CTAC Minutes

MINUTES of CTAC of Hamden, New Haven, and West Haven – August 1, 2012

Present: Tad Weinstein, Chair, WH

George Alexander, Treasurer, H

Don Levy, H

Johnes Ruta, NH

Jennifer Sacco, H

Joe Schofield from CTV present

Comcast Representative not present.  Meeting called to order 6:07 p.m.  Comcast report read by group.  George moved to amend June minutes; Johnes seconded; minutes to be approved after amendments made by Don.

Regarding June discussion, Joe said that producer at One World Institute refuses to give permission to put program On Demand online, so people who missed the live airing are not able to access it On Demand.  Also, the schedule of programs on CTV, though accessible online, can also be accessed by calling CTV directly, and they will give information about the schedule to anyone who does not use the internet.

George moved that Jen draft our response to PURA about the dispute between CTV and One World Institute be that we have suggested what we believe to be reasonable accommodations—making the program available online on demand for anyone who misses an airing on request, and by making the program lineup visible on CTV’s website, and also by phone to anyone who misses a program.  One World Institute has the prerogative not to cooperate if that is what they wish, but CTV has been cooperative.  Johnes seconded.  Motion carries.

Joe indicates that AT&T has not yet provided a return line so that CTV programming can be carried on AT&T.  Joe is going to contact Kinson Perry, attorney for AT&T.

CTV is going to get a new realtor; they are in need of a commercial broker.  They are on a six month lease in the present location.

CTV had a burglary in June.  Four computers were taken; the thieves were in and out in less than a minute. 

CTV has an order 8 new cameras; 4 for field, 4 for in studio use.  They have requested funds from the state for the in-studio cameras.

George reports that the city of Hamden has sent us a letter that Carl Lambert will not be continuing on our board, so there is an opening for a Hamden member.

Meeting adjourned 7:12 p.m.

 

MINUTES of CTAC of Hamden, New Haven and West Haven

Meeting Date: June 6, 2012

 

Call to order: A Regular meeting of the CTAC was held at CTV, Hamden, Connecticut on June 6, 2012. President Tad Weinstein presiding. Don Levy acting secretary.

 

Members in attendance:

 

George Alexander, H, Treasurer

Don Levy, H

Johnes Ruta, NH

Peaches Quinn, NH

Joyce Listro, NH

Tad Weinstein, WH Chair

 

Sharon (Comcast)

 

Chairman Weinstein called the meeting to order at 6:02.

 

Approval of Minutes of May 2, 2012. Motion was made by Johnes and seconded by Joyce. Motion carried.

 

Commission decided to ask Jen to write a letter to PURA with regard to a request on the part of a citizen with regard the program schedule concerning the CTV program “One World Institute.”  The letter to PURA would explain:

 

1) that CTAC in conjunction with CTV had provided the citizen with the means to view “One World Institute” using the on demand capability of the CTV system.

 

2) The producer of “One World Institute,” however, would not authorize CTV to cablecast “One World Institute” as part of the on demand programming. And therefore

 

3) Having provided a reasonable opportunity to meet the citizen’s complaint which was effectively vetoed by the program’s producer CTAC has fulfilled its obligation to address this complaint. CTAC requests that PURA consider any further action on its part unnecessary and to dismiss this cause of action once for all.

 

A concern was raised that it may be difficult for some viewers to determine the schedule of CTV programs. It was decided to ask Joe Schofield of CTV to review the cable outlet’s current manner of posting its schedule in order to provide ease of use to subscribers.

 

There was a discussion regarding when to reschedule the July 4 regularly scheduled meeting. Numerous individual scheduling conflicts arose which made it difficult to arrive at a new date for the July meeting. A decision was postponed and the July date was to be determined via email communications.

 

Sharon presented the most recent iteration of the Comcast schedule indicating several channels which would no longer be carried, along with a handful of new choices. Sharon also reported on the winners of the annual Comcast Leaders & Achievers Scholarships.

 

Board members were concerned that the promised cable allowing CTV programs to be seen by AT&T subscribers had not yet been installed. The Committee decided to ask Joe Schofield to report on the progress of establishing such a link.

