Bernard Gordon, Diane Hardy, Steve Minutelli, and Attorney Kate Miller of Donahue, Tucker and Ciandella, PLLC. Mark LaRoche and Matthew Seaton of the School District were also present.
Ed Wojnowski and Doug Poulin were excused. Jay Somers of Comcast did not attend the meeting.
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Minutes of September 4 and 30, 2008 meetings
A motion was made by Mark LaRoche, seconded by Diane Hardy, to approve the minutes of the September 4 and September 30 meeting. So voted. The committee postponed acting on the October 14, 2008 meeting minutes until the next meeting.
Committee Discussions:
Bernard Gordon mentioned the article he forwarded to everyone about the exponential advances in the information technology underscores the need to limit the term of the contract. He still did not feel comfortable with the ten (10) year term that was being proposed. The committee still would like to see a term between 3 and 7 years. It was noted that Comcast wasn’t fond of the idea of a shorter term.
Mark La Roche and Matt Seaton stated that they obviously interested in having a second channel but they wanted to make sure they had the resources and capacity to staff the new educational channel. None of the money from the Comcast revenues are going to the school for its programming. They wanted to know if the franchise agreement could stipulate that a portion of the revenue be turned over to the School District to help defray their costs for equipment and stipends. Kate Miller mentioned that Manchester splits the fees with the School District. She said Dover has a similar distribution in their franchise agreement. The School District would like to see some of the funds be earmarked for the PEG channel as a dedicated revenue, rather than have the funds directly go into the General Fund to reduce taxes. She said the ultimate decision would be the Town Council’s, but the Cable Franchise Review Committee could make a recommendation along those lines for some kind of sharing of the revenues. It was noted that appropriate underwriting and sponsorship could also be used for the public access programming.
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Discussions continued:
Kate Miller is hopeful that the I-NET will be financed by a technical grant, or a cash contribution by Comcast, that is not passed through to the consumers. The committee hopes that Jay Somers will have a definitive answer on the Town’s proposal for I-NET at the next meeting. More information is needed
from him to determine if this is an acceptable alternative. If an acceptable alternative is not provided, this could be an issue of non-compliance that the Town should pursue.
Bernard Gordon stressed the need for C-Span coverage in the Basic Package. He felt that certain of the solutions that Diane Hardy suggested would not be workable as older and disabled consumers would not be able to conveniently travel to the Public Library or Town Hall to view C-SPAN, especially in inclement weather. He very clearly stated at the last meeting that the Town should not allow a shorter term if they are not able to come up with a satisfactory alternative. This will be discussed once again at the next meeting. Kate Miller again thought that the time for action on this should be when the system goes entirely digital as the space will then be available. Everyone at the table understood that Comcast was not obligated to comply with this request or the cafeteria programming idea, but would continue to push for some kind of side letter on the subject.
The Committee explored in some detail how the Town would spend the franchise fees including the $75,000 that would come for capital equipment. It was noted that the access program operating costs are currently being funded through the town and school budgets. The committee discussed the importance of Doug Poulin and Matt Seaton to come up with a rough budget and business plan for launching the second channel as well as other capital needs over the course of the franchise. Also, if they could pull together programming logs to illustrate that the town is ready for its new channel that would help build the case for resources. There should be a more specific plan on how the $75,000 will be spent and when the Town expects to draw on those funds for various purchases. This will help to define when payouts would be made. This will help to define when payouts would be made. The committee thought the new channel capital costs would be about $35,000 at about $7,000 per year in the first five (5) years. The committee thought most of the costs would be at the beginning of the franchise. Matt indicated that Doug had mentioned that some of the existing equipment would have to be upgraded within 5 to 7 years. The cost would probably be close to $35,000, which would use up the remaining funds. The costs of Harvest Way was estimated at $7,000. It was noted those costs would be passed on to the consumer base and not be taken out of the capital funds, per se. Matt will work with Doug to come up with a budget. Once, the committee receives the revenue projections from Jay Somers these items can be further evaluated. The revenues will be increasing over time as the definition of gross revenue is now broader than it was under the old franchise and because Comcast’s revenues are increasing. This information will be helpful in presenting our recommendation to the Town Council to dedicate the revenue to fund out technology needs of the public access program.
Bernard Gordon expressed his dismay with how the negotiation were proceeding, noting that Comcast hasn’t made many concessions at all. The company should be more concerned about the competition that is looming from companies like Fairpoint. It was explained that cable is no longer the centerpiece of Comcast business, as they have diversified since the last time the franchise was negotiated. The digital conversion is about following the consumers needs and they seem less and less concerned about those of the Town, which has hampered the town’s ability to negotiate for more.
