December 2019

Attendees: 
Peaches Quinn – (New Haven) –  Acting Chair
George Alexander – (Hamden) – Treasurer
Yvonne Manning-Jones  – (New Haven ) – Advisor
Laurel Coleman – (Hamden) – Advisor
Anthony Cardo – (Hamden) Advisor
Johnes Ruta – (New Haven) – Acting Secretary

Meeting convened at 6:10 pm. 

1. October CTAC Meeting Minutes
   No edits requested.
   Johnes – Motion to accept.   Yvonne – 2^nds the Motion.   Council vote is unanimous.

   2. November CTAC Meeting Minutes

   Question is reminded by Johnes from November meeting regarding how Comcast will
   substantiate Sharon Codeanne’s statement at the September CTAC meeting that Turner
   Classic Movies (TCM) channel viewership is nationally limited to 2% of cable viewers
   and that viewers tune-in on an average of 30 seconds before changing to other channels.
   Comcast has not provided any data on this claim of low TCM viewership as offered by
   Sharon, that she “would check into this, and get back to us” at CTAC.” However, Sharon
   now states via email that she did not promise to do this, and that “these metrics are
   proprietary Comcast data. Peaches corroborates that this was not a “promise” but was
   “a nuanced statement” that did not obligate Comcast to provide. Johnes Ruta states that
   if Comcast claims that these “metrics” will not be provided as “proprietary,” then Comcast’s
   such claims on TCM viewership are not substantiated. George Alexander concurs.

   Johnes speaks of the Comcast discontinuation and removal of seven Concast STARZ channels
   from their lineup, as a reduction of service without any reduction of subscriber rates. One
   announcement was provided in the Comcast October bill, without any adevance on-air
   notification: Peaches defines the specifics of this service change: the channels were not
   being moved to a higher rate level, but dropped entirely from their service.

   Peaches relates information on a Concast service called “FLEX” which was described
   by Comcast as an alternative cable television service, but more specifically is only offered
   as an add-on service for customers who only have internet service, not as a means of
   selection of specific channels at a reduced subscription rate.

   Peaches asks about the WatchTCM internet site, that is an alternative to the Comcast new
   Sports & Entertainment Package with TCM. However, Johnes relates his effort to access
   this website to view TCM – But access to this site specifically requires Log-On to Comcast
   User-ID and Password and allows viewing of TCM only if subscriber has the Sports &
   Entertainment package.
   Laurel Coleman makes Motion to approve the November Minutes. Anthony Cardo Seconds
   this Motion. CTAC members vote is unanimous.

3. Issue: Attendence requirements by CTV and Comcast.
   Citizens TeleVision is required to attend and submit reports twice per year.
   Comcast is required to attend and submit reports twice per year.

   4. Old Business

   West Haven is still not represented at CTAC since Tad Weinstein resignation because
   he moved his residence out of the CTAC represented districts.

   CAC2019 – Community Rewards.
   Peaches makes Motioin to help Not-For-Profit agencies to defer Comcast subscriber
   costs. Agencies eligible must be Comcast subscriber.

   5. New Business

   Laurel proposes a New Business issue to do a 30 or 60 second PSA for the Council (CTAC)
   to be carried on CTV channels. Proposal to call Joe Schofield, Exec Director at CTV
   to facilitate. This should be uploaded to Vimeo.org.   Peaches indicates that she will contact
   Joe Schofield about airing this on CTV.

Laurel speaks about the previous motion to make a CTAC Contribution to the Hannah Gray
House to defray cost of Comcast service. Yvonne has done much of the leg work on this issue.

ADDENDUM:

   Yvonne reports in December 13 email:
I have arranged to meet with Robert Paige, Director of the Hannah Gray Home on Tuesday, the 17th.
I informed  him that the contribution is made possible by Comcast and should be spent exclusively
on Comcast services.  They have Comcast cable, Internet and phone services.

The Hannah Gray home is a residential care facility that provides care to elderly individuals in the
Greater New Haven area. You can read more about them at their website: http://hannahgrayhome.org/

Next meeting Thursday, January 2^nd, 2020, 6PM at Adrianna’s Restaurant < New Haven.

December 4th, 2019 Minutes respectfully submitted by
Johnes Ruta (New Haven)   Acting Secretary.   December 29^th, 2019.