2017

CTAC   – Monthly Meeting Minutes – December Meeting – November 29, 2017

Annual closed December meeting held at Luce’ Restaurant, Whitney Ave. Mt. Carmel, Hamden, CT,
Members in attendance:
Tad Weinstein (West Haven), Chair
Laurel Coleman (Hamden) , Advisor.

Peaches Quinn (New Haven) Vice-Chair
Johnes Ruta, (New Haven), Advisor, Acting Secretary

Meeting called to order 6:30 PM. No quorum reached yet, as Peaches Quinn arrives at 7:10 PM.

1. CTAC Video Contest status: Tad proposed to roll-over deadlines into 2018.
2. November CTAC Minutes: error noted: Laurel Colemen listed in Members Attending, as West Haven delegate, should be corrected to Hamden.
3. COMCAST Report:   Comcast submitted Rate Increase Proposal to PURA, effective December 20, 2017.
   November 20, 2017 Letter of Rate Increase Proposal received from Locke & Lord Attorneys.
   Internet Usage Rate increase by $5 per month.

   4. ATT bought DirectTV.
   ATT sold their Florida franchise to Frontier, conversion period had a similar breakdown of service as experienced in Connecticut. This occurred because ATT disconnected all home and business service circuits when sale was closed.

   7:10 PM – Peaches Quinn arrives – Quorum reached.

   5.   Roll-over Video Contest application deadline extended to March 31, 2018.
   Peaches makes the Motion for this modification, Johnes seconded this Motion. Vote – unanimous.

6,   Correspondence: George Alexander (Hamden) not in attendance, so no correspondence presented.

7.   Next CTAC meeting scheduled for Wednesday, January 3^rd, 2018.

CTAC meeting is adjourned at 9:05 PM EDT.

Minutes Submitted 12/26/2017 by Johnes Ruta, CTAC Acting Secretary, New Haven Rep #2

CTAC   – Monthly Meeting Minutes – November 1, 2017
Meeting via Teleconference, remotely accessed 712-775-7031 Meeting # 494-172-659
Called to order @ 6:00 PM.

Members in attendance:
Tad Weinstein (West Haven), Chair
Peaches Quinn (New Haven) Vice-Chair
Johnes Ruta, (New Haven), Advisor, Acting Secretary – calling from Medford, Oregon.
Laurel Coleman (West Haven) , Advisor.
Ashley Sklar (New Haven Public Library System) Advisor.

1.   October CTAC Minutes (submitted via email by Johnes).   Peaches makes Motion to approve the October Minutes. Tad seconds. Vote carried.

2. COMCAST Report, delivered via email PDF.
   Community Relations

 Comcast provided a sponsorship to the CT NAACP’s Annual Great Debate Event on October 20th    (Howard University v. Harvard University)

            Marketing

 On November 7, 2017, Weatherscan Local will no longer be available.

 On November 7, 2017, HSN2 will be moved from the Expanded Basic tier to the Limited Basic tier.

 On November 7, 2017, ESPN Classic will no longer be available.

 CSN New England, carried as part of the Expanded Basic service tier, has been renamed NBC Sports Boston and will continue to be available to all Comcast customers who subscribe to Expanded Basic service.

 RLTV, carried as part of the Digital Preferred service tier, has been renamed Newsy and will continue to be available to all Comcast customers who subscribe to Digital Preferred service.

3. CTAC December meeting time is discussed. Determine that meeting will take place on Wednesday, November 29^th. 6:00 PM, to be at Luce’ Restaurant, upper Whitney Avenue, Hamden near Mt. Carmel.4.   CTAC Video Contest status:
   Video Contest dates have been extended. Application forms must be submitted no later than Friday, December 31, 2017, 5:00 pm.

All entries must be uploaded and notification to CTAC emailed no later than Wednesday,
February 28, 2018, 5:00 pm.
Winners will be chosen by  Wednesday, April 4, 2018, 5:00 pm.
All winners will be notified directly no later than Friday, April 13, 2018, 5:00 pm.

Yvonne has created a nice poster for the Video Contest, which will be sent to CTAC
members to be distributed to the Press and to the eligible age-groups of the public,
schools, PTAs, etc. via e-blast.

CTAC teleconference meeting is adjourned at 6:26 PM EDT.

Minutes Submitted 11/15/2017 by Johnes Ruta, CTAC Acting Secretary, New Haven Rep #2

CTAC   – Monthly Meeting Minutes – October 4, 2017
Meeting called to order @ 6:04 PM.