 

A protracted discussion ensued regarding the final report, dated April 4, of PURA, concerning the advisability of mandating or at least of providing incentives for the sharing of local programs generated by Connecticut Cable franchisees. PURA’s position was that however beneficial it might be to encourage such cross-system sharing its mandate did not warrant any action on its part. The report proposed that any system which sought a broader dissemination of its locally-generated programs was free to do so using online file sharing resources such as YouTube.

 

There was further discussion of an earlier proposal to use CTAC resources to fund a video contest for middle schools. Issues raised included which schools were to be included, the size and number of the awards, precisely how to make eligible schools and students aware of the contest and criteria for determining who were to be judges and what standards would be used to judge video projects. Action was deferred.

 

Meeting was adjourned at 7:00

 

Respectfully submitted by. D. Levy, acting CTAC secretary

MINUTES of CTAC of Hamden, New Haven, and West Haven

Meeting date: 4/4/12

Call to order: A regular meeting of the CTAC, was held at CTV, Hamden, CT on 4/4/12. The meeting convened at , President Tad Weinstein presiding, and Jennifer Sacco, secretary.

Members in attendance:

George Alexander, H treasurer

Carl Lambert, Sr., H

Don Levy, H

Joyce Listro, NH

Jen Sacco, H secretary

Tad Weinstein, WH chair

No CTV representative present

No Comcast representative present

Approval of minutes: Motion was made by Carl, and seconded by Jen  to approve the minutes of the 3/7/12 meeting. Motion carried.

Officers’ reports:

            No Comcast report

            No CTV report

George presented our correspondence.  We received a copy of a letter to the mayor of Hamden, etc., regarding the airing of programs from One World Institute at inconvenient times.  Per our earlier negotiated resolution, any missed and requested episode should be made available by CTV on the website, but apparently that server is not working properly as of today (4/4/12).  However, efforts are underway to fix the server. 

Don moved that Jen draft a response to be agreed to by our group via email that can be forwarded to the complainants.  Joyce seconded; motion carried.

Johnes sent an email to indicate that he is still researching policies regarding cable rates with the state legislature.

New business:

The group agreed to think of a contest for the schools to award a technology grant.  We have in principle agreed that students will be asked to create a 90 second video promoting public access television, and each of the middle schools in the three towns will be asked to enter, and that we will have a first, second, and third place winner, and run the contest in the 2012-2013 school year.  We will refine our ideas via email and at our next meeting. 

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m..

 

Jennifer Sacco

Secretary                                                                                 

CTAC

MINUTES of CTAC of Hamden, New Haven, and West Haven – 3/7/12

Call to order: A regular meeting of the CTAC, was held at CTV, Hamden, CT on . The meeting convened at , President Tad Weinstein presiding, and Jennifer Sacco, secretary.

Members in attendance:

George Alexander, H treasurer

Richard Gay, WH

Carl Lambert, Sr., H

Don Levy, H

Johnes Ruta, NH

Jen Sacco, H secretary

Tad Weinstein, WH chair

Joe Schofield, CTV

Sharon Codeanne, Comcast representative

 

Approval of minutes: Motion was made by Carl, and seconded by Richard to approve the minutes of the Feb. 1, meeting, with two changes specified regarding CTV address and details pertaining to cost related to moving. Motion carried.

Officers’ reports:

Comcast report made by Sharon Codeanne.  George forwarded letter from customer with check payment enclosed.  Richard reported that he gets pixellation of his picture regularly, as does Jen.  Sharon said she would ask a tech to investigate.  Jen also indicated her Tivo no longer works now that the digital network enhancement has been completed.  Sharon had not heard of Tivo incompatibility, and said she would look into it.  George indicated that he has had trouble with his internet speed when trying to work on his website, and gets a test result indicating he is only transferring data at 2-3 mbps.  Sharon said she would look into it.  These are problems that many more other customers must be experiencing.  George read a letter from a customer James S. complaining about an unclear bill from Comcast.  Sharon indicated that the information included is required by law; Jen maintained that there is still an easier way to deliver the “punchline” (total price increase to expect) for customers, based on their service packages.  Carl indicated that he has inquired about his bill to customer service, and customer service employees don’t know what the individual charges are for and can’t explain them.  The customer’s complaint has been forwarded directly to the representative from Comcast.

