be considered by the Franchising authority. Cable Production'Coordinator Ross Rowe provided ge.neral background on establishing a non-profit corporation for studio use. He stated that the Park District and Library channels have been blank for over a year and feels that TCI's commitment to PEG Progran~ming is q~estionable. He~ stated that Chicago, Evanston, Wheaton and Nape~ville Currently 'operate ~non-profit~ corporations to manage and operate their institutional or community channel. He s.tated that some operators have not promoted the availability of PEG programming or access. He provided a general overview of the numerous variations of a non-profit corporation setup. He Stated that one ~ item ~ {o keep in mind was that TCI was obligated to pr~ovide a studio based on-a Fr~anchise Agreement .with the Village. 'General comments by'the Viil~ge,B0a~'d incib'~le~l the followin~ items: Mayor Farley voiced some 'concern regarding c0h~ider,~tion bf this p~:oposal ,,~whereby he felt this may be too late due, to the recent completi;on of th,e, TCI studio Other Board members were generally supportive of the concept and would like to ' ~move:fo(ward with the ~ consideration of this item~ ~..There was' '~,ome concern ~regarding the involvement of other govemmen{al bodies and the need f(~r a live feed capability. There was also'discussion ~on~cerning the inter-r'el~tionship of Channel 6 and PEG programming ~needs. General consensus of the Village Board ~'was to-maintain'the separate Channel 6 Government Access capability from any institutional or community access channel. There was also general support to form"an" Ad Hoc Committee as recommended by Village staff to explore the options of whether this type of corporation could work in Mount Prospect. ~Tru~tee Clowes was appointed the Village Board representative on the advisory group. CELLUL/~R ANTENNA POLICY ,,' Village Manager Janonis stated that he had put this item on the Agenda in order to receive some direction from the Village Board members as to their interest in the staff processing wireless antenna requests for placement on Village property. He stated this is becoming more prevalent in other towns and there is an opportunity for additional revenue for the use of a site owned by the Village. Consensus of the Village Board was to support reviewing wireless proposals as they are provided to the Village as long as there is no adverse impact on Village operational needs or residential properties. Board members felt the priority of sites should focus on sites which meet current Zoning regulations and sites which avoid conflicts with residential areas of the community. MANAGER ' Vi'l'lag~ Manager~Oanonis advised the B~r~ o~ t~e~' upc6ming Coffee Width Council .... at St. John's Lutheran Ch~U,rch 0n Linhema~ Road scheduled for July 12. ANY'~ ;~ '-- E '~OTH R ,-,Trustee'cl0weS prgvided, general ove~iew 0f~a pr~p0~al he is fo~arding for Village Board~siderati0n {e~ardin9 the Road [undin~ ~ptions. ~ His~p~oposal consists o~ a combination of pa~-as-yoU-OO ~ourcos ~nd somo b6ndod dobt to rodu~ tho burden on tho Htility ~T~; thus burdon on businesses in tho community. Ho st~tod that th~ sour~s~in Trustee HoefeA stated that he is Suppodivo'~f ~nsidomtion ~ lrustOoCiow~s' proposal at tho ne~ Villa~o Board m0otin~. Trustee Wii'ks Stated th~ she had a ~ncern regarding~hether ~here Should be discussion regarding ~ustee Clowes' proposal at this Committe~ of the ~Whole meeting since,it ~as not pa~ o~ the Agenda., ,, ~. ~ .~, ,, The Closed Session which .Whol~ mootin~ was mncelod.~ , :~ ' ? ~ .... eme 'gwas dj ~5' m." Th etin a ourned at 10: p. ~, Redpecffully suUmitt~a, As~istan~ Village M~nager '