Members in attendance:
Tad Weinstein (West Haven), Chair
Peaches Quinn (New Haven) Vice-Chair
George Alexander (Hamden), Treasurer
Johnes Ruta, (New Haven), Advisor, Acting Secretary
Laurel Coleman (West Haven) , Advisor

1.   September CTAC Minutes (submitted by Johnes).   Peaches makes Motion to approve the September Minutes. Tad seconds. Vote carried.

2. COMCAST Report — submitted by Sharon Codeanne (absent) read by Tad.
   Community Relations
3. Comcast has donated $2.5 Million to support hurricane relief efforts, bringing total contributions
   to nearly $20 Million in cash, funds raised, and in-kind support.

   b. FORTUNE Magazine has named Comcast one of the country’s Best Workplaces for Women.

   3.   FRONTIER Report – Frontier presently has no CTAC representative. Peaches says that she has
   spoken with Steve Gimmell, fotmer Frontier delegate to CTAC, who is now in a different
   company position. His name should be removed from the CTAC mailing list.

   4.   CTV – On Saturday, October 7^th, there will be a 25^th Year CTV Anniversary cookout in the CTV
   parking lot – CTAC members are invited.

   5.   CTAC December meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 13^th. 6:00 PM. A location in
   Hamden is discussed and chosen to be Luce’ Restaurant on upper Whitney Avenue near Mt. Carmel.

   6.   CTAC Video Contest status:
   Video Contest dates have been extended, as indicated on the Oct. 4^th email from George:
   Johnes makes Motion to close the debate on Video Contest deadline dates.   Laurel seconds the Motion.
   Vote unanimous.
   Application forms must be submitted no later than Friday, December 31, 2017, 5:00 pm.

All entries must be uploaded and notification to CTAC emailed no later than Wednesday,
February 28, 2018, 5:00 pm.
Winners will be chosen by  Wednesday, April 4, 2018, 5:00 pm.
All winners will be notified directly no later than Friday, April 13, 2018, 5:00 pm.

7.   New Business – none.

8.   CTAC membership open slots:   3 rep slots for each town, + 1 Board of Education slot,
none of three towns is filled at present.   + 1 Library System, New Haven – filled,
Hamden and West Haven both open.

7. The next meeting of the CTAC is set for Wednesday, November 1, 2017, 6:00 PM, at CTV.

CTAC meeting is adjourned at 6:55 PM.

Minutes Submitted 10/12/2017 by Johnes Ruta, CTAC Acting Secretary, New Haven Rep #2

CTAC   – Monthly Meeting Minutes – September 6, 2017
Meeting called to order @ 6:05 PM.

Members in attendance:
Tad Weinstein (West Haven), Chair
Peaches Quinn (New Haven) Vice-Chair
George Alexander (Hamden), Treasurer
Johnes Ruta, (New Haven), Advisor, Acting Secretary
Ashley Sklar (New Haven Public Library System)

Sharon Codeanne (Comcast Representative)

1.   August CTAC Minutes (submitted by Johnes).   George makes Motion to approve the August Minutes.
Ashley seconds. Vote carried.

2. COMCAST Report — submitted by Sharon Codeanne.Community Relations
3. Comcast has awarded a $20,000 grant to the New Haven Boys & Girls Club to support their
   digital literacy program called My Future.b. Comcast is sponsoring Concepts for Adaptive Learning’s annual fundraising gala on September 27^th.
   This is free computer training to low-income families, held in New Haven (Anthony’s Restairant),
   Waterbury, and Bridgeport.

   Marketing
   a. Cellular service for iPhone – Smsung Galaxy Android.   No Roaming charges for calls outside
   of the area.   Service available in Comcast service area only.

   Johnes asks about the new Xfinity website – whether there is still user-friendly listings for
   Upcoming and On-Demand programming ?     Sharon will research for next meeting.

   Peaches speaks about Comcast WiFi Router deficiencies. Sharon will research for next meeting.

   3.   Video Contest status:   No entries submitted by the public so far.

   George suggests we each enter a contest application to test the system.

   Publicity recommendations:
   – Connecticut Post Chronicle Bulletin Board
   – Mayor’s Monthly Newsletter
   – Journal Courier for Hamden & North Haven
   – Hamden Journal – www.thehamdenjournal.cp,/

Application deadline:
Johnes makes a formal Motion to extend the entry application Deadline to December 31.
George Alexander seconds this motion.   Vote – carried

4. The next meeting of the CTAC is set for Wednesday, October 4, 2017, 6:00 PM.

CTAC Meeting adjourned at 7:00 PM.

