Town of Princeton, Mass. – August 29, 2016 – 5:00 PM
Meeting Minutes - Princeton Broadband Municipal Light Plant (PBMLP)
5:02 PM Meeting opened with PBMLP members Stan Moss, Edie Morgan, Jon Fudeman, T.A. Nina Nazarian, Asst. Mgr. Marty Dell’Erba, and residents in attendance. Stan announced that the meeting was being recorded. Unless noted otherwise, motions were made by Edith or Jon and seconded by Jon or Edith.
Nina reviewed protocol for Question & Answer portion of Information Sessions, and a list of questions. Following advice of counsel, it was agreed that comments and opinions would be allowed along with a “3 minute rule” to limit answers.
Board voted all in favor to adopt these ground rules.
Marty D. then explained the Connecting Princeton Policy document which hasn’t changed except for a few edits. The policy states that all PMLP customers will receive the opportunity to subscribe to PBMLP broadband. One issue is the few households not offered fiber from PBMLP, mainly the group on Route 140 that are not PMLP customers, as they receive service from Sterling MLP and they already have Comcast Cable. The policy notes that they would not be addressed now but could be at some future time. Stan assured the group that the most remote homes, one on Grow Lane and one on Thompson Road, would receive a lateral line, like for a long driveway, if they subscribe. This approach eliminated the need for “make-ready” and new pole
installation at these locations. Stan also noted that all streets and driveways with buried utilities are covered in the engineering plans. This represents almost 7 percent of homes in town. Wording to explain the laterals was added to the policy, and the PBMLP members voted all in favor to accept the policy statement with this clarification. This may be added to the policy as an addendum.
5:30 PM Marty D. then presented several invoices for advertising and marketing expenses, totaling $1,140. and the board voted all in favor to authorize payment.
Some discussion followed around other options, and Marty D. reported that Comcast is close to revealing a public proposal, but it is probably too close to the STM vote to be viable. The group noted that Matrix has not been able to come up with a satisfactory proposal, and Comcast has had several years to make a serious proposal but has not been forthcoming. Phil Gransewicz described the Comcast involvement as a smokescreen, and it was reiterated that Comcast offers coaxial cable to the home and fiber optic only to the node. Discussion jumped around from the technicalities of GPON vs. Ethernet, to backhaul and bandwidth.
5:50 PM – PBMLP voted all in favor to adjourn.
Respectfully submitted, Marie Auger, admin. assist.
PBMLP referenced documents or correspondence: Policy Statement and edits; Q & A list
Minutes Approved on October 3, 2016
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