October 1, 2014 Minutes
MINUTES of CTAC of Hamden, New Haven and West Haven
Meeting Date: October 1, 2014
Call to order: A regular monthly meeting of CTAC was held at CTV, 843 State Street, New Haven, Connecticut, on Wednesday, October 1, 2014. Chair Tad Weinstein, presiding. Don Levy, secretary. Meeting called to order at 6:07.
Members in attendance:
Tad Weinstein, Chair (WH)
Peaches Quinn (NH)
George Alexander, Treasurer (H)
Don Levy, Secretary (H)
Johnes Ruta, (NH)
Non-member COMCAST Representative: Sharon Codeanne present
Minutes of September 3, 2014, meeting approved.
COMCAST Representative Codeanne presented her report. She reviewed the national C-SPAN video contest which dovetails locally with the current CTAC Excellence in Public Service Video Contest. She reviewed new COMCAST channels and channel changes. She also reported COMCAST’s participation in a service project “ARTE.”
Ms. Codeanne responded to CTAC’s recent requests for information regarding COMCAST policies regarding instructions to COMCAST service representatives with regard to customer requests to terminate service. She indicated that any instructions a local landlord may have received to retain COMCAST equipment rather than to return the equipment to COMCAST was against COMCAST protocols. She cast doubt on the veracity of the customer complaint in the particular case which had been referred to CTAC for resolution. Ms. Condeanne also reported that COMCAST had made a no charge pick up at the building in question in the recent complaint. The sense of the CTAC board was that the complaint had been resolved to the board’s satisfaction.
Chair Weinstein pointed out to Ms. Condeanne that the current plans to close the New Haven COMCAST customer service center and open a new center in North Haven would present a hardship for New Haven and West Haven COMCAST customers without access to a private automobile. Ms. Codeanne pointed out that bus service is available to the new North Haven customer service location and that by consolidating several service areas into the new office customers would be provide greatly improved service with shorter wait times and many automated services including kiosk bill pay.
CTAC member Ruta asked about COMCAST’s commitment to so-called “net neutrality.” Ms. Codeanne reiterated COMCAST’s commitment to “net neutrality.”
CTAC Vice-Chair Quinn reported that she had reached out to all three school boards to make sure they were up to speed on the CTAC Excellence in Public Service Video Contest rules.
Thursday December 11 was set as the date for the annual CTAC dinner meeting. Members chose Luce restaurant in Hamden as the site and asked Secretary Levy to make reservations for 7 people. Levy was asked to invite former CTAC Secretary J. Sacco to join CTAC at Luce.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:25.
Submitted by Don Levy
CTAC Secretary