Charter
Communications
Cable Advisory Council
P. O. Box 87
Newtown, Connecticut
MINUTES
Public Regular Meeting - Tuesday, October 10, 2000
Charter Communications - Newtown
There was a regular meeting of the Cable Advisory Council called to order
at 7:35 p.m. October 10, 2000 by Chairperson, Carl DeVoe at Charter Communications
offices in Newtown, Connecticut.
ATTENDEES:
William Stratton, Fred Standt, Treasurer, John Danscuk, Jill Zaloski,
Eileen Sundstrom, Eugene Rosen, Camella Amodeo, Judith Eslami, Ken Cornet,
Carl DeVoe, Chairperson. For Charter: Janice Vance, John Dee, Greg Van
Antwerp.
Carl
De Voe introduced William Stratton as a tentative new member representing
Bethlehem.
PUBLIC
INPUT:
No one present from the public.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
MOTION: To approve the minutes of the August 8, 2000 meeting was made
by John Danscuk and seconded by Jill Zaloski. Motion carried unanimously.
TREASURER'S
REPORT:
Fred Standt issued the Treasurer's Report
Opening balance of the checking Account was . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 153.00
Closing balance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153.00
Opening
Balance on the Money Market Account (6/13/00). . . . . . . . . . . . .
$16,010.39
Interest (7/30 and 8/30/00) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63.00
Withdrawal (8/28/00). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(10,000.00)
Closing Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,073.28
1
yr. plus CD @ $10,000.00 + int. cred. 8/31/00 $5.18 = $10,005.18
F.
Standt noted that $10,000 had been transferred to a money market account
at People's earning 6.5% interest.
MOTION: To accept the Treasurer's Report was made by Ken Cornet, seconded
by John Danscuk, and carried unanimously.
The
Chairman indicated the Council just received checks from Charter and SNET,
which will increase the balance by $4,000. That will be reflected in the
next report.
COMMUNICATIONS
AND CORRESPONDENCE:
The Chairman indicated receipt of the reports to the DPUC from Charter
on rebuilds, etc. as well as a letter from the DPUC regarding use of meeting
access facilities. He also indicated receipt of a letter from James Root
of Newtown, requesting the French Channel from Canada, a letter from Mr.
Bertram Martis of Brookfield, commenting regarding the newspaper not reflecting
Charter channel changes, a letter from Mrs. Porcella in New Milford having
to do with the channel realignment and a letter from Mr. William Wiemels
of Newtown complaining of lower channel interference. J. Dee indicated
that they are working with Comcast to resolve this issue. He indicated
this has been an ongoing problem but it seems to be worse this year, especially
with digital systems.
CHARTER
COMMUNICATIONS REPORT:
J. Vance gave an update on upgrades in various towns and indicated that
the Heritage Village system will be upgraded to deliver the same channel
line-up as the rest of Southbury. J. Eslami questioned service provided
to Pomperaug Woods, and J. Vance responded that agreements vary, but she
will check Pomperaug Woods, and East Hill Woods to see what is available
and will contact J. Eslami directly. J. Vance further indicated they would
be meeting with Heritage Village residents the end of October to review
what services are available to them as a result of the upgrade. J. Vance
further indicate there is a new service for digital subscribers called
My Town. This enables you to go directly to a web site or do channel hyperlinking
without Web TV. She further indicated that the Worldgate service is being
upgraded from analog to digital service. J. Dee indicated the digital
Worldgate service will be more reliable and less costly than analog. J.
Vance reported that 2100 people visited the Animal Planet animal rescue
at the Pratt Center. J. Vance also mentioned that Charter is ready to
wire the Sherman school for educational access broadcasts. Charter will
supply the fiber, the transmitter and receiver, set up the equipment.
They need to purchase a modulator and character generator and, depending
on what type of programming the school wants to transmit, cameras and
other equipment as well. J. Vance indicated there would be another demo
on high speed internet service in the New Milford Studio on October 23
at 7 p.m.
G.
Van Antwerp reported on studio usage, new equipment purchases, and an
update on Homefront Live. He discussed the Halloween show, which would
include town historians from Newtown and Brookfield and feature live calls
from the public. He also distributed the new issue of the newsletter.
J. Zaloski asked about the status of the truck, and G. Van Antwerp indicated
it was at H. B. Communications, being outfitted with the equipment needed
for live to tape. He indicated he would be going down with two cameras
in another week, and then some final assembly would take place, followed
by registration of the vehicle. He anticipates it should be ready for
operation in a month. K. Cornet questioned parameters for use of truck,
indicating he would like to see more outreach to the community. J. Dee
indicated Charter would send letters to the towns, outlining guidelines
for scheduling, types of events covered, etc. He indicated there is a
system already up and working in Willimantic which can be utilized as
a model for establishing guidelines and procedure for utilizing this vehicle.
Charter will provide the Council with a copy of this document.
OLD
BUSINESS:
C.
De Voe discussed that individuals previously involved in the development
of a web site are no longer serving on the board. He will make contact
with some people to obtain bids on developing a web site to facilitate
communication between the public and the cable advisory board.
NEW
BUSINESS:
John Danscuk questioned reappointment of those individuals whose two-year
term had expired. He suggested contact be made with the Selectman for
reappointment or new member appointments.
W.
Stratton questioned services Charter provides to local schools. J. Vance
stated that Charter provides free cable access to schools and libraries,
and C. De Voe indicated coordination is done through the high school.
W. Stratton will follow up with the high school.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no other items to come before the Council, a motion to adjourn
was made at 8:42 p.m. was made by John Danscuk, seconded by Judith Eslami
and carried unanimously.
Respectfully
submitted by: Lorna J. Szalay, Recording Secretary
NEXT
MEETING: Tuesday, December 12, 2000, at Brookfield Town Hall, 7:30 p.m. |
