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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-08-13 Bd Comm. minutesu I PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION A MINUTES q���L U JULY 18, 1985 - 7:30 P.M. CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Blank, Courtney, Cooper, Horowitz, Scott MEMBERS ABSENT: Jordan, Perry STAFF PRESENT: Boyle, Beagle, Franklin, Milkman CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Scott called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF JUNE 20, 1985: Courtney moved to approve the minutes of June 20 as presented. The motion carried 4-0-1 with Horowitz abstaining. RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: 1. 5-8509. Approval of an amended preliminary subdivision plat submitted by oouu gate Development Co, for Braverman Center,. 24.5 acres south of Highway 6, between Keokuk and Broadway, and north of Sandusky. 2. 5-8511. Approval of a Large Scale Non -Residential Development Plan for c�onomy Advertising at the intersection of Heinz Road and Highway 6. 3. Approval of an amendment to the Large Scale Residential Development regulations, Chapter 27, to set a 24 month expiration date on approved final plans. 4. Approval of an amendment to the Planned Development Housing Overlay (OPOH) zone procedural requirements to approve preliminary plans by ordinance and final plans by resolution. 5. That the City Council move toward completion of Scott Boulevard to I-80. 6. That the staff be instructed to proceed with amendments to the Planned Development Housing Overlay (OPDH) zone prior to amending the Subdivision Regulations. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION 1. 5-8509. Public discussion of the reconsideration of an application suummted by Southgate Development Corporation for approval of a prelimi- nary subdivision plat for 24.5 acres south of Highway 6, north of Sandusky Drive, between Keokuk and Broadway. Milkman presented a staff request to reconsider preliminary plat ap- proval. Staff expressed concern that a second crossroad between Keokuk and Broadway be included if parcels 9, 10 and 11 are to be developed. The developer has agreed to amend the preliminary plat with a note stating 144x/ Planning & Zoning Commission July 18, 1985 Page 2 "The Subdiv ider's Agreement required in connection with the final subdivision plat approval for Lots 9, 10 and 11 may provide for the future construction of a direct access way from Keokuk Street to Broadway Street if the City requires said way across Lots 9, 10 and 11 at the time the respective lots are developed." Horowitz asked if the proposed street would be public or private. Milkman answered that the street would be accessible to the public but whether it would be built to City standards or not had not been resolved. Cooper moved to reconsider the preliminary plat as amended. Blank seconded. The motion carried 4-0-1; Horowitz abstaining. Cooper moved to approve the preliminary plat as amended. Blank seconded. The motion carried 3-1-1; Horowitz voted no; Courtney abstained. ` 2. S-8511. Public discussion of an application submitted by Willis Bywater for approval of a Large Scale Non -Residential Development Plan for . Economy Advertising at the intersection of Heinz Road and Highway 6; 45 -day limitation period: 8/17/85. Beagle informed the Conmission that the preliminary and final LSNRO plan were in compliance with City codes. Staff recommends that approval of j the development plan be granted. Horowitz moved to approve the preliminary and final LSNRD plan. Courtney seconded. The motion carried 5-0. 3. Public discussion of an amendment to the Large Scale Residential Develop- ment regulations, Chapter 27, to provide an expiration date for plans. The amendment provides an expiration date consistent with the expiration date for large scale non-residential developments. Horowitz asked if the proposed amendment causes an automatic loss of development rights after 24 months. Franklin answered yes, that the developer will have to go back to the City Council for an extension. Cooper asked if any changes in the development necessitates bringing the development plan before the Planning and Zoning Commission. Franklin answered that any substantial changes in development plans would cause i the plan to come before the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City 1 Council. i Scott proposed that the amendment be changed by deleting the word "a" and inserting "one or more" in referring to the number of extensions permis- sible. Cooper moved that the motion be approved as circulated and amended. Horowitz seconded. The motion passed unanimously. I 4. Public discussion of an amendment to the Planned Development Housing Overlay Zone procedural requirements. vI a Planning & Zoning Commission July 18, 1985 Page 3 The amendment will change the procedures so that preliminary PDH plans will be approved by ordinance and final POH plans will be approved by resolution. Horowitz moved that the amendment be adopted. Cooper seconded. Horowitz asked if PDH plans are affected if there are changes in the preliminary plan. Milkman answered that any changes will force the development plan through the full adoption process. Franklin added that the amendment will reduce the number of meetings and readings that will be necessary to approve a PDH plan which is submitted separately as a preliminary and then a final plan. Horowitz stated that the public in some cases needs several opportunities to voice opposition to a plan. The motion was adopted, 5-0. S. Horowitz moved that a public hearing for the Neighborhood Open Space Plan and Ordinance be set for August 15, 1985. Courtney seconded. The motion passed, 5-0. 6. Horowitz moved that the Planning and Zoning Commission strongly recommend to the City Council that Scott Boulevard be completed. Cooper seconded. Horowitz stated her belief that there has been a lack of attention to the amount of traffic generated by employee and truck traffic from the BDI industrial tract and the Sycamore Hall; and that a follow-through on the Scott Blvd. question is in order. Scott stated that there have been jurisdictional disputes between the County and the State which have delayed the extension of Scott Boulevard to Local Road. The motion passed unanimously. REQUEST STAFF ASSISTANCE Horowitz moved that the City change current Planning and Program Development priorities to allow staff the time to examine possible revisions in the OPDH regulations to allow smaller minimum sizes of development. Cooper seconded. Presently the minimum size for an OPDH is two acres. Horowitz stated that one acre developments might be feasible for the inner city and developed parts of the City. Boyle stated that writing a separate ordinance for the inner city and developed portions would be difficult, but that he was confident that staff could develop such an ordinance. The motion passed unanimously. OTHER BUSINESS: 1. Scott stated that the Commission will soon consider a revision to the ordinance applying to high-rise buildings. The proposed ordinance would establish a minimum height of 65 feet for high-rise building designa— tion. /T0/ u Planning 8 Zoning Commission July 18, 1985 Page 4 2. Scott announced that on August 1, 1985, the Planning and Zoning Commis- sion will hold a joint meeting with the Parks and Recreation Commission. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the Neighborhood Open Space Plan and Ordinance. The meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the Senior Center Classroom. The next Planning and Zoning Commission meeting will be August 12, informal and August 15, formal. The formal seYagrqe was adjourned at 8:32 p.m. Approved by:, ry our ney, a ee ary INFORMAL AGENDA CALL TO ORDER: The informal public hearing was called to order at 8:36 p.m. SUBDIVISION ITEMS: I. S-8504. Discussion of an amended application submitted by Hallmark ames, Inc., Loran Hershberger, President, for preliminary plat/planned developed' housing plan approval of Vista Park Village located between Peterson Street and Scott Boulevard; 45 -day limitation period: Waived. Hershberger reviewed a new PDH plan that would have access onto Scott Boulevard. The plan calls for retaining some open space, and possibly a trade of land with the City. He also stated that the City Engineer believes that the access to Scott was in the best place possible. He said he had a letter from the neighbors rescinding their objections to Vista Park Village if it accessed onto Scott Blvd. Scott asked why the City Council referred the PDH back to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Hershberger stated that the referral was at his own request since the original plan would probably have been voted down. Courtney stated that the granting of access to Scott would contradict the intent of the earlier Commission recommendation to the City Council. Scott stated that he believed that the new plan essentially segregates the neighborhood from adjacent neighborhoods to the west, and that this was not a proper way to handle this parcel of land. He felt that the neighbors' willingness to accept this new proposal was based on their desire to keep their neighborhood inhabited by "their kind of people". Scott said he would never be a party to this. He also reviewed the past history intent the thatbeing toprovidear north-southrlink to sthecindustrialodeveloped property with I-80 and to relieve that truck traffic through Iowa City. i U Planning R Zoning Commission July 18, 1985 Page 5 Rod Shultz said that the intent of the new plan is to decrease traffic on Arbor Drive and to protect the value of property in the Court Hill addition. Horowitz stated that the idea of physical segregation of this subdivision from adjacent subdivisions is repugnant. It could imply a discriminatory practice. Hershberger stated that he never envisioned the residents of Arbor Drive as neighbors. Blank stated that she was not sure there was a market for homes on small lots with no basements. Hershberger stated that 60% of the lots in the subdivision are of the minimum lot size for the proposed density. It would be built to pur- chaser's specifications, i.e. with or without basements as an option. Shultz said that many residents were concerned about the quality of the construction of the houses even if fewer tots were developed. Scott reminded him that if a subdivision comes before the Commission and meets all the requirements of the subdivision ordinance, this Commission has Tiitle discretionary power and it would in all probability receive approval, regardless of the neighborhood objections. Horowitz said that she appreciates input from neighborhoods but that she remains opposed to the Scott Boulevard access. Blank said that good properties will attract good residents. She said she also shares the concerns expressed by the other commissioners on the question of access to Scott Blvd. Cooper said that he doesn't tike the physical segregation that results from the Scott access. Scott said that the a reading of the Planning and Zoning Commission brings him to the conclusion that it is not likely to approve an access onto Scott Boulevard. Hershberger thanked the Commission for giving him a definite answer. The meeting was adjourned at 9:22 p.m. Minutes submitted by Greg Prestemon. II u MINUTES Val PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AUGUST 1, 1985 - 7:30 P.M. CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Cooper, Courtney, Horowitz, Jordan, Perry, Scott MEMBERS ABSENT: Blank STAFF PRESENT: Franklin CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Scott called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF JULY 18 1985: Horowitz moved and Cooper seconded approval of the minutes of July 18, 1985. The following corrections to the minutes were suggested: -Page 2, paragraph 2. The minutes should show that Horowitz and not Courtney abstained. -Page 5, paragraph 2. Horowitz stated that her reference to discriminatory practice should state "it could imply" a discriminatory... Page 3. In the discussion of the extension and completion of Scott Boule— vard.. Horowitz suggested that there were three additional reasons for the Commission's recommendation. Those reasons were the opening of Freeway 218, i traffic congestion at the Keokuk and Highway 6 intersection generated by commercial development, and the problem of the train blocking traffic on Highway 6. Cooper and Horowitz withdrew their original motion. Horowitz moved and Cooper seconded approval of the minutes of July 18, 1985 as amended. The motion passed 6-0. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: None. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION: I. Discussion of an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance to redefine high-rise and low-rise multi -family residential dwellings. Franklin explained the ordinance presented to the Commission, pointing out that high-rise residential dwellings would now be defined as build- ings with a height exceeding 65 feet and that low-rise residential dwellings would be defined as buildings with a height of 35 feet or less. She pointed out that the effects of this change would be felt only in the RM -145 and the CB -2 zones. She reiterated the Commission's directive regarding this amendment and their reasons for suggesting the amendment, k ■ Planning and Zoning Commission August 1, 1985 Page 2 i.e. to eliminate the possibility of constructing three-story apartment buildings on a story of parking while taking advantage of the parking and density provisions of the high-rise designation. She pointed out that this amendment would mean that no buildings between 35 feet in height and 65 feet in height cold be constructed in the RM -145 and CB -2 zones. Jim Glasgow, Glasgow Construction Company, stated that he had built a building in the RM -145 zone which was 49 feet in height. He questioned why the change was proposed. Scott repliepd that the RM -145 zone was intenwhereded dense developmentwhich wasrdesirable. d He lstated thed at at the intentfor ofareas the original ordinance was to provide a trade-off for the developer to build high-rise construction in exchange for a break in the parking require- ment. Glasgow responded that his building at 25 Lincoln Avenue has 24 units in it and questioned whether the Commission would want to see construction of a building with 49 units in it there. Scott replied that yes, this was the intention of the high density zoning. Glasgow asked if any complaints has been received from the public. Franklin responded that she was aware of one complaint that had been filed with the City Manager's office. Scott stated that if the Commission wished to reduce the density in the area, they could rezone the property to RM -44. This would make Mr. Glasgow's building non -conforming. Glasgow responded that the amendment would make his building non -conforming and he felt he had made good use of the land. Scott concurred that the building was a good use of the land but reiter- ated his explanation of the purpose behind the high-density zoning and the tradeoffs in parking requirements and the tree ordinance that were available for high-rise construction. Glasgow encouraged the Commission to look at his project and added that he perceived an additional problem with the amendment in that it would not permit the construction of a building between 35 feet and 65 feet in height. Scott agreed that the gap between the two permitted heights should be investigated at some point. Franklin presented the figures for the height of various buildings which had three stories of apartments over a story of parking. John Cruise, a partner in the construction of multi -family units, expressed opposition to the amendment. He stated that the statement made in a staff memo that the amendment would not necessarily encourage high-rise construction was not true. He asserted that he intended to l proceed with construction of a high-rise building if this were passed. Cruise stated that he understood the impetus behind the proposed amend- ment was to decrease density. He assured the Commission that this would not happen. / 0 / i i i 1 I' j I Planning and Zoning Commission August 1, 1985 Page 3 OTHER BUSINESS Scott pointed out that the conditional zoning agreement Pepperwood Place rezoning was in error; elimination for the of the crossover on Highway 6 should not be included. Meeting adjourned to informal session at 7:45 P.M. Minutes submitted by Karin Franklin. Approved by: Darre Courtney, Secretary I 1 411 I' i } R MINUTES IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING THURSDAY, JULY 25, 1985 - 4:00 P.M. ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Bovbjerg, Cavitt, Cox, Buchanan, Drum, Grimes, Pegnetter, Willis MEMBERS ABSENT: Lyman STAFF PRESENT: Eggers, Tiffany, Jehle, Lee, Craig, Prosser, Spaziani OTHERS PRESENT: Pat Forsythe, Foundation Executive Director; Pat Schnack, FRIENDS of the Library Representative President Grimes called the meeting to order at 4:09 P.M. The minutes of the regular meeting of June 27, 1985, were approved with the following correc- tion: page 2, paragraph 7, "The case statement brochure will go to the printer next week." Cavitt/Drum. Disbursements from July I and July 15, 1985, were approved. Bovbjerg/Pegnetter. The Library Director reported on the following: 1. The Library was able to send seven staff members to the American Library Association ( ALA) Conference July 5-9. An excellent report session about the conference was held on July 12. The continuing threat of imposing user fees on libraries has triggered a renewed discussion of the philo- sophical basis of the American Public Library. Grimes, Zastrow and Eggers attended a day -long meeting on "Public Libraries and the Public Good; Forging Coalitions." 2. The software collection will be ready for the public in early September if the microcomputer on order has arrived by then . Recommendations on rules, fines, etc. will be on the Board agenda in August. 3. Fine income under the new rates was up 75% in July over one year ago. This is the rate of increase predicted, but one month is too soon to be sure it will continue. 4. The newly revised annual report to the State Library Commission asks for information about the rate of attendance at Library Board meetings and the number of Library conferences and workshops attended for each Board member. S. We continue to discuss the impact of the Fair Labor Standards Act with City staff. The prospect for continued staff participation in the volunteer program is not bright and the possible chilling affect on the general work environment is upsetting. I am also concerned about the impact on the employees' rights to free association. 6. The Director and other officials from the Amsterdam, Netherlands, Public Library will be visiting Iowa City Public Library on August 7. /�14.z ,■ Iowa City Public Litrary July 25, 1985 Page 2 The question of whether the library should issue a public annual report was discussed. It was the consensus of the Board that a report similar to last year's should be prepared. The Director was authorized to spend the neces- sary funds from Gifts and Bequests for a report on a scale similar to last year's full-page report in the Press -Citizen. Drum/Buchanan. Approved. President Grimes reviewed his presidential goals for FY1986. He will emphasize regular attendance at meetings by Board members. He introduced a new calendar which projects Board agenda items, pending issues and other significant dates for one full year. This will be included in each month's agenda packet and should help Board members keep track of Board issues and projects and the annual cycle of Board activities. Grimes wants the Library's five-year plan and long-range goals to be more visible, and he wants Boardmembers to increase their ability to be advocates for the free public library. Meetings he attended at the ALA conference reinforced his concerns that the public needs to be reminded of the historic roots of and reasons for free libraries. Free and easy access to information through libraries is one of the major differences between democracies that "work" and those that don't. He asked that this topic be an agenda item at the August meeting. Foundation President Cavitt reported for the Foundation Board. They have approved the purchase of software and a microcomputer. This will enable them to more easily sort, track, record, thank and inform contributors and to identify and solicit potential contributors. The annual reception for Foundation donors will be Sunday, September 22. Assistant Director Connie Tiffany reviewed the background on the proposal to institute a deposit for checking out library materials or equipment valued at $500 or more. It is now a requirement under a state law passed in the last legislative session. The legislation was primarily designed to reduce the overdue period required before libraries can bring criminal charges against borrowers for unreturned materials, but the legislature added this require- ment. It was not requested by the library community. Tiffany explained that the library owns about seven pieces of circulating equipment and three 161rm films that fall into this category. The equipment goes out daily; the films are loaned one or two times per week. After deciding that they must adopt something, Board discussion centered on the amount of the deposit and whether checks only should be accepted. Drum moved that the library institute a policy requiring a deposit of $25 on loan of materials or equipment valued at over $500 and that the library accept checks only. Policy to be effective September 1, 1985. The motion was seconded by Bovbjerg and approved. If the "checks only" policy causes problems or seriously limits service to some borrowers, the staff was directed to return the policy for reconsideration. Next the Board considered the proposal to revise the policy on temporary resident cards. Temporary cards are issued to people who will be in Iowa City 12 weeks or less - less than the time needed to complete the full notification and billing process cycle for items not returned. Although temporary resident cardholders are only allowed to check out two items at a time, the library has been experiencing some very high loss rates recently, especially from residents of temporary treatment facilities. Other temporary /06z Iowa City Public Library July 25, 1985 Page 3 residents are here too short a time (two weeks or less) to even qualify for a temporary card. The proposed revision, which requires a $20 cash deposit, would allow all categories of temporary residents to get service. The library would continue to require identification, proof of local and home address, and would only allow two items to be checked out at one time. The Policy as presented was approved. Cavitt/Willis. Unanimous. Because of a rapidly increasing number of borrowers who wish to be excused from payment of fines or overdue movies on video (;2.50 per day per film based on personal emergencies of all kinds, staff asked the Board to affirm the present administrative policy of not granting exceptions to these fines. This way all borrowers are treated fairly and no judgment is made on the "emergency" which caused the delay. There is some evidence that this service is. attracting new users unschooled in traditional library procedures of loan Periods, fines, etc. It was the consensus of the Board to affirm their approval of this general policy. The Ay Department will prepare a written statement describing the policy. It will also give the names of administra- tors and Board members so appeals, though discouraged, can still be made. The Board discussed the topics they wished to appear in their annual report. Eggers will draft and have Grimes approve. The draft agenda for the August 22 joint meeting of the FRIENDS, Foundation and Library Board was reviewed. It was decided to hold the dinner meeting at Giovanni's at 6:15 p.m. The slideshow was eliminated and the order of presentations and topics was adjusted. The meeting recessed at 6:10 p.m. and reconvened at 6:45 p.m. for a dinner at the Athletic Club honoring the Board's new and retiring members. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Joan i ee, Lo y Eggers Recor rs i Iowa City Public Library July 25, 1985 Page 3 residents are here too short a time (two weeks or less) to even qualify for a temporary card. The proposed revision, which requires a $20 cash deposit, would allow all categories of temporary residents to get service. The library would continue to require identification, proof of local and home address, and would only allow two items to be checked out at one time. The Policy as presented was approved. Cavitt/Willis. Unanimous. Because of a rapidly increasing number of borrowers who wish to be excused from payment of fines or overdue movies on video (;2.50 per day per film based on personal emergencies of all kinds, staff asked the Board to affirm the present administrative policy of not granting exceptions to these fines. This way all borrowers are treated fairly and no judgment is made on the "emergency" which caused the delay. There is some evidence that this service is. attracting new users unschooled in traditional library procedures of loan Periods, fines, etc. It was the consensus of the Board to affirm their approval of this general policy. The Ay Department will prepare a written statement describing the policy. It will also give the names of administra- tors and Board members so appeals, though discouraged, can still be made. The Board discussed the topics they wished to appear in their annual report. Eggers will draft and have Grimes approve. The draft agenda for the August 22 joint meeting of the FRIENDS, Foundation and Library Board was reviewed. It was decided to hold the dinner meeting at Giovanni's at 6:15 p.m. The slideshow was eliminated and the order of presentations and topics was adjusted. The meeting recessed at 6:10 p.m. and reconvened at 6:45 p.m. for a dinner at the Athletic Club honoring the Board's new and retiring members. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Joan i ee, Lo y Eggers Recor rs MINUTES BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 1985 - 8:00 P.M. CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRESENT: Terry, Twaler, Ehninger ABSENT: Johnson, Sigrin EXCUSED: Sigrin ! OTHERS PRESENT: Blough, Calderon, Cosnett, LeValley of Heritage, Tiffany of i ICPL, Beeson of Ch. 28 STAFF PRESENT: Shaffer, Stewart, Helling RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL - None. MATTERS PENDING COUNCIL-COMMISSION DISPOSITION - Triannual Review, RFP eve opmen or NPO selection. i SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION AND FORMAL ACTION TAKEN: l Blough will provide a video package to the BTC, made up of examples of programming not now received in Iowa City. Blough also said he could announce BTC meeting dates and times on a quarterly basis in the cable company's billing statements. Shaffer reported on complaints he received, including citizens wanting to receive cable service and not as yet being able to obtain service; complaints regarding Heritage's service line not being answered and a complaint about a local program being cancelled on Channel 26. Shaffer developed a report on Information Resource Management (IRM) for City administration. Blough stated because of a new state law there will be, effective July 1, a 4% sales tax on certain services offered by Heritage. SportsVision will be added to the channel carrying FNN; Arts and Entertain- ment programming will share channel space on the Learning Channel and Nickelodian will expand to evening hours June 1. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER: Terry called the meeting to order at 8:07 a.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Minnesota's regional NFLCP conference is being held this weekend in Minneapolis. Upon Terry's request for an overview of the Annual Forum, Ehninger suggested that an alternative to the Forum might be for the public ! to attend BTC meetings regularly or more often than is currently the case. Ehninger said, however, she does not know how to achieve this. Discussion ensued as to whether the 8:00 a.m. meeting time of the BTC was a factor in lack of public attendance. Terry noted that the Triannual Review would take place on May 22 and 29 in Council Chambers and will be cablecast live. Blough noted his feelings of being uncomfortable at the Annual Forum. Terry asked if Blough had obtained the promotional video package of programming not being shown in Iowa City, as previously discussed. Terry said he would like to T� Broadband Telecommunications Commission April 16, 1985 Page 2 have it by the end of April. Blough said he would try to have it edited to a reasonable length by that time. The Triannual Review will be telecast on Channel 29. MINUTES: Ehninger moved and Terry seconded the minutes of March 5 be approved. Ehninger asked for a correction on page five, next to the last paragraph, change "by" to "buy." The minutes, with correction, were approved unani- mously. Twaler moved and Ehninger seconded the minutes of March 13, be approved. Unanimously approved. PUBLIC DISCUSSION: Beeson of Channel 28 reported on recent programming regarding the Ronald McDonald House and the NASA space shuttle. Beeson also mentioned a program for Channel 28 done live from the Corroboree Gallery which she said was an example of good cooperation between the cable company and Channel 28. Tiffany noted that one individual had come in to the library to watch the space shuttle on Channel 28. Stewart reported the Access Iowa City Spaghetti Dinner would be held at 6:30 p.m. April 26 in the basement of the Unitarian Universalist Church at 10 S. Gilbert St., with a program to follow at 7:30 p.m. DISCUSSION OF SELECTION OF CONSULTANT: Shaffer reported that BTC packets had contained a copy of the City policy on selection of consultants outlining what was being asked of the consultant candidates. This document has been sent to the candidates, Sue Miller Buske and Anita Stech. Both candidates have asked for more time to respond. Shaffer said a recommendation on selection of the consultant will assist the City in developing and/or evaluating an RFP for non-profit organizations to respond to, who are interested in managing and operating local access programming in Iowa City TRIANNUAL REVIEW PREPARATIONS: Terry noted that Commissioners should be thinking about issues and questions in regard to the Triannual Review. Blough said that Heritage is in the process of going onto the Des Moines computer and members should present requests for information needed for the Review hearing as soon as possible. The Company needs 60 days notice for billing messages, Blough said, but with Shaffer's help he would prepare an ad about the Review hearing for the newspaper and also feature the message on the local channels. Terry asked whether Blough could regularly announce the BTC meetings in the billing statement with mention that the Commission seeks public input. Blough said this could be done once each quarter, stating the regular day and time of the meetings, Terry asked whether it was possible to keep a cost -per -service list of charges from the Legal Department to the cable budget. Helling said he thought this could be done for a few months. Terry noted that as the BTC gets into resolving some of the problems ahead with the cable company, he /'�163 Broadband Tel econrmnicat ions Ccmniss:on April 16, 1985 Page 3 wondered whether it is fair to take it all out of the BTC funds when the whole city stands to benefit. Helling said the fees are figured down from a salary to an hourly basis for one to two hours per week and is approximately $15 per hour. Helling said the breakdown of costs could be available for the next meeting. Helling also said the figure for "longevity" represents a sum paid to Shaffer as a bonus for serving the City for five years. Terry reminded Commissioners to get their requests for information to Blough with plenty of lead time. Blough said if these come in question format it is easiest for him to address. McDonald and Graves of Heritage will help Blough prepare responses. BTS REPORT: Shaffer dealt with five complaints since the last meeting. All have been resolved except for one involving underground service on Burns Avenue. A letter from Crank productions, Greg Kovaciny was received. Shaffer itemized and explained the nature of the complaints. One in particular dealt with the service line not being answered at Heritage. Discussion ensued regarding this continuing problem. Shaffer's plans for promoting the Triannual Review include producing 30-60 second spots, perhaps with Terry in front of the camera. Terry may also appear on the Dottie Ray Show on KXIC radio. Editing of the Community Programming Guidelines is complete. City offices are being moved and Shaffer's office is slated to move out of the Library, probably to the Civic Center. Shaffer said Government Channel 29 will probably still be programmed out of the Library. Shaffer and Becca Palmer worked on a report on Information Resource Manage- ment (IRM) for Dale Melling and Neal Berlin, copies of which will be sent to BTC Comnissioners. Shaffer also has an update on the City of Santa Cruz suit regarding local municipalities and the Sherman Antitrust Law. This decision limits the ability of those suing a city from collecting treble damages. Shaffer, Helling and Berlin met last week with Heritage. The outcome of that meeting was inconclusive. Another meeting is scheduled for next week. The automatic playback director for Government Channel 29 should arrive in a few weeks. This will allow programming of up to 19 tapes in advance and the channel can then be programmed automatically with a microprocessor for 24 hours in advance. The Wakefield letter regarding City Block 81 has been referred to the legal staff. Shaffer has drafted a response. There is no City easement into that block. Blough said the utilities will service that block from its perimeter. The utilities have a conduit but the cable company has no access to that conduit. Terry said Brown will respond for the City. HERITAGE REPORT: Blough said the rates for cable service would go up 4% due to a regressive sales tax. Blough said he expects this development to hurt not only Heritage in Iowa City, but the industry on a statewide basis. Blough said the Company is going to try to break out the billing to show the tax. The tax becomes law July 1 and will be collected on the July billing. The Company has been collecting the tax an installation of equipment. Blough will prepare a letter officially notifying the City. /4143 U i Broadband Telecommunications Commission April 16, 1985 Page 4 Blough said a fairly strong statute on theft of service has passed the Iowa House and has been sent to the Senate. This will give the industry a three -tiered protection against theft of service, since the matter is covered in the municipal ordinance and will now be addressed by state and federal legislation. Blough said he prefers to audit and disconnect those who are illegally receiving the service and then attempt to sell the service to them rather than prosecute. ) SportsVision will be joining the local channel lineup, sharing channel space with FNN. This will bring Chicago White Sox baseball games to Iowa City for the first time. The cost to Heritage will be ten cents per subscriber per month and the service should be on-line by June 1. Arts 8 Entertainment will move and share space with the Learning Channel. Starting June 1 Nickelodeon will expand its programming on Ch. 34 to the evenings. A "must -carry" UHF channel from Cedar Rapids will be added in the fall, probably on Ch. 18. The i Company would like to leave channels 31 and 33 open. Intermittent problems with the editing system continue, but the back-up editing system has been repaired. The service contract with Video Midwest r has been signed. Discussion ensued on the problem with the Council Chambers lights and the resulting image of Council meetings on Channel 29. Terry asked Blough and Shaffer for a resolution of the problem by the next meeting. Blough said he would like to see a phase-out in the future of the three- quarter inch equipment to half inch cameras,. decks and editors in the Community Programming Center. Ehninger noted that when Doug Allaire complained recently about the studio equipment being down, she became concerned about that would happen when the non—profit organization (NPO) takes over. Ehninger suggested that local people who are qualified might be called upon to repair the equipment. One alternative might be to set up a contract with Kirkwood. Shaffer asked whether Blough had heard from Heritage on breaking out the charges on the cable bill. Blough said he is waiting for a response from Heritage. Shaffer also asked whether Calderon had been keeping the tally on workshop sign-ups. Calderon said she is tabulating the information and when the report is typed, she will forward it to the BTC. NEW BUSINESS: i Terry distributed proposed guidelines from Calderon regarding the cable - casting of programs. Terry pointed out that although the BTC tries to be flexible, he is bothered by the fact that changes are already being made less than a month since the Commission approved the new cable guidelines. Calderon said the new guidelines had been approved but the editing changes had not been approved. Calderon said that the guidelines are always in the process of being revised and updated, or at least they should be. Also, Calderon said, these new changes have to do only with some time deadlines and were instituted to try to make prime cablecasting time avail- able to a wider range of community producers, in an effort to be fair to all. Stewart said that according to the minutes, the new guidelines had been .. lj , I Broadband Telecommunications Comnission April 16, 1985 Page 5 approved in substance, subject to editing but that it was not clear whether the editing changes were to be approved by the full Commission or only by the subcommittee for the guidelines. Terry said he would turn this matter over to the subcommittee to report back to the Camnission at the May meeting. A letter from Crank Productions Greg Kovaciny was discussed. Calderon said that both she and Cosnett had apologized to Kovaciny for an occasion when a program of his was preempted recently. The new changes in the guidelines will be readied for the BTC to vote on Incorporating them at the June meeting. ADJOURNMENT: Ehninger moved and Twaler seconded the meeting to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 9:50 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Wm. D Shaffer Broadband Telecommunications Specialist j j- I i i i i i ,I i MINUTES BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION TUESDAY, MAY 21, 1985 - 8:00 AM CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHA14BERS PRESENT: Terry, Ehninger, Sigrin, Twaler, Johnson ABSENT: None EXCUSED: None STAFF PRESENT: Shaffer OTHERS PRESENT: Blough, Cosnett, Calderon of Heritage, Beeson of Channel 28, Tiffany of ICPL, McGuire of AIC RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: None. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION AND FORMAL ACTION TAKEN: Heritage will pay for installation of new lights in Council Chambers. The upcoming Triannual Review has received a good amount of advertising. It was suggested future Triannual Review hearings should be held at a time when the University is in session. The BTC will meet at 4:00 p.m. July 16, with a follow-up meeting for the Triannual Review at 7:00. The report on the Triannual Review will be finalized July 30 at 8:00 a.m. The September meeting will be the 17th at 8:00 a.m. No August meeting is planned. Minutes of April 16 were approved with no corrections. Public discussion concerned Access Iowa City activities including the spaghetti dinner and NFLCP regional conference held in Lincoln, Nebraska. AIC will host the 1986 spring regional conference of the NFLCP. This includes a four state area. Both candidates for the consultant on the RFP propose lengthy informational and policy workshops for the Commission. Shaffer will negotiate a flat fee for the workshops, RFP and evaluations. The fee is to be kept under $4500. Commissioners discussed possible procedures for conducting the information and policy sessions to cut down on the length of time required as well as the cost. The Triannual Review format was discussed. BTS office resolved four of seven complaints over the last month. Ehninger and Shaffer reviewed the service logs of Heritage prior to the Triannual Review. A satellite conference on the 1984 Cable Act will be held at two locations in Iowa City and Coralville. Shaffer will attend the Highlander Inn conference site. Heritage is building less trunk than had been anticipated due to slow housing starts. Fifty-five miles of underground plant make up about one-fourth of the system but generated over half of all service calls. Negotiations continue between Heritage and the UI on wiring married student housing. Arts Channel will be carried on Channel 35. A new handbook being developed by Heritage in Des Moines will include a section designed locally on community programming. MINUTES BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MAY 21, 1985 PAGE 2 MEETING CALLED TO ORDER: Terry called the meeting to order at 8:07 a.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Terry asked that any Commissioners who are unable to attend meetings or must be out of town please notify Shaffer prior to their absence. Terry noted that the new lighting enhancement in Council Chambers will be installed, at a 5• cost of $170800, paid for by Heritage. Terry took note of all the advertis- ing for the Triannual Review, including newspaper advertisements, video promos, press releases and posters as well as Dottie Ray radio spots. Johnson suggested that in the future, the time of the Triannual Review be set to coincide with students being in town. The next regular meeting of the BTC will be July 16, at 4:00 p.m. A fol- low-up meeting to the Triannual Review, in order to encapsulize facts brought out at the Review, will be held July 16, with a live telecast but no phone call-in, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Another meeting to approve the final report on the Triannual Review will be July 30, at the regular 8:00 a.m. meeting time. Currently, no meeting is planned for August. The September meeting will be the 17th at 8:00 a.m. MINUTES: Ehninger moved and Sigrin seconded the minutes of April 16 be approved. There were no corrections and the minutes were approved unanimously. PUBLIC DISCUSSION: Tiffany reported that a beam splitter made by Jack Imes has been acquired by the Library. McGuire reported that Access Iowa City had made a profit of $90 on the spaghetti dinner and had a very good turnout. Terry sent thanks to the crew who prepared the meal. McGuire reported that in an effort to increase membership in the organization, the annual dues have been rolled back to $3 from $15. McGuire and Doug Allaire attended the recent Spring Conference of the National Federation of Local Cable Programmers held in Lincoln, Nebraska. A result of that conference is that Access Iowa City will sponsor the 1986 Spring Conference of the NFLCP in Iowa City. Other local sponsors will be sought for this conference. The next meeting of AIC is June 5, at the Iowa City Public Library. A planning committee for the conference will be named at that time. CONSULTANT SELECTION FOR RFP: Shaffer needs a time commitment from the Comnissioners and an indication as to how much they want to be directly involved in the process. Both Anita Stech and Sue Buske, candidates for the consultant position, propose holding information and policy workshops. Stech would hold a six to eight hour policy workshop and a three hour information workshop. The policy workshop would include tailoring the design of the RFP for Iowa City. These workshops would involve Commissioners. Buske would give a six hour policy and informa- tion workshop giving an overview of the RFP process and information on how other cities have carried out similar actions. These workshop proposals MINUTES BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COM•1ISSION MAY 21, 1985 PAGE 3 represent two different approaches. There was some discussion of the comparative costs for the consultants' time to hold these workshops and carry out the rest of the process. Ehninger suggested giving Shaffer the authority to negotiate a flat fee for the workshops, RFP and evaluations. Johnson asked what kinds of things the Commission would be responsible for. Johnson suggested the Commissioners receive a packet of information to read with suggested questions where input is needed, and holding a workshop after the Commissioners have made such preparation. Shaffer said an example might be what the Commission would want the NFO to be accountable to the BTC for. Johnson suggested a framework consisting of the following: 1) consultant providing the BTC with looseleaf notebooks including such information as three samples of RFPs indicating the range of possibilities; 2) a checklist document with problem and decision points highlighted; 3) a checklist for summarization of the points to be considered; 4) meeting with the consultant to review revised draft einRhand, oFP f meetingw thlpotentialtant to rbiddersevise rtotdi cusof sPRFP.) Much of this, Johnson said, the consultant could do from home base, eliminating the need for the BTC to sit down with the consultant for a six hour workshop, and also keeping down the overall cost of the RFP process. Sigrin would also like the consultant to address the issue of what an NPO can do, for Council information purposes. Sigrin moved and Johnson seconded the BTC delegate the additional responsi- bility to Shaffer of negotiating the origins of the NPO and to keep the cost within $4500. Motion approved unanimously. TRIANNUAL REVIEW: Terry outlined the format he and Shaffer have worked out for the Triannual second willecenterh on f services irst 45 nand inutthe next 30 minutes e session will rwillesspbe gdedicatrorammined to call-in seesmooresand publicuinput.lic Ehningercussion bsaiddthatehavingrs. Johnson the meeting onould cableike to makes it more formal. Sigrin suggested collecting the call-in questions and having the Commissioners address them periodically. Terry agreed to try to use Sigrin's method. BTS REPORT: BTS office handle seven complaints over the last month, resolving all but three. A response from legal staff is needed on one. Two calls had to do with the local weather channel "crawl.," Shaffer reported that Sandy Eskin requested programming assistance from Heritage and had received no response. Calderon said that she had returned the call and left a message on Eskin's answering machine. Shaffer also worked on preparations for the Triannual Review, Council Chamber lights and microphones, correspondence to the FCC regarding satellite dishes, talks with Heritage re the 5% franchise fee and NPO funds and Shaffer and Ehninger checked the service record at Heritage. The automatic playback director machine will be in next week. A satellite conference will be held at the IMU and Ironmen Inn on the 1984 Cable Act. Registration fees will be $95 for attendance at the Ironmen and $125 for attendance at the IMU. /f4_11 I MINUTES BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MAY 21, 1955 PAGE 4 HERITAGE REPORT: Blough is personally handling some complaints and meeting regularly with the chief technician on the construction timetable. It had been estimated that two miles of new trunk would be built but only about a mile has been built due to fewer housing starts than had been expected. Blough said that drops are laid when service is personally requested. Service is sometimes laid over ground temporarily when the company knows that landscaping is still planned. Weather conditions sometimes prohibit work on drops being done in a timely fashion. Fifty-five miles of underground plant make up about one- fourth of the system but generate over half of all service calls. Heritage is still negotiating for wiring married student housing. The University is considering asking a computer/telephone contractor to wire the dorm rooms. The Board of Regents has approved the action. Blough noted that the Arts Channel will be carried on Channel 35. Johnson asked what is the most popular of national programming services that Iowa City does not currently have. Blough said he could obtain that information before the first Triannual meeting. Blough said a new handbook in leaflet form is being developed in Des Moines which will have a section developed locally on community programming. Calderon will be attending a district workshop session. NEW BUSINESS: None. ADJOURNMENT: Ehninger moved and Johnson seconded the meeting adjourn at 9:52 a.m. Motion approved. Respectfully submitted, Wm. Drew Shaffer Broadband Telecommunications Specialist I MINUTES BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION SECOND TRIANNUAL REVIEW CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS MAY 22, 1985 - 7:00 P.M. PRESENT: Terry, Johnson; Ehninger, Twaler, Sigrin ABSENT: None EXCUSED: None 3ud'J0 1" ^1D BTL 4PPAVVAL_ STAFF PRESENT: Shaffer, Hess, Stewart, cablecast volunteers Kevin Kelly, Elvester, Sims, Don Bailey, Jeff Kinseth OTHERS PRESENT: Blough, Calderon, Graves of Heritage, members of the public RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: None. SU14MARY OF DISCUSSION AND FORMAL ACTION TAKEN: Following introductions and announcement of playback times for this program on Channel 29, discussion began on issues relating to programming and i service. The second session of this hearing will address technical and financial matters and miscellaneous items. A third session will evaluate the first two. Twenty to $25,000 per year is budgeted for access and local origination equipment replacement by Heritage. The BTC