CTV report made by Joe.  New server had lost power supply, but was quickly fixed by the company who made it.  CTV had alternative programming/bulletin board on air during that time.  CTV is still trying to work out a contract to be carried over AT&T; CTV is waiting for a response from AT&T.  CTV is still in negotiations for a new property; they are still trying to come to terms, and are also meeting with the town of Hamden.  Regarding the old Tightrope server, CTV will be able to recoup some of their expenditures since the server had to be replaced.

George indicated that PURA is soliciting exceptions to the draft decision on docket 11-08-06 before our April meeting, so we will read and respond online if necessary. 

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m.

 

Secretary                                                                                            

CTAC

MINUTES of CTAC of Hamden, New Haven, and West Haven – February 1, 2012

Tad Weinstein, West Haven, chair

George Alexander, Hamden, Treasurer

Carl Lambert, Hamden 

Don Levy, Hamden, Hamden 

Joyce Listro, New Haven Board of Education

Peaches Quinn, New Haven 

Johnes Ruta, New Haven

Joe Schofield, CTV

6:03 p.m. meeting called to order. 

General discussion regarding Comcast’s new television/ cable channel additions in varying service levels.

Personal introduction of Don Levy, new representative for Hamden.

January 4^th CTAC Meeting minutes discussed.  Peaches Quinn makes motion to approve January minutes.  Carl Lambert seconded motion.  Meeting vote – all in favor.

CTV Report – Joe Schofield

CTV’s  channel schedule information display is not yet on-line.  Server problems were again experienced causing temporary transmission loss on all CTV channels during January, mostly resolved.

CTV sent Letter of Intent for the purchase of a new location on Whalley Avenue in New Haven. CTV will only consider purchase situations, rather than any new rental location.  The Whalley Avenue property seller returned the CTV purchase offer showing new conditions on the proposed sales contract.  Joe specified that these conditions were probably not acceptable for CTV.  The current location at 2666 State Street in Hamden is OK for the short-term, as the current rental landlord has not pressured CTV to state its 2012 intentions. 

George discussed possible CTV relocation options in Hamden and New Haven. 

Production Training Field Training – CTV offering a one-day program teaching television camera production – certification would be more quickly achieved by participant trainees.

N’Zinga Shani case regarding “21 century Conversations” is still open with  DPUC (PURA) from June still costing CTV a $100 monthly attorney retainer. 

AT&T still not wired into CTV for Public Access availability. CTV is waiting until move to new location to complete this connection in order to avoid double charges because of pending CTV studio relocation. AT&T wants CTV to pay for the cable  hookup line.  CTV receives $108,000 per year as benefit of AT&T monthly public access fee per customer.

George recommended that CTV hook up with AT&T now since the move may not happen for a while now.  After brief discussion Joe Schofield committed to contact AT&T.

Joyce Listro: “When CTV moves, will Comcast pay for new transmission line installation [for its public TV access]?

Joe Schofield: “No. Comcast is not committed to paying this expense for the move.”

Peaches Quinn: “Is there a law for what AT&T money is used for ?”

Joe:  [Answer unclear.]

 

ANNUAL REPORT  — George Alexander

George submitted the Annual Report for 2011 with items and budget dollar entries. 

George motioned to accept the Annual Report for 2011.   Peaches Quinn seconded this motion. Tad called a general vote by show of hands. Vote carried in affirmative unanimously.  

George moved that the 2012 Budget be exactly the same as the 2011 Budget.  Joyce Listro seconded this motion. 

Peaches Quinn proposed to allocate the budget amount not used for grants in 2011 to be added into the 2012 Budget for grants available dollars.  The State Form “2010 Ending” typographical error to be corrected.  

Joyce suggested using the aforementioned leftover 2011 grant money for this Program.

George said we should delay a motion on this point until next month as it is not part of the present budget proposal. 

COMCAST  Issue.  