Minutes Submitted by Johnes Ruta, CTAC Acting Secretary, New Haven Rep #2

CTAC   – Monthly Meeting Minutes – August 2, 2017
Meeting called to order @ 6:08 PM.

Members in attendance:
Tad Weinstein (West Haven), Chair
George Alexander (Hamden), Treasurer
Johnes Ruta, (New Haven), Advisor, Acting Secretary
Laurel Coleman (West Haven), Advisor
Yvonne Manning-Jones (New Haven), Advisor – new member

Joseph Schofield – CTV Representative.

1.   CTV Report – Joe Schofield
CTV had to give up one staff position in order to buy needed equipment. $6 Million taken out of
CT State Fund. CTV spent $35K to upgrade digital equipment.   CTV now can broadcast one
channel in HD.   Frontier has CTV on an NS Server. Comcast does not provide an HD channel.
The bext CTV Board Meeting will be August 10^th; one CTAC member is needed to attend.
CTV management has closed down studio production for the summer in order to do housecleaning.

CTV has acquired a new Switcher – it is a complex unit and performs lots of functions,
90% of the work is done on virtual sets.

CTV is continuing to offer production classes, but there is now a waiting list for these classes.

George Alexander asks if CTV has put the Video Contest Announcement onto the CTV website ?
Joe replies that CTV had never received the email with the announcement.   He requests to ask
Peaches Quinn to record a 30 second CTV video announcement for the video contest. A written
announcement should also go onto the CTV Bulletin Board.

Johnes asks Joe about the current functionality of the CTV Channel Listings on the Citizenstv.org    website,, because the page links for all three channels, 26, 27, and 96, produced errors ?
Joe answers that he is responsible for the website, and that someone recently working on the site
had blocked access for him and other editors. Until this can be fixed, these pages can be accessed
by removing the “s” from the https:// IP name link from the browser address line.

2.   June CTAC Minutes (submitted by Johnes).   Requested corrections had been received by the CTAC
Forward list to all members. George makes Motion to approve the June Minutes. Laurel seconds.
Vote carried.

3.   July CTAC Minutes:   no Minutes taken on the July 5^th teleconference call , which Johnes was unable
to connect with.

4.   CTAC Correspondence Letters:
a. Roland Garrett’s letter asks about Comcast having raised the rental price of the Digital Tuner –
the second unit price was raised from $2.99 per month to $5.99. This means that if a customer
has five units, their monthly bill rises by $30 more per month!

b. Angel Graham of West Haven wants to know TCM is only available with the Premium
Sports Package ?

c. William Bonn asks why Comcast has changed all the station numbers on the digital lineup,
and unnecessarily has sent many sheets of paper to cover this information ?

d. Another letter to Comcast asks why the monthly Bill keeps chaning the names of payment itsms,
such as “digital converter” to “TV Box” and “digital adapter” to “Service to Additional TV” ?

5.   COMCAST Report — submitted by Sharon Codeanne.via message.

Community Relations

1. Comcast is a sponsor of the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame STEMfems Program
   “Women Transforming Our World,” which addresses the critical need for women and
   girls to pursue careers in STEM fields.

.
b. Comcast is sponsoring Arte’s “Socialization & Learning Adventures Through Education”
program for low-income Latino youth in New Haven.

Marketing
a. Effective August 15, 2017, the Inspiration Channel will be launched in channel 83.
(Expanded Basic tier).

b. Effective August 8, 2017, due to increased costs, the standard shipping charge for
Self-Installation Kits will change from $9.95 to $15.00.

c. Comcast has just received a Connecticut license to provide cable service statewide.

6. Frontier report – no representative from Frontier is present.

7.   Video Contest status:   The Applications and entry process are now live on the cableadvisor.org website.
Questions of contest criteria: Does the on-line entrant’s application comply with the rules ?
If NO- the application must be rejected and reapply. If YES – the video will be graded from 1 to 4,

for each category and the content message, according to the Rules Rubric.

8.   The Statewide Television Advisory Council now has a new website, designed by a council member
designated as CTSVAC.org

9. The next meeting of the CTAC is set for Wednesday, September 6^th, 2017, 6:00 PM.

CTAC Meeting adjourned at 7:05 PM.

