Old Lyme Area Cable Advisory Council
13 October 2011, 7:30pm
Salem Town Library
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Chairman Peter Sielman called the meeting to order at 7:50pm.
Peter Sielman, Cathy Frank, Russ Gomes, John Bairos and Lynn Perry were in attendance. Absent were: Pam Munro, Robin Purcell, Tim Devlin, Sue McKinlay
Approval of Minutes from the 7 July 2011 meeting was deferred until the next meeting.
Cathy advised that she and Pam Munro had submitted 2012 Scholarship Program materials to the four public high schools in the Advisory Council area.
Russ reviewed new information about the grant application previously submitted by Regional School District 18 through the Town of Lyme. The Lyme-Old Lyme Schools
have requested funding to enable the purchase of gooseneck microphones that will match equipment they already have. Cathy made a motion, seconded by Russ, to approve a grant of up to $1,000 for the purchase of the specified equipment by District #18. Peter will phone missing Council members & ask for their votes on the motion.
Cathy & Russ voted in favor.
Cathy distributed a letter from Sue McKinlay (attached as part of the minutes) about Comcast television reception at Nathan Hale-Ray High School. She has requested that Comcast provide a solution to the problems they are experiencing. Peter asked John Bairos to contact Sue for clarification about the problem. John believes that HB Communications (the company that assisted Hale-Ray with their television configuration) may be able to assist Sue. Cathy suggested that Sue submit a grant request to the Advisory Council for financial assistance if needed.
Cathy reported a customer service matter phoned into Old Lyme following Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene. A customer was concerned that she did not receive a Comcast credit for the period she was without power. John explained that the Comcast response had been to offer an extended due date and no late fees for the billing immediately following the storm. In addition, Comcast was prepared to evaluate credit requests on a case by case basis. Calls requesting credit must be initiated by the customer and credit will be considered for a cable outage but not lack of cable due to a power outage.
John Bairos distributed materials as part of his Comcast Report. He reported that Comcast has added Sportsnet Chicago to its lineup and has moved The Weather Channel to a lower tier to make it available to more Comcast customers.
Attached documents include the current Channel lineup, information about the Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship program, an information sheet about Comcast’s economic impact in our state, and a brochure detailing Comcast’s Internet Essentials Program. Under that program, Comcast provides a low-cost computer (approx. $150) and affordable monthly internet fees ($9.95) to families that qualify for the free school lunch program at their schools. Internet Essentials is a national program.
John handed Lynn Perry a DVD from the State Department of Public Health
containing both Public Service Announcements and a 30 minute program on the HeartSafe Community program.
Lynn Perry reported that the Open House at the Old Lyme Public Access Studio was a success. She will be training new people as a result of the Open House. The studio is due to receive new camera equipment in October and will also receive a new rack for the control room. The Town of Old Lyme recently taped a Public Service Announcement about www.ctalert.gov – the website where residents and businesses in the state can register cell phones, work phones, PDAs and email addresses for the reverse911 program.
She said that Comcast had a major presence at the Big E. Segments with state leaders were taped for its Newsmakers segments which air on the CNN Headline News channel. Lynn taped 3 pieces about the Big E for Comcast On Demand.
Peter reported that that Statewide Video Council has submitted a letter favoring an Annual Review of statewide cable providers to the new PURA (Public Utility Regulatory Authority) – no longer called the DPUC.
Cathy reported that an Old Lyme Area Cable Advisory Council web page has been created for the Town of Old Lyme website (www.oldlyme-ct.gov). Other Towns will be able to provide a link to the page from their websites. Peter asked that Old Lyme send a letter providing the web-link to the First Selectmen of other Towns represented by the Council.
Peter asked Cathy to contact Robin and request a copy of the current Treasurer’s Report
which may be needed for the Annual Report due to the DPUC/PURA.
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A tentative 2012 meeting schedule was set as follows: Meetings will take place on the 2nd Thursday of January, April, July and October. The Council will continue the tradition of meeting in the different towns represented. The January 12 meeting will take place in Old Lyme. Additional locations will be added to the schedule at the January meeting.
The meeting ended at 9pm with the understanding that it would remain open until Peter was able to contact additional members about the District 18 grant request. On 10/14/11, Peter reported that both Pam Munro and Robin Purcell had voted in favor of the motion. He asked that the “minutes reflect that this "extended voting period" reflects a majority of the Council's position.”
Cathy Frank
17 October 2011
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