Johnes Ruta  is putting together a proposal (also to be developed with Paul Scanlon)  to be submitted to the Connecticut Legislature to regulate cable television rates in CT.  Research being developed with materials  from the Connecticut Office of Consumer Council.   Legislation proposal will also regulate that advance announcement be made on cable television when there is to be a service interruption for “Channel Maintenance”, technical reasons, or testing of Emergency Broadcast System. Issue will be discussed again at March CTAC meeting.

 Meeting adjourned by Tad Weinstein at 7:10 PM

MINUTES of CTAC of Hamden, New Haven, and West Haven – January 4, 2012

Call to order: A regular meeting of the CTAC, was held at CTV, Hamden, CT on 1/4/2012. The meeting convened at 6:00 p.m., President Tad Weinstein presiding, and Jennifer Sacco, secretary.

Members in attendance:

George Alexander, H treasurer

Carl Lambert, Sr., H

Peaches Quinn, NH

Johnes Ruta, NH

Jen Sacco, H secretary

Shalita Sampson, H

Paul Scanlon, WH

Tad Weinstein, WH chair

 

Joe Schofield, CTV

Sharon Codeanne, Comcast representative

 

Approval of minutes: Motion was made by Carl, and seconded by George to approve the minutes of the November meeting. Motion carried.  Motion was made by George to approve minutes of the December meeting, seconded by Johnes.  Motion carried.

Officers’ reports:

Comcast report given by Sharon Codeanne.  Price increases announced in most starter and economy services.  Johnes asked about steep price increases; Shalita asked about notification of increases and changes to technology required.  Sharon said all customers get notifications on the left-hand side of the first page of their bills, with statements on the envelope saying “important changes” inside.  Several members questioned the shape of the line at the customer service center in New Haven (which is notoriously unpleasant and seemingly inefficient).  Sharon said she would inquire at the customer service center about re-organizing the waiting line(s) and if new kiosks will be able to accept cash from people paying their bills.  Jen asked if Comcast would get wireless cable boxes (like AT&T now advertises), and Sharon says engineering is looking into it; Shalita asked if Comcast would get room-to-room dvr; Sharon says it may become available in our area this year (but maybe not).  Johnes inquired who regulates the rate increases; no one has to approve the rate increases because of the legislation that CT passed when AT&T became a provider.

Johnes moved that we send a letter to the CT legislature asking that rate increases be regulated by the state; Joe pointed out that federal law indicates the only service that can have its rate regulated by the states is basic service.  Johnes made motion again, Paul seconded.  Joe recommended sending a letter to the Office of Consumer Counsel first, to find out what the possibility of getting rate regulation, then send to a specific legislator.  Johnes would like to have included the corporations’ profit and expenses.  Motion to send letter to state legislature carries.  Paul moves that we contact the Office of Consumer Counsel with questions pertaining to these issues before we contact the legislature by March 1^st.   Johnes seconds the motion.  Motion carries; Paul and Johnes will draft a letter to send before March 1^st.  

CTV  Joe reports that the new server has been installed, though CTV will keep in operation a small portion of the original Tightrope server, because the transition for VOD would be too time-consuming.  CTV is in process of applying for an additional loan for a new location.  CTV is currently month-to-month at their current location with a 6 month notice required for moving or a new tenant.

Treasurer-  George did open a bank account with Connex; Tad and Jen will be added to the account.

New Business-  Peaches asked Sharon to address emergency preparedness within Comcast for customers with Comcast phone service, and what to expect during power outages and what Comcast is planning for the future, particularly pertaining to dialing 911 when power and cable is out.  Peaches also asked for copies of emergency preparedness information given to customers during initial signup.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:15.

 

Jennifer Sacco

Secretary                                                                                          

CTAC

 

MINUTES of CTAC of Hamden, New Haven, and West Haven – December 13, 2011

Call to order: A regular meeting of the CTAC, was held in Hamden. The meeting convened at 6:50 p.m., President Tad Weinstein presiding, and Jennifer Sacco, secretary.

Members in attendance:

George Alexander, H treasurer

Joyce Listro, NH

Peaches Quinn, NH

Johnes Ruta, NH

Jen Sacco, H secretary

Tad Weinstein, WH chair

Carl Lambert, H

 

Approval of minutes: November minutes to be distributed for approval at January 2012 meeting due to technical issues.