Minutes Submitted by Johnes Ruta, CTAC Acting Secretary, New Haven Rep #2

CTAC   – Monthly Meeting Minutes – June 7, 2017
Meeting called to order @ 6:00 PM.

Members in attendance:
Tad Weinstein (West Haven), Chair
Peaches Quinn (New Haven), Vice Chair
George Alexander (Hamden), Treasurer
Johnes Ruta, (New Haven), Advisor, Acting Secretary
Ashley Sklar (New Haven Library System), Advisor
Laurel Coleman (West Haven), Advisor
Yvonne Manning-Jones (New Haven), Advisor – new member

Sharon Codeanne – Comcast Representative.

1.   Introduction of new member Yvonne Manning-Jones, New Haven Mayoral Appointee. And introductions of all members to her. Yvonne has new Frontier FIOS (Fiber Optic) available in her West Haven area.

2.   May Minutes – submitted by Johnes Ruta.   Peaches Quinn makes Motion to accept. George Alexander Seconds the Motion to accept.

3.   COMCAST Report — submitted by Sharon Codeanne..

1. Comcast is a sponsor of the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven.
   b. Comcast will sponsor Family Fun Day on Saturday, June 17^th on the New Haven Green.
   Free WiFi will be provided.
   c. Comcast was a sponsor of the Urban League of Southern Connecticut’s 2017 Diversity Awards which was held this afternoon (June 7^th).
   d. These local high-school seniors were awarded Comcast Leaders & Achievers Scholarships
   at an awards ceremony held last week at the State Capitol:
   *   Dante Frazer – Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School (West Haven).
   *   Brian Henderson – New Haven Academy.
   *   Anna-Allegra Ranelli – Wilbur Cross High School
   *   Judith Suffrard – Sacred Heart Academy (Hamden)
   *   Tytriq Woodson – Hillhouse High School

   e. Marketing; Effective July 1, 2107, Esquire (channel 413) and Esquire HD (1413) will no longer be available because the programmer is ceasing operations.

Peaches Quinn asks question to Sharon – “Are there any Comcast programs targeted to older adults?
Sharon lists two programs in reply: 1, Urban League Digital Literate; 2. Internet Essentials for adults.
Sharon provides the name of the Comcast Community Relations Manager – Karen Perham-Liptman.

Sharon reports that Comcast’s applicaton for CT Statewide License to offer their services statewide has now been approved.

4. Frontier report – no representative from Frontier is present.

5.   CTV Report – Joe Schoefield not present – no CTV Report available this month..

6.   A volunteer is needed to fill CTAC post of Secretary. Johnes Ruta, has been taking the meeting Minutes as “Acting Secretary” volunteers to fill the post for the remainder of the annual term for calendar 2017. Accepted by CTAC Chair Tad, and council vote.
7.   Video Contest status:   The Applications and entry process are now live on the cableadvisor.org website.
Questions of contest criteria: Does the on-line entrant’s application comply with the rules ?
If NO- the application must be rejected and reapply. If YES – the video will be graded from 1 to 4, for each category and the content message, according to the Rules Rubric.

Peaches Quinn asks: “Can we put together a Procedures Manual ?” George Alexander: “Who will volunteer to “Chair” the Video Contest Application Review for approval.   Tad volunteers Peaches. “Tad and Peaches should co-chair.”
Publicity: Who will write and distribute publicity for the Video Contest ? Johnes requests
talking / bullet points for a Publicity Release with which to put into announcement format.
Johnes will distribute to his curatorial email list. Ashley will distribute to the New Haven
Free Public Library email list. Peaches will contact the local Boards of Education; her contact there is Carlos Torres, a member of the Board. Also distribution to Hamden Weekly Newsletter,

CTV PSA, also a PSA to WTNH-8.

Laurel offers to produce paper Flyers for the Video Contest.

Contestants will contact videocontest at @cableadvisory.org

Peaches speculates that the time period of Video Contest entries of 60 seconds might be too long for an effective PSA. Discussion follows on the format of the PSA. George suggests a blurb:
“CTAC has decided to sponsor a video contest…”

End of CTAC Meeting decided.   Johnes makes Motion to Adjourn. Peaches seconds the motion.
Vote carried.

Meeting adjourned at 7:08 PM.

Minutes Submitted by Johnes Ruta, CTAC Acting Secretary, New Haven Rep #2

CTAC   – Monthly Meeting Minutes – May 3, 2017
Meeting called to order @ 6:07 PM.

