Bernard Gordon, Doug Poulin, Diane Hardy, Steve Minutelli, and Attorney Kate Miller of Donahue, Tucker and Ciandella, PLLC.
Ed Wojnowski, and Mark LaRoche, Superintendent of Schools were excused.
-------- Agenda Topics ----------
Minutes of August 14 and September 30, 2008
The committee postponed minutes until the next meeting.
Committee Discussions
I-NET – Jay Somers does not have a definite answer on the Town’s proposal for the I-Net. Jay Somers wants his technical people to meet with Doug Poulin to find out what the Town’s specific needs are and to explore other technical options as Comcast no longer has the products to do this type of work. Once the work is defined then he can come back with a cost. The meeting will be set up some next week. The plan should include interconnections in six (6) locations, without any additional cost to the Town.
Section 2.6 – The question of taxation was discussed at Kate Miller’s meeting with Comcast senior management. She will be sending a letter seeking clarification from the Comcast legal office in Denver. The language regarding “undue interference” will have to be revisited. Kate did not understand why this was taken out.
Section 3.1 – The Town and Jay Somers agreed to a standard installation at 200 feet. Jay explained that Comcast typically is responsible for the service maintenance up to the property line.
Section 4.3 – The Town wants the repairs and restoration to be “at or above” the standards of the FCC. Comcast just wants meet the standards to limit bureaucracy.
Section 4.10 – Emergency power will be provided at the head end for a 48 hour period. Kate Miller acknowledged that that was better than 24 hours, as stated earlier.
Section 6.2 – The committee discussed different scenarios for paying out the capital costs, whether the costs should be paid out early in the franchise or over the course of the franchise. It was noted that there would be an 11% interest payment if financed over time. Jay Somers will provide some information on projected revenues to illustrate whether this will be feasible. This issue will be re-visited.
Section 9.9 – The Town contends that arbitration is cheaper, faster and more satisfactory. Comcast would prefer to go through the court system.
> class="Section1"
class="Section2"
Discussions continued
Senior Discount – Jay Somers indicated that Comcast would be willing to provide a limited amount of a subsidy for elderly low income. He wanted it to be included in a side letter and based on a standard such as Medicaid or SSI, similar to what was done in Salem, NH. The discount worked out to $2.00 per subscriber, or 10% on the lowest tier. Diane Hardy had put together some income guidelines based on what is used for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Programs, which was slightly higher than poverty levels and was based on family size. Jay Somers asked what % of the elderly population fell into that category. Diane will research that question and get more information back. Kate Miller provided the committee with a draft letter regarding the Senior Citizen discount. It was decided that the applicant would be required to show some kind of evidence illustrating that they are financially eligible for the discount, including evidence of SSI, Medicaid, Town welfare assistance, food stamps, or the elderly property tax exemption.
CSPAN – Jay Somers indicated that this continues to be infeasible as Comcast has no control over the programming. It is not negotiable. From a corporate policy this would set a bad precedent, as all those negotiating would want to alter the programming for their respective community. Kate Miller suggested that maybe CSPAN could be put into the “basic tier” when the entire system converts over to digital, as it would free up space. Bernard Gordon still could not understand why Comcast was “tone deaf” on this issue. This was an item that was very clear from the results of the UNH survey of what Newmarket residents want. He didn’t feel that it could cost Comcast that much. Doug Poulin made mention of the NFL’s recent success and the costs associated with carrying that channel at only $2 per month. Due to the educational benefits to the consumer, it couldn’t possibly cost more than $.10 to $.50 per consumer for CSPAN. Jay Somers indicated that Comcast has a fundamental philosophical concern about allowing programming changes, on the ground of “free enterprise.” If they do it for one, then they must do it for everyone. Jay Somers mentioned that under the new program they are offering for $39 per month, C-Span is included in the line-up as well as a converter box, which isn’t a bad deal.
Second Channel - The new franchise agreement will include language about providing second channel when the need requires it in the future.
Term of the Franchise – Bernard Gordon stated his dismay that Comcast was still talking about a ten (10) year term. He wants to see a shorter term: 3 – 5 years. He felt 10 years was too long given the changes in technology that were occurring. Jay Somers said that you want to keep the term longer so you can spread the costs out over more years, otherwise the impact on the subscriber would be too great. Bernard said that if Comcast can’t provide more flexibility on the programming, i.e. CSPAN, then why would the Town provide any leniency on the term of the franchise. Jay Somers will produce some spreadsheets showing different scenarios and how the term of the franchise will affect the financial impact on the users. This will discussed again at the next meeting. It was noted that C-SPAN was included in the second tier package and cost $20 more a month than the basic/enhanced service.
It was noted that the end of the six month extension is coming up in November on the 22nd. The Committee was hopeful to wrap thing ups in the next few weeks.
Next Meeting: The next meeting will be Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. to continue
discussions and negotiations.
Discussion: Jay Somers will be invited to join the committee at 2:30 p.m. Steve Minutelli has been keeping the Town Council informed of the progress that has been made to date. Kate Miller will update and get a copy of the comparative spreadsheet to Steve so he can made it available to the Town Council. A presentation to the Town Council should be made sometime in November. The Town Council will likely want their own public hearing, which should be scheduled with at least a two week notice. It hoped that the Town Council will endorse the recommendation of the Committee.