will receive copies of the company's quarterly newsletter. Blough described the subscriber handbook. Blough will supply a promo tape showing examples of programming which could i be but is not currently available on the Iowa City system. The top three programming sources which could be obtained are: Modern Satellite Network; Inspirational Network, and Black Entertainment Network. There could also be an adult, contemporary music service called Video Hits I. ACSN (The Learning Channel) could be let go to make room for one of these services. BET could be cherry picked for three cents per sub, and could possibly be added to the system in the near future. Four channels are currently blank, but two are earmarked for other purposes. One channel (11) can only carry data and another is reserved for 4t;, access proposes. Heritage does not carry WQAD because of prohibi ve cos s. Service fees for channel programming paid by the company range from free to 1 25 cents per sub. The company also pays transmission and copyright fees. Although some programming sources are in financial trouble, most are now stable, and few programming changes are expected. Sigrin noted that outreach for and utilization of access facilities has fallen off since the last Triannual Review. Graves objected to any compari- son between Heritage and ATC since Heritage has operated the system such a short time. There was further discussion of Heritage's commitment to access. The company would be willing to conduct a demographic survey of access workshop participants. Programming for Public Access Channel 26 has Contin- ued to decline since the last Triannual Review, said Sigrin, while all other Access Channels have almost doubled program production and/or playback. /� ■ ■ ■ ■ i Broadband Telecommunications Commission Second Triannual Review May 22, 1985 Page 2 Complaints continue to surface that the access equipment does not work properly. Blough said access users should take better care of it. Shaffer will prepare a form to be filled out by access equipment users when returning equipment to the CPC which will denote any equipment problems. The situation will be monitored by Shaffer for a period of time. There was further discussion of access promotion and outreach as well as the status of the NPO. A resolution of the NPO question is expected in two to three months. State of the art, INET, universal hook-up and interactive service will be discussed at the next session. The company is experimenting with ad insertion equipment and placing local ads in spaces reserved for that purpose on national channels. This may provide a new source of revenue for the company, and in turn for the City via the franchise fee. Since the last Triannual Review, the company has added the following new services: MTV, CNN, CNN II, Weather Channel, Financial News Network, Spanish International Network, Disney, Nashville Network, Cable Health Network, Sports Vision, Arts Channel. The question of service to City Block B1 was discussed. The company believes the cost of gaining access to it is unreasonable and prohibitive. The I is the main reason Iowa'Citycord on subscribersidisconnect. service Commissi n andocompany disagree on itemizing the company's billing statements to subscribers. The Commission it should the company staff memberwillnnot be calledany iiinto s reiHeritage'suctant.lSouthgate officn case eeto answer subscribers' calls. The company is beginning to get caught up on fulfilling requests for service dating back to last August. The cablecast guidelines are to be finalized by the July 16 meeting. MEETING TO ORDER: Terry brought the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m., introduced the Commission- ers, staff members and cablecast volunteers, and Heritage representatives. Terry noted the dates and time for cablecasting of this meeting on Channel 29, and the dates and times of the next two meetings of the Triannual Review. i Terry read the section of the enabling ordinance calling for the occurrence of the Triannual Review. Tonight's session will deal with questions and issues relating to programming and service. The next meeting of the Triannual Review will address technical and financial as well as miscellane- ous matters. A third meeting will be held July 16, which will not be cablecast live. Anyone who wishes to come to the meetings and address questions to the Commissioners or to Heritage, or anyone who would like to call in with questions may do so, Terry said. i ■ Broadband Telecommunications Commission Second Triannual Review May 22, 1985 Page 3 PROGRAMMING: Ehninger began by asking Heritage how much money per year is budgeted for access equipment replacement. Blough said as a rule, $20,000 to $25,000. Ehninger also asked about the company's quarterly newsletter. Blough will refer copies to the BTC. Ehninger asked Blough to describe the Subscriber Handbook. Blough said this gives an explanation of services, procedures for what to do in case of an outage, or in billing questions, and also includes a section on Community Programming. The handbook is being developed in leaflet form and when it is completed, he will see that copies are delivered to the BTC. Johnson enumerated the many varieties and aspects of programming from basic service to satellite programming services to community programming in order that viewers might have a better idea of the choices which could be open to them, if they knew what to ask for. Terry asked Blough to describe the range of what programming is to be carried on the system and what is not. Johnson mentioned a promo tape which Blough was to have prepared which would sample programming services not currently available on the Iowa City system. Blough said he didn't have the tape with him; that producing such a tape required many hours of TV watching to cull examples which would be representative, and edit them down to a ten-minute tape. Blough said the top three satellite services not seen in Iowa City are: 1) the Modern Satellite Network with ten million subs and five million affiliates (this service programs three hours per day, is consumer oriented and could be carried as a composite with the local origination channel or some other part-time programming service); 2) the Inspirational Network with 13 million subscribers (this would be a duplication of the Christian Broad- casting Network currently available on the I.C. system); and 3) the Black Entertainment Network, with 8 million subs. BET is a 20 hour per day service which could be a composite channel for Iowa City with the Satellite Program- ming Network. Another possible service is called Video Hits I, which Graves said is the umber one service not currently available on this system. It is an adult contemporary version of MTV and is a 24 hour service, which must be run 24 hours, unlike BET, which is a part-time service and could be joined in a composite manner with another part-time service. Johnson asked if there are any other networks with more than BET's eight million subs. Blough said no. Johnson asked which service currently seen on the I.C. system Blough might delete in order to make room for one of those just described. Blough indicated that faced with such a choice, he would let go ACSN (The Learning Channel), because its programming is a duplication of other available programming. Blough said he would also consider going part-time with SIN (Spanish International Network) which has 29 million subs and 328 affiliates, while less than 10% speak the language. SIN is currently part of the basic service in I.C. BET could be cherry picked at 3 cents per sub. This service would have to be put into a composite with some other channel because there is no space available for it right now. Terry asked whether Blough could come to the July 16 meeting prepared to offer the Black Entertainment Network as a programming source for the Iowa City system. Blough said he would be willing if it is feasible. Johnson asked Blough to explain what channels on the system are vacant. Blough j7W2 v Broadband Telecommunications Commission Second Triannual Review May 22, 1985 Page 4 explained that Channel 12 must be left vacant to allow for Iowa Public Television. Channel 18, 31 and 33 are vacant, but two of these must be kept open for leased access purposes. That leaves only two, but Blough expects to have to add Cedar Rapids' new UHF Channel 38, because it is a must -carry according to FCC requirements. Terry asked why Heritage does not carry WQAD from the Quad Cities. Blough explained that WQAD, according to FCC guide- lines, is a distant signal for Iowa City, as opposed to a must -carry such as KGAN or KCRG, and in addition, the cost per subscriber is prohibitive. Twaler asked what kind of programming would be carried on Channel 38. Graves said Channel 38 is an independent station and would carry probably a high percentage of syndicated programming. Johnson asked for a range of the fees the company pays for services per subscriber. Graves responded that service fees range from free to 25 cents a month per subscriber. The cable company pays transmission fees to the companies distributing the programming on satellites and also copyright fees to the Copyright Royalty Tribunal (CRT). As an example, the company pays ten cents per month per subscriber for WGN in Chicago, plus transmission fees and copyright fees to the CRT. Blough said he does not anticipate much in the way of new programming offerings in the future. Most of the programmers are reaching a level of maturity and the fly-by-nights are gone so unless someone can offer something new or a similar service while being very competitive, programming should remain stable. Graves said, however, that some services are in financial distress; ESPN has been suffering, Sportstime has gone out of business and several smaller sources are floundering. This may or may not affect the number of vacant channels on the I.C. system. Sigrin noted that the BTC wants to see access programming in Iowa City under the auspices of a non-profit organization and considers that the facilities of the Community Programming Center of late have been underutilized as compared to earlier efforts by ATC. Sigrin asked whether it was accurate to state that while programming on other access channels has nearly doubled in the last three years, original programming on Channel 26, the public access channel operated by the company, has fallen to one-third of that produced in 1982. Blough said previous Community Programming Director Karen Kalergis tended to lump all access programming, including that of the library, into one group. Graves asked that the record show that he believes any comparison of ATC and Heritage is unfair, since Heritage has only been in charge of the operation for seven months. Graves asked what the City is going to do with its access effort. Sigrin questioned Heritage's commitment to access and what for specific examples of Heritage's efforts to publicize the access facilities and channel other than two press releases. Blough responded that Heritage has supported the idea of the NPO, although the company may not be in agreement with the City on how to fund it, and Heritage has also offered to continue to run public access. Terry asked if Heritage would be willing to allow public access announcements in their monthly billing statements. Blough said this could be done. In addition, the company would be willing to publish promo- tional messages for access in the company's newsletter. AY0 Broadband Talccomnunications Commission Second Triannual Review May 22, 1985 Page 5 Johnson asked if Heritage would support the notion of a survey of not just the numberE of people through the access workshops, but of the demographics of those attending. Blough said he would support the idea, that it would provide information on why people come to the workshops in the first place as well as why they don't come back. A phone question from Dan Daly asked why the cable company has so much trouble keeping the access equipment working. Daly also asked for an explanation of the access budget. Terry suggested that perhaps this is why people don't return to the CPC after workshops. Blough said he didn't think this was true. Johnson stated that the Commission has heard repeatedly over the years from people who use it that the equipment is faulty, and asked what can be done to insure that the equipment meets the standards of the fran— chise. Blough said he would not deny that there have been problems, but that that is in the nature of the