Members in attendance:
Tad Weinstein (West Haven), Chair
George Alexander (Hamden), Treasurer
Johnes Ruta, (New Haven), Advisor
Ashley Sklar (New Haven Library System), Advisor

1.   March Minutes submitted by Johnes Ruta require one correction paragraph 1: Rather than “Frontier Call Center” was moved to Long Island, should be “Cablevision Call Center” Tad makes Motion to accept
March Minutes with this pending change. George seconds this motion; vote unanimous.
April meeting was canceled; there were no April Minutes.

2. COMCAST Report — submitted by Sharon Codeanne.(absent) via George.
Community Relations

2017. a. Our annual Comcast Cares Day was held on Saturday, April 22^nd. Hundreds of Comcast employees volunteered their time on various improvement projects at the Elm City Communities McConaughty site.
      b. Comcast was s sponsor of the Junior Achievement of Southwest New England Hall of Fame celebration on March 9^th.
      c. Comcast was a sponsor of the Connecticut invention Convention to support STEM programs among students on April 29^th.
      Marketing
      a. The YES Network returned to our channel lineup as on March 31, 2017.

      3.   Video Contest status:   (The Applications and entry process are now live on the cableadvisory.org website.)
      No progress made on development due that there was no April CTAC meeting. What next?
      George mentions the Hamden Billboard Contest as similar to our Video Contest, but for Hamden residents only.

      Tad sent a proposal with a Video Contest Procedure proposal via email some time soon after the March meeting, with instructions for the contest entry step-by-step.
      Also following the March meeting, George composed a “blurb” for publicity distribution, sent to CTACForward email, but no other members appear to have received this.

2019. A FaceBook page is needed for CTAC, and FB Friend Requests need to be sent out and connected.

      The Video Contest Entry Deadline in both age categories is October 31, 2017.
      The Video Contest Application Deadline is June 30, 2017, but it is agreed that, depending on the volume of entries, that this deadline can be extended, if the volume is low at that time, This point is agreed, Johnes makes a Motion to accept, Tad seconds the motion, and the vote is unanimous.

      Contestants will contact videocontest at @cableadvisory.org

      4.   The next CTAC Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 7, 2017.

      Meeting adjourned at 6:51 PM.
      Submitted by Johnes Ruta, CTAC New Haven Rep #2

CTAC – Monthly Meeting Minutes – March 1, 2017

Meeting called to order @ 6:10 PM.

Members in attendance:
Tad Weinstein (West Haven), Chair
Peaches Quinn (New Haven), Vice Chair
George Alexander (Hamden), Treasurer
Johnes Ruta, (New Haven), Advisor
Ashley Sklar (New Haven Library System), Advisor

Joe Schoefield – CTV Executive Director.

1. February Minutes submitted by Johnes Ruta require corrections: Frontier is not required to be represented
at CTAC as they are technically NOT a cable company. However, Peaches Quinn states that she thinks we
must contact Frontier to have a representative attend, as Steve Gimmel’s job area was changed and he will
not longer be in the area to attend. The Cablevision Call Center was moved to Long Island, and the Shelton
staff of 400 workers was mostly laid-off.
Johnes will make edit changes to Feb. Minutes George motions to accept Feb. Minutes with pending
changes. Peaches seconds this motion.

2. COMCAST Report — submitted by Sharon Codeanne.(absent) via George.
a. Comcast sponsored the New Haven Free Public Library Annual Mardi Gras Celebration on Feb 28.
b. Comcast was a sponsor of the Annual MLK Legacy Celebration at the Yale Peabody Museum
and raffled-off a laptop to attendees at the Celebration Teen Summit.
c. The annual Comcast Cares Day will be held on April 22nd. Comcast employees will be volunteering
their time with the Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of New Haven.
d. Comcast was named to the Hartford Business Journal’s annual list of the Best Places to Work in
Connecticut.
e. Comcast and Google have announced a deal that will launch the YouTube app on XFINITY X1
across the country later this year. X1 customers will be able to easily browse and seamlessly access over the internet the entire YouTube catalog of billions of videos.
f. Beginning March 5, 2017, WNET will discontinue broadcasting its “V-Me” service and it will
no longer be available on their channel line-up.
g. The YES Network will return to the Comcast line-up as of March 31, 2017. YES will be relaunched
in the areas in which it was previously carried, and customers will be able to watch the March 31
New York Yankees – Atlanta Braves pre-season game on YES at 7:30 pm.