Reports:

Comcast representative not available to give report due to illness; CTV representative not present to give report.  Comcast report was shared in print format.

Johnes raised issue that PURA not interested in dealing with his concern and that raised by Elizabeth Cooney, member of the public, about offerings available in Comcast subscriber packages.  He suggested that we contact our legislators and ask them to look in to questions of choice/value/availability in cable programming.  Jen suggested that we compile complaints for legislators.  Peaches suggested we get Comcast’s response first, and address the issue again at January meeting, OR interview Comcast, and advocate nationally.  Jen suggested we could get other cable councils to sign on.  George suggested that we specifically write to our state representatives.

CTV has been off the air for at least 2 weeks while the servers gets updated at the station. 

Letter came to us from PURA saying that they have inquired with Comcast about refund/outage policy, and that subscribers may be eligible for a credit (they have to request it). 

George suggested we switch our checking account from TD to Connex to avoid a fee and so we can see our paper checks.  Carl made motion to switch banks; Joyced seconded.  Motion carried to move our account and to get debit cards for two officers.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:30p.m.

Jennifer Sacco 

Secretary                                                                        

CTAC

 

Minutes of CTAC of Hamden, New Haven, and West Haven
Meeting Date: November 2, 2011

Call to Order: A regular meeting of the CTAC, was held at CTV, Hamden, CT, on November 2, 2011. The meeting was convened at 6:11 PM, President Tad Weinstein presiding.

Members in Attendance:

George Alexander, H treasurer

Carl Lambert H

Joyce Listro NH

Peaches Quinn NH

Shalita Sampson H

Tad Weinstein, WH chair

Joe Schofield, CTV

Approval of Minutes: Motion was made by Peaches, and seconded by Carl, to approve the minutes of the October meeting. Motion carried.

Reports:
Comcast: Sharon Codeanne was absent, but a handout was distributed outlining the latest storm updates. Also,Joe Comcast filed on October 21, 2011 with PURA regarding changes to certain miscellaneous fees, which will be effective January 1, 2012.

CTV: Joe Schofield reported on the status of CTV’s move. Currently there are no buildings or prospects.

Bulletin Board has changed more videos. The goal is to generate interest in Public Access. CTV is waiting for return line from ATT.

December meeting will be on Tuesday, December 13th , 6:00 PM. More information will follow.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 PM.

MINUTES of CTAC of Hamden, New Haven, and West Haven – October 5, 2011

Call to order: A regular meeting of the CTAC, was held at CTV, Hamden, CT on 10/5/2011. The meeting convened at 6:00 p.m., President Tad Weinstein presiding, and Jennifer Sacco, secretary.

Members in attendance:

George Alexander, H treasurer

Joyce Listro, NH

Peaches Quinn, NH

Johnes Ruta, NH

Jen Sacco, H secretary

Tad Weinstein, WH chair

Joe Schofield, CTV

Sharon Codeanne, Comcast representative

Approval of minutes: Motion was made by Johnes, and seconded by George, to approve the minutes of the July meeting. Motion carried.  Johnes moves that we approve Sept. minutes; Joyce seconded. Motion carried.

Reports:

Comcast- Sharon presented Comcast monthly report of developments, including filing with PURA about new cable adapters to make digital conversion possible, which will be rolled out in November. For customers to get credit after Hurricane Irene, they have to call in to Comcast.  Outage and refund policy is sent annually to customers in policy notice. 

CTV- Tightrope server was to be removed with a 25% restocking fee; new server equipment also had to be removed after 2 days.  Old equipment is still in place until new system is up and running. PURA has not made a decision in the ongoing docket about 21^st century conversations.  Organizations cannot be producers; each new show must have a producer.  Relocation is still ongoing issue. 

Treasurer- PURA docket 11-08-06 on review process of community access providers is open for comments. George moved that we write an email with our support for the review process to PURA. Johnes seconds.  Motion passes.

December meeting will be in second week of December, Tuesday the 13^th.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m.

Jennifer Sacco

Secretary                                                                                   

CTAC