equipment and there will be problems whether the equipment is new or old. He added that some users don't treat the equipment properly. Johnson suggested that the company uses a double standard of quality with regard to access equipment as opposed to regular delivery equipment. Shaffer noted that there had been no increase in complaints. Certain pieces of equipment are showing signs of wear and are quite old. Shaffer said for the most part, equipment is functioning. Johnson asked if Shaffer was willing to warrant that at no time since Heritage took over the system, had the company been in default of the franchise, meaning that 100% of the equipment was working 100% of the time. Shaffer said he does not receive regular reports from the company on the status of the equipment, but that at a recent production meeting held at the CPC by Access Iowa City, the editing system was not working and was unavailable for use by that group at that time. .Terry suggested that the cable company may be the victim of other companies with whom they have service agreements for repair or equipment and who have not met the terms of those agreements with the cable company. Graves admitted that the two standards (ofquality expectations) do differ and suggested that access users should give the same are to access equipment that regular staffers give to equipment. Shaffer noted that people should let him know if equipment is not working. Shaffer will take the complaint to the company and if satisfaction is not forthcoming, then Shaffer will go on to the Commission. As a backup, if problems continue and equipment is not available when users need it, the City Manager could make use of a security fund to rent or purchase equipment. Johnson suggested a form for users to fill out to give to Shaffer stating whether there had been any equipment problems and the nature of those problems and to monitor the situation for six months. Terry expressed concern over the amount of staff time involved to undertake this responsibil— ity and also questioned whether users' expectations may be so diverse as to find problems where none in fact exist. Shaffer said he and his staff would be willing to do this because the problems keep occurring over and over again. Shaffer will make up the form and work with Calderon to maintain the check on the equipment. /7 L4ZP'3 Broadband Telecommunications Commission Second Triannual Review May 22, 1985 Page 6 Sigrin noted that even if the equipment worked 100% of the time, there is still the problem of how to promote access. Sigrin said the company is to be congratulated for being open to new programming options, but access is an alternative which the BTC strongly supports, and Sigrin said he is not satisfied with the effort that Heritage has made in this area. There should be better communications between the Commission and the company regarding access to minimize friction and to encourage the public to realize what the opportunities are and to make use of the access facilities. Sigrin recommended communication with Portland, Oregon, and study of what that city has done with its access program. Johnson asked what is being done to further the process of setting up the non-profit organization. Johnson explained for the viewers that the BTC believes that a potential conflict of interest exists with the company supplying public access and that the community's interests would be better served if access opportunities were to be supplied by an entity which has no financial interest and no competing channel responsibilities. Terry stated that a resolution on the NPO is expected in two to three months. Executive discussions between the City and cable company are underway at this time. Graves stated that the company's position relative to the NPO is still not clarified, but that he understands the Commission to say that they expect the company to do a better job in regard to the access equipment. Graves said that volunteers may have more success in promoting access. Ehninger asked that certain items for discussion be entered into the record and dealt with at the July 16 meeting. These items include state of the art, INET, universal hookup, and interactive service. Johnson stated that it is important that people know that cable TV can be more then just programming services; it can be automatic meter reading, burglar and fire alarms, banking from home and other services. Johnson said that people should also know that such services requiring two-way interactive capability costs a lot of money and would perhaps necessitate requiring the community owning their own cable system. Terry noted that the Commission had received a number of calls regarding the advertising crawl across the bottom of the weather channel. Terry said most callers asked that the local time, temperature and forecast information be reinstated in place of the advertising in that space, but that the amount of time the ad crawl takes is minimal. Blough said that the company is also beginning to place local advertising on national channels via some recently acquired specialized ad insertion equipment. These local ads are seen only locally on these national channels, and do not interfere with the programming on the channels because the spaces for ads are already allocated by the programming service, according to Graves. Blough said local ads on national programming channels opens up a whole new revenue source for the cable company. In closing the discussion on programming, Terry enumerated the new program- ming services the cable company has added to the Iowa City system in the last three years, many in response to input from the public and the Commission. These include: MTV, CNN, CNN II, the Weather Channel, financial News Network, Spanish International Network, the Disney Channel, the Nashville /AL3 Broadband Telecommunications Commission Second Triannual Review May 22, 1985 Page 7 Network, Cable Health Network, Sports Vision, and the Arts Channel. This is an increase, Terry said of over three new services per year. Terry said he hopes that the company can in the future resolve the problems with local programming and the situation with the NPO. SERVICE: Terry asked Blough to explain what he thinks us reasonable in terms of providing service to City Block B1, which is still not wired. City Block BI is the area bounded by Iowa Avenue on the north, Clinton Street on the west, Washington Street on the south and Dubuque Street on the east. Blough said the only way to do it now would be to build the perimeter; this would require 1600 feet of plant at a cost of $75 to $100 per foot. Blough said the company has been trying to get into that block for a long time, but they just haven't been able to find a way into it. Most of the 21 requests for service from that block have been from businesses; some have been from apartment dwellings living above those businesses. The costs of providing service to that block would be prohibitive and unreasonable to the company compared to the number of subscribers that might be gained. Blough said, since many of those who have requested service in the past have since put in receive -only satellite dishes of their own. Ehninger noted that upon reviewing the service logs of Heritage, generally speaking the company has done a good job on providing service for people who have problems with their cable service. Ehninger suggested that with the company's new computer, some method of indicating when more than one service call per year has been made to the same address would be helpful. In response to another question from Ehninger, Blough said the main reason for most disconnection requests from subscribers is that the individual is moving. Blough said all of this information will be available with the new computer which is very sophisticated. Johnson asked whether a survey could be done of subscribers as to whether or not they would like to have their billing statements itemized, or whether they were satisfied with the current lump sum statement. Johnson said anyone who would like to respond to this issue could write or call the BTC or the BTS. Sigrin suggested that perhaps the itemized bill could be sent out on a quarterly basis, with the monthly statement remaining as is. Graves said this would be an extremely expensive undertaking, and does not anticipate the company doing this. Terry asked what documentation the company does to note requests for cable hook-up. At one time, Terry said, the company had agreed to send out postcards when someone had asked for service. Blough said calls are docu- mented, but he no longer sends out postcards; that only happened when there was a terrific influx of requests and a lot of construction going on. Terry asked what procedure the company uses to avoid people getting a busy signal in calling the cable company when there is a service outage. Blough said in the case of major outages, especially when the weather is extreme, company staffers will be dispatched to the office to answer the calls so that i v Broadband Telecommunications Commission Second Triannual Review May 22, 1985 Page 8 there can be a "warm body" behind the phone rather than a machine. Blough said he believes this is important, but would only be done in extreme cases, such as the outage last winter during the Super Bowl. Shaffer asked why some requests for service dating back to August 1984 still have not been filled. Blough said most of these requests come from the Plaen View Drive and Pepperwood areas. All the driveway conduits for the area have been completed and the rest of the work is now proceeding on schedule. Service to the area should be completed by late June or early July. Ini- tially, Blough said, those requests came in too late to begin the underground work at that time. Shaffer asked Blough why someone living at Westgate cannot receive service. Blough said the apartment complex locks the building where the connections and disconnections are made and requires the company to make arrangements in advance to gain access to the locked premises. Blough said he anticipates further problems with this area, but the company is attempting to work something out with the owners and management of the property. Shaffer asked whether Blough would be interested in doing the demographic survey of workshop participants. Blough said he felt that it would be helpful information and would be interested in doing the survey. Sigrin asked Calderon whether the finalized copy of the Cablecast Guidelines could be completed by the July 16 meeting. Calderon replied that she had prepared a response to a letter from Shaffer on some clarifications that needed to be made in the Guidelines and that they would be completed as soon as possible, but they may not be finalized by that meeting. Terry introduced Calderon to the viewing audience. Calderon is the Community Programming Director for Heritage. Terry also introduced a former cable company employee, Rick Hindman, who is now in charge of managing and operat- ing the Educational Cable Consortium's Channel 27, out of Kirkwood Community College. Terry commended the company for their cooperation with the Commis- sion's requests for information to prepare for this Triannual Review and for placing public service announcement on several major channels of the cable system to inform people of this public hearing. Terry again reminded viewers of the dates and times of playback for the videotape of this meeting and the date for the next two meetings of this hearing. ADJOURNMENT: Johnson moved and Sigrin seconded the meeting adjourn at 9:05 p.m. Motion approved. Respectfully submit d, Wm. Ore/ Shaffer Broadband Telecommunications Specialist MINUTES BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION TRIANNUAL REVIEW HEARING MAY 29, 1985, 7:00 P.M. CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRESENT: Terry, Sigrin, Johnson, Ehninger ABSENT: Twaler EXCUSED: Twaler i STAFF PRESENT: Shaffer., Hess, Stewart; cablecast volunteers Elvester Sims, Ward Grant, Kevin Kelly, Dan Johnson OTHERS PRESENT: Blough, Brockett of Heritage, members of the public RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: None. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION AND FORMAL ACTION TAKEN: Terry noted that suggestions or changes which come out of the Triannual Review even if approved will take a period of time to implement. Blough and Brockett outlined the organizational structure and described the various functions of the different strata of Cable Associates VII and Heritage Communications, Inc., relative to their relationships to the Iowa City system. Cable Associates VII is a limited partnership managed by Heritage. Blough reports to the Telecom Division of Heritage in Des Moines. Two hundred limited partners own the stock in Cable Associates VII. Blough does not know who these limited partners are, but will obtain that informa- tion for the July 16 meeting. The $12 million price tag to purchase the system from ATC was based in part on the system's revenue producing capacity in a ratio of 10 to one. Commis- sioners expressed a desire to obtain advice on the financial issues from a financial expert. There was lengthy discussion of the financial statements issued by Heritage and their corporate accountant, Peat, Marwich, Mitchell. Blough and Brockett had some difficulty answering Commissioners' questions regarding the financial statements and further discussions on this matter will take place July 16. The relationship of the other systems owned by Cable Associates VII to the Iowa City system was discussed, as well as the fees paid by Cable Associates VII to the parent company. Rick Zimmerman, representing a local businessman on Clinton Street, addressed the Commission and company on the issue of service to City Block 81. Zimmerman's client believes the company is in default on a contract with him to provide cable service to his business. The Commission expects to consider this matter very carefully and make recommendations to Council as to its resolution. Costs of contributions to a non-profit organization for managing the Commu- nity Programming Center and public access channel can be written off by the company as an expense. Blough will find out for the July 16 meeting how the $12 million paid for the system is being depreciated and by whom. i ■ J MINUTES BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COtM1ISSION TRIANNUAL REVIEW HEARING MAY 29, 1985 PAGE 2 Universal service, state-of-the-art, INET and interactive service were discussed briefly. These items and other technical considerations will be addressed more fully at the July 16 meeting, along with miscellaneous items. The July 16 meeting will be videotaped but not cablecast live. MEETING TO ORDER: Terry called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. Terry noted that this is a live program and people watching at home may call in with questions they have concerning technical, financial or miscellaneous aspects of the cable service. The final meeting of the Triannual Review will be held July 16. Terry noted that suggestions and changes which come out of hearings such as this one may not be implemented immediately. Many changes require a period of time to take effect because the Commission makes some reconnendations for changes to the City Council which in turn decides what changes it may wish to initiate. FINANCIAL: Terry explained that the Iowa City cable system is run by Heritage Cable - Vision. Iowa City's system is one of five owned by a limited partnership called CableVision Associates VII. Heritage Communications Inc., in Des Moines, a major MSO (multi -system operator) with over 100 cable systems in operation nationwide, is the general partner. The Iowa City system is the largest of the five systems in Cable Associates VII. Terry asked Blough to explain the duties of the general partner. Blough said although he has no written agreement with Heritage Communica- tions, Inc., it is the duty of Heritage Cablevision to manage the Iowa City system for the limited partnership, CableVision Associates VII. Johnson asked whether it would be fair to describe the organization as ". .some principals (who) have a unit called Heritage Communications form a number of subunits called limited partnerships, of which Cable Associates VII is one. These subunits pool their monies and buy cable systems which are then called Heritage, but the ownership of these systems may be scatterod among a much larger group of entities than just the principals of the parent company Heritage in Des Moines. Thus there are a number of companies, but there are principals who have an interest in all of them and who provide unified management. This is then simply a method of organizing for financial purposes. The general partner, Heritage Cannunications, owns a share of CableVision VII, and thus an identical share of the Iowa City system." Brockett said this was essentially correct. Johnson asked what other systems are owned by Cable VII. Blough said these are Muscatine, Fort Madison, and Mount Pleasant, or in other words, the bulk of the former ATC systems in Iowa. The fifth system is Avon, Colorado, but primarily the systems are in southeast Iowa. MINUTES BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COtM1ISSION TRIANNUAL REVIEW HEARING MAY 29, 1985 PAGE 3 Johnson asked what value is placed on the systems in Cable VII. Blough said it was in the range of $20 to $30 million. Brockett said Heritage Communica- tions also has a number of wholly-owned systems. Including the limited partnerships and wholly-owned systems, Heritage has a total of over 450,000 subscribers and a value of over $125 million making it the 17th or 18th largest MSO in the country. Johnson requested that Blough or Brockett break out for the Commission who, by what name, owns what shares of Cable VII and the Iowa City system. Brockett said there are over 200 partners in the limited partnership and said further that he was not sure what the ownership breakdown is of the princi- pals of the Heritage wholly-owned systems. Brockett said he has evolved out of the corporate comptroller's office into customer service where he is currently in training. Johnson asked Blough if he knew who he is actually working for. Blough said he did not, but that he could obtain that information for the Commission. Terry asked for this information to be supplied by Blough by July 1, and also for any contracts or other documentation the limited partners have with the general partner and what duties each has to the other. Ehninger asked how the $12 million value placed upon the Iowa City system is justified, given that ATC had only put two or three million into it. Blough said this was an example of an investment that had grown and was worth more than what had been put into it; and is based in its revenue producing ability, at a ratio of approximately 10 to 1. Blough said the franchise itself means a great deal to the value of the system. The salvage value of the physical plant would only be about one-half million, Blough said. Brockett said both franchise and ATC's "good will" were intangible saleable assets affecting the sales price. Sigrin asked if in the future, the BTC could be given the Heritage financial information at an earlier date in order to facilitate gaining the assistance of a City financial advisor to help analyze and make clear to the Commission- ers the information in the financial statements. Sigrin asked Blough to explain the meaning of a statement in the Peat, Marwick, Mitchell financial report for Heritage which referred to supplemental information. This statement concerned the financial company's inability to validate certain financial information supplied by Heritage. Brockett said Peat, Marwick's disclaimer refers to the fact that the auditing firm does no field work to verify financial information but relies solely on internal audit statements supplied to it by Heritage. Johnson concurred with Sigrin's concern about the financial information presented and noted that in the previous Triannual Review and again during a rate increase request hearing, that the ATC finncial statements were quite confusing; the financial interrelationships between subsidiaries of Time, Inc. were befuddling and even the City's own Director of Finance, Rosemary Vitosh, felt an outside financial consultant should be called on in order to get the most reliable interpretation. Terry said one reason the City had /4d.3 u MINUTES BROADBAND TELECOIMIUNICATIONS COMMISSION TRIA14NUAL REVIEW HEARING MAY 29, 1985 PAGE 4 welcomed Heritage, was that it was believed the financial statements of a smaller, local company would be easier to decipher. Shaffer said Vitosh had been supplied with the financial information of Heritage and would to the best of her ability as a municipal rather than corporate accountant, answer questions the Commissioners might have. Ehninger asked if revenue from installation charges are part of the overall franchise fee of 3%. Blough said they were. Blough said the basic trend in Iowa City is a levelling off in numbers of new subscribers and in pay subscribers. Sigrin said he would like to see a financial statement ending December 31, 1984, listing subscriber numbers and be able to substantiate the franchise fee from those numbers. As it stands now, Sigrin said, the figures provided by Heritage do not provide a clear picture. Blough said he relies heavily on the accountant's figures and Peat, Marwick is a reputable firm. Sigrin asked whether the validity of these financial statements from the cable company had ever been questioned by the i City. Terry said they had not. Blough said over the years he had projected for Shaffer what the next years franchise fee would be so that Shaffer could i project his budget, and had never been off more than one thousand dollars either way. Brockett said the general partner of Cable Associates VII is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Heritage Communications, Inc. The limited partners pay a management fee to the general partner for managing the Iowa City system. Blough said he works for Heritage Communications, Telecom Division. In other words, Johnson said, the limited partnership has hired the parent company, in the form of a general partner, to manage the cable companies for the limited partnership. The parent has set up a telecom division to supervise the managers of the companies it is managing through its limited partnerships and wholly-owned subsidiaries, and Blough reports to this entity. Johnson asked if then the limited partner has to pay the general partner a 6% management fee. Brockett said the fee is based on the revenue generated by the operated entity. Brockett said there are a number of functions or services performed by the general partner, or in the home office, which justifies the amount paid. Johnson noted that there is also an additional one-time 5% of the acquisition price of the Iowa City system paid out to Heritage in Des Moines. Neither Blough nor Brockett had ever heard of that fee. Since all of the money is put into one pot, Terry said, does that mean that money goes out of the Iowa City system to for instance, build up the Muscatine system? Brockett said this is done. Terry asked if a rate increase request would be based on the limited partnership profit and loss statement or just on the Iowa City system. Brockett and Blough both said that they would hope that a rate increase request would not be made for one system and its subscribers at the expense of another system and its subscribers. Johnson noted that there is also a 1% debt placement fee. Johnson said he would like to know what all these fees are and where the money is actually going. /7 W. MINUTES BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION TRIANNUAL REVIEW HEARING MAY 29, 1985 PAGE 5 Sigrin asked if the City, aside from the Commission and Shaffer, assumes any responsibility to determine the financial integrity of the figures that the Commission has been supplied with by the Company. Terry said Vitosh could be given questions the Commission would like to have answered and she could come to the July 15 meeting and address them. Sigrin said he feels an impartial consultant is needed to analyze the information and provide insight into the financial matters and guide the Commission. Terry said this would begin a new "priority list" for consideration by the Commission and company, as had been done following the previous Triannual Review. Johnson agreed, saying the presentation should be made by an expert who can break it down as to what's reasonable, what's justified, what's troublesome, and what really needs to be looked at carefully, so that the Commission can react to that. Terry asked Blough in reference to the November pro forma statement, 1) what caused a projection of a 17% increase in revenue, and 2) does Blough see any reason why this might rise again? Blough said Heritage computes subscribers differently than ATC. For instance, fraternities had been counted as one subscriber under ATC, while Heritage