3. Frontier report – no representative from Frontier is present.

4. CTV Report – Joe Schoefield.
World Vision producers’ controversy with PURA against CTV has still not officially resolved. CTV has
been complying with the PURA ‘s findings. CTV has now made a Motion to PURA to close the docket.

5. Video Contest status: The Applications and entry process are now live on the cableadvisory.org website.
Questions of contest criteria: Does the on-line entrant’s application comply with the rules ?
If NO- the application must be rejected and reapply. If YES – the video will be graded from 1 to 4,
for each category and the content message, according to the Rules Rubric.

Peaches Quinn asks: “Can we put together a Procedures Manual ?” George Alexander: “Who
will volunteer to “Chair” the Video Contest Application Review for approval. Tad volunteers
Peaches. “Tad and Peaches should co-chair.”
Publicity: Who will write and distribute publicity for the Video Contest ? Johnes requests
talking / bullet points for a Publicity Release with which to put into announcement format.
Johnes will distribute to his curatorial email list. Ashley will distribute to the New Haven
Free Public Library email list. Peaches will contact the local Boards of Education; her contact
there is Carlos Torres, a member of the Board. Also distribution to Hamden Weekly Newsletter,
CTV PSA, also a PSA to WTNH-8.

Contestants will contact videocontest at cableadvisory.org

6. CTAC Website and Video Contest status:

a. George Alexander presents an Invoice for work done on the CTAC website by Adina Alexander
in the amount of $1,420. George states that the website is now operational with the Video Contest
Guideline, Application, and Submittal forms.
b. Johnes contests the amount to be paid as being in excess of the originally budgeted and Estimated
amount of $1,200, and may be intrusive into the budget amount ($4,000) for the allotted two Video Contest Prizes of $1000 each. Johnes reminds George that he had recommended that the web design
contractor submit a professional statement of Hours Worked with the web designer’s final Invoice.
The hours stated are general totals and not timed. George informs Johnes that there is more money
available than $4000 for the project, so that the web designer can be paid their Invoice amount.
Johnes makes a Motion to limit the payment to $1,200, the original Estimate amount. All members
vote against Johnes, and his motion is defeated. A check will be written to Adina Alexander for $1,420.

c. Peaches Quinn again states that we need to have a Procedures Manual for the Video Contest.
There is a discussion of publicity strategies: communication to be directed to the New Haven
Board of Education, the Mayors’ Offices of Hamden, New Haven, and West Haven; also the
New Haven Commission on Cultural Affairs, Facebook for New Haven, and the CTAC
YouTube account.

CTAC March Meeting adjourned at 7:26 PM.
Submitted by Johnes Ruta, CTAC New Haven Rep #2

CTAC   – Monthly Meeting Minutes – February 1, 2017
Meeting called to order @ 6:04 PM.

Members in attendance:
Tad Weinstein (West Haven), Chair
Peaches Quinn (New Haven), Vice Chair
George Alexander (Hamden), Treasurer
Johnes Ruta, (New Haven), Advisor

Sharon Codeanne (Comcast representative)
Steve Gimmel   (Frontier representative)

1. COMCAST report — Sharon Codeanne.

1. Comcast made a $36,000 donation to Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven to support their work to create neighborhood revitalization in some of the most challenging neighborhoods in New Haven.
2. Comcast held a sneak-preview of the animated family film “Sing” at the Bow Tie Criterion
   Cinema in New Haven in December and donated 100 tickets to local children’s non-profits:
   New Haven Boys & Girls Club, Arte Inc, United Way, and the Urban League of Southern CT.
   c.   The Comcast Cares Day will be held on Saturday, April 22^nd.
   d.   The YES Network and Comcast have reached an agreement regarding carriage of the YES
   Channel, which will be returning to the Comcast lineup.
3. The Annual $2,000 support check has been delivered to CTAC. Tad forwarded it to George.
4. No technology or rate changes to be reported.
   g.   Mobile and cellular businesses are possible future business ventures.

   2. Introduction of Merissa Hammie – West Haven resident, awaiting WH Mayoral appointment.

   3. Frontier report – Steve Gimmel.
   Steve mentions the Frontier has undergone some organizational restructuring, including that his job
   responsibilities have been assigned to a different vicinity. He asks about the required representation of
   Frontier to CTAC meetings. Tad replies: “Frontier has a state-wide license so that their representation at
   CTAC is required, but not required to attend every monthly meeting, but to attend at least four times a year.
   Tad mentions previous delegates, also that technically Frontier is not a cable company, therefore not under
   CTAC jurisdiction.
   George Alexander raises an issue with Frontier, as a subscriber with “No More Robo” system, that robo-calls were automatically transferred to the Washington D.C. agency, and that these calls ran over his 200 subscriber minutes, and he was being charged 3 cents per minute on his bill. This was a Frontier billing problem that was corrected.
   Peaches Quinn asks if Comcast offers this kind of service. Johnes explains the way to block calls on Comcast VOIP using the *60 dialing sequence.

   4.   Review of January Minutes: Tad makes request Johnes correct a typo indicating $1,000 showing as $1,00 –.
   5. Tad presented the 2017 Budget Proposal.
   Peaches recommended that the Budget line for “Community Outreach” show an identifier as website
   development rather than “Other.” Tad and George stipulate that the Budget format is supplied by PURA,
   and not itemized. Johnes asks what is the amount that is being paid for the website development to include
   the Video Contest, will the estimate provided by Alexander Associates be held to?
   George confirms that the website cost will not exceed $1,200, and kept within the budget allotted.
   Peaches makes Motion to accept the 2017 Budget, Johnes seconds the motion. Vote carried.

   6. Website:
   a. Statement of work: Enhancement of the CTAC website cableadvisory.org is completed except for the         Video Contest form entry section.

b. Joomla conversion to WordPress website was done by Johnes, Enhancement of the WordPress site done by Alexander Associates.
c. Contest entry on the website via the hosting server failed as GoDaddy indicated a message “Excessive Backup Files” and deleted some of the test entries, as GoDaddy storage for this subscription was exceeded. Fortunately, the last 7 days of backups were preserved. The rate for additional 200 GB of storage on GoDaddy is $200 per year.

7. Video Contest Webpage:
   a. Issue #1: Contest format. George Alexander did research on other video contest programs and found two
   similar ones, one in Pennsylvania PSA for driving in flooded areas, and another called “World of 7 Billion.”
   with entry topics of Climate Change, Ocean Healt, and Rapid Urbanization.   These use a procedure for
   entries with directions to contestants to upload their video entry to YouTube, and for the contestant to
   provide their YouTube video address to the contest managers.
   b. George questions the length of the video that Comcast and Frontier will accept.
   George makes a Motion to change the Video Contest Rules to change the video length to 60 seconds.
   Johnes seconds this motion. All are agreed. Vote carries the motion. Adina Alexander will make these
   changes to the entry program.
   c. Issue #2: Underage Contestants.   What will be Rules and Regulations ?   Does CTAC need legal
   advice on this matter? Is a Parental Release needed for each contestant?   Yes, we should initiate
   this: need Release Form for those creating and appearing in a video, and a Permission Form for winners.
   We should consult with Joe Schofield regarding these forms. Need Content Guidelines.
   d. Issue #3: Video Judging Guidelines – The PA criteria uses a quality points system of 1 to 4, CTAC should
   use the PA system for examples.

   8. Video Contest procedures, finalization of Rules and Regulations, and procedures needed:
   a.   Students may work together. No adult participation. One lead producer.
   b.   Titles
   c.   All crew credits to be cited.
   d.   No externally copyrighted material.
   e.   No professional assistance.
   f.   Script must be entrant devised.   No illicit behavior to be depicted.
   g.   Intellectual property will have a delegation of retainer. No compensation other than Award.

   9. Video Contest distribution:
   a. submit Contest to schools in CTAC unit jurisdiction to be publicized by them.
   b. 6 weeks for entry approval.

8. CTAC organization – discussion of the delegation of the tasks of the video contest.
   a.   Who will Chair the contest ?
   b. Johnes will edit the Rules document, to have ready by next meeting. Also documents for Overview, FAQs,
   Tips for Video Entry, Judging Rubric, Application, Parental Permission, and Actor Release Forms.
   c. Determine entries deadline.
   d. Pre-Application – 1 month, by end of May, include Parental Approval.
   e. CTAC Contest review, approval, and notification response by June 30.
   f. Video submissions by October 31, 2017.
   g. CTAC judging and prizes announcement by December 31, 2017.

   CTAC February Meeting adjourned at 7:55 PM.
   Submitted by Johnes Ruta, CTAC New Haven Rep #2