charges for each individual connection within the fraternity house. Blough said he thinks there are a number of unknown factors which could affect the basic cost of service, but believes i the costs should remain at or near the figures given in the pro forma. Sigrin asked whether it might be possible for Heritage or Cable Associates VII to write off the cost of any contributions to an NPO, or non-profit organization set up in Iowa City to run the access center and the access channel. Blough said a once a year contribution would probably be a deduc- tion on the expense side of the ledger and carried over 12 months. Terry asked how is Cable Associates VII depreciating the $12 million paid for the Iowa City system; is all or part of the amount being depreciated and is Heritage to be responsible for any part of it. Blough said he would have to find out. Johnson said Iowa City needs to know how much money is flowing out of Iowa City through its cable system. The basic question the Iowa City subscribers need to have answered is what is the capital value of that system? Blough asked to have Shaffer or the Commission give him a list of the specific additional questions that had been asked at this meeting for which Blough had not previously prepared. Shaffer said this would be done. Terry said it would not be possible to properly deal with all of the techni- cal and miscellaneous questions at this meeting but these areas will be considered at the July 16 meeting. A phone caller asked, "What kind of package deal did U of I Hospitals receive from Heritage as to monthly rates?" Blough said originally their rate was to be $4.30 per outlet per month. Rates have risen since then, and the hospi- tal's rate is higher as well. The public rate at the time of the agreement was $7.95. Johnson said this is an area the Commission has never looked at. Every time someone gets free service or their rate is two dollars lower, someone else's rate may be higher as a consequence. /y-63 MINUTES BROADBAND TELECOIMIUNICATIONS COMMISSION TRIANNUAL REVIEW HEARING MAY 29, 1985 PAGE 6 PUBLIC DISCUSSION: Rick Zimmerman, an attorney for a local businessman who owns a bar on Clinton Street, asked to address the Commission and company on the issue of cable service to City Block 81, on behalf of his client. Zimmerman asked who is responsible for giving access, what is reasonable access and what attempts have the company made to get reasonable and legal access to that block? Johnson noted that the questions should be discussed at this meetingbut advised Zimmerman to check the video tape of the previous meeting at hich this topic was discussed under programming and service. Blough explained the history of that block relative to the company's ability to gain access. First, when utility services for that block were put into the ground, there was no cable operator. Second, following a fire in a business on Dubuque Street, a private property owner on Dubuque who at first seemed willing to allow service later failed, in the company's opinion, to negotiate in good faith. In a third instance, when Dubuque Street was torn up, negotiations were made through an individual who was not the legal owner. The legal owner failed to sign the easement agreement when it was sent to him and refused to allow cable service through his property to the rest of the block. Zimmerman asked what the cost to the company would be of one free service. Blough said the cost would be $20 to $25 per month, as against a potential of approximately ;40 per month in revenue. There was some discussion of this point. Zimmerman suggested that the owner who wanted five free services for his building may not have been unreasonable given that there were 16 poten- tial subscribers in the block. Zimmerman said the company had contracted with his client to bring cable service to the block and to his property, and had cashed the man's check. Blough said the company had attempted to refund the money when it was learned the block was unserviceable, but he had refused. Zimmerman said he is concerned about companies that break their contracts. Zimmerman said his client has been injured financially because he does not want to put a satellite dish on his property. Zimmerman's client believes he still has a contract with the company. Shaffer suggested Zimmerman should examine Section 1479-E, paragraph 2, which refers to reasonable access to areas without cable, and gives a cost formula for getting to those areas. Shaffer also said overhead wiring is against Council policy. Johnson suggested some form of eminent domain might also be a possibility for gaining access to the block. Blough said there is now the situation that Clinton Street is going to be torn up, but that there is no cable plant in the Pentacrest area. There is trunk behind the properties on the north side of Washington Street in the alley. Terry said the Commission could outline some of the methods which it thinks may be reasonable to provide access to Block 81 and make recommendations to the Council. Zimmerman said the meeting had been helpful and informative. i v MINUTES BROADBAND TELECOMIUNICATIONS COMMISSION TRIANNUAL REVIEW HEARING MAY 29, 1985 PAGE1.7 Way Kim Wong asked Blough to respond to the issue of the 6% management fee. Blough said he would have to get back to the Commission on that matter. Mr. Wong asked whether Heritage intended to insert commercials over the program- ming on CNN. Blough said this had happened unintentionally and was the result of some faulty equipment and efforts were being made to remedy the situation. Wong also asked when the company planned to bury the cable in his back yard. Blough said he would follow up on this personally. TECHNICAL• Ehninger quoted from the franchise, "The grantee shall upgrade its facili= ties, equipment and services as subscriber demand dictates, so that its network is as advanced as the current state of technology and reasonable economic feasibility would allow." Ehninger said it seems the company is falling behind. Blough asked why? Ehninger responded there is not enough INET, interactive. Blough asked whether the subscribers had demanded that. Ehninger said the Law School could be hooked up to the courthouse. Blough said he hates the phrase state-of-the-art, because he doesn't know what it is. Blough said Heritage feels that if there is a viable use of high tech areas of the cable industry, just touched upon here, they will pursue that. The INET has other uses than two-way conferencing, not all of which is to the advantage of the subscriber base, Blough said. Ehninger asked about univer- sal service which would allow for meters to be read through the cable system. In response to 3 question from Wong, Blough said to his knowledge no partner in the limited partnership owns more than 5%. Terry asked what the position of the company is relative to use of blank channels for new programming services. Blough said Heritage is always looking at new services, but something would have to be really new and exciting to be added to this system. Really only two channels could be considered for new services at this time. Going to a forty -plus channel system would be extremely expen- sive, Blough said, possibly in the range of $2 million. A two-way 70 channel system would cost possibly $6 to E8 million. The July 16 meeting will be videotaped but not cablecast live, Terry said. ADJOURNMENT: Johnson moved and Sigrin seconded the meeting adjourn at 9:10 p.m. Motion approved. Respectfully submi ed Wm. rew Shaffer Broadband Telecomnun cations Specialist 143 i MINUTES BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING, JULY 16, 1985 CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS - 8:00 A.M. PRESENT: Terry, Sigrin, Twaler, LeValley, Ehninger ABSENT: Johnson EXCUSED: None STAFF PRESENT: Shaffer, Stewart, Hess SUBJECT TO BTC APPROVAL OTHERS PRESENT: Blough, Graves, Calderon of Heritage; Tiffany of ICPL; Beeson of Ch. 28; Hindman of Ch. 27 RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: None. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION AND FORMAL ACTION TAKEN: Mike Sigrin's resignation effective July 31 was regretfully accepted by the BTC. Minutes of May 21 and 29 were accepted. Acceptance of the minutes of May 22 was postponed. The ICPL continues to attract visitors from around the country and internationally to study the library's card catalog capability. Cablecast Guidelines revisions have been agreed upon. Revisions approved at this meeting included an additional 30 days advance booking capability for equipment and studio for local producers of series. Qualification for series producer will be one program per month for local producers. After one year, unclaimed tapes in the Community Programming Center will revert to the company although copyright ownership of the content of those tapes will remain with the producer. Brown's memo from Legal regarding cable service to City Block 81 states in part: The issue of service is one of "reasonable" rather than legal availa- bility. A cost analysis to determine reasonability should include the estimated number of subscribers to be gained multiplied by the average monthly charges for service to those subscribers over the remaining life of the franchise. Subscribers could share the cost of providing service according to a formula provided in the franchise. A last resort could be some form of eminent domain. The RFP process continues with Buske sending copies of contracts the NFLCP have had with other cities for this purpose. These will be analyzed and appropriate sections culled which address the needs of Iowa City. The RFP will be discussed further at an August 20 BTC meeting. The automatic playback tape machine is in place and working. John Hess is three-quarter time as of July 1. A satellite conference on the 1984 Cable Act will be reported on by Johnson and Shaffer at a later meeting. Mr. William Brewster of New York will be developing a UHF station for the Iowa City area. Shaffer plans to complete a tally and breakdown of complaints received by his office since the last Triannual Review. Council Chamber lights have not been installed but Blough is still working on obtaining them. Human error caused I v Broadband Telecomouniations Commission July 16, 1985 Page 2 the failure of the July cable guides to arrive on time. In the future the guides will be sent from Iowa City to save time and avoid a repeat of this problem. The company's "star" unit was hit by lightning, which knocked out the weather channel, cable FM, ad insert equipment and temperature probe. A new star unit is being sent from Atlanta. A request for a public hearing from a resident of Westgate has been withdrawn. MEETING TO ORDER: Terry called the meeting to order at 8:16 a.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Terry announced that it was hoped the regular meeting could be concluded by 9:00 a.m. to allow for an intermission before beginning the third meeting of the Triannual Review at 10:00 a.m. Sigrin's resignation effective July 31 was regretfully accepted and announced by Terry. Terry offered thanks to Sigrin on behalf of the Commission and the community. He noted Sigrin's dedication to and activism on behalf of public access. MINUTES: Ehninger moved, Sigrin seconded the minutes of May 21 be accepted. Motion approved. Moved by Ehninger, seconded by Sigrin, to postpone acceptance of the May 22 Triannual Review minutes subject to receiving a more readable copy (xeroxing problems) Motion approved. A motion by Ehninger, seconded by Sigrin, to accept the minutes of the May 29 meeting of the Triannual Review was approved. PUBLIC DISCUSSION: Tiffany reported that representatives from Tampa, Florida, and Washington, D.C., had visited the Library recently to learn about the ICPL computer card catalog. Other visitors are expected soon on the same purpose from Amsterdam, Holland. Access Iowa City and University Ch. 28 waived reports. CABLE GUIDELINES: Shaffer said he and Calderon had basically agreed on all the changes in the Guidelines. Shaffer reported that the Guidelines to be approved would allow community producers to book channel time for a program series for up to 90 days in advance. Terry stated that he would like to see locally produced series given preferential treatment over non -locally produced series re- quests. An additional 30 days advance booking will be allowed for local producers. The current requirement for qualification as a local series producer is production of two programs per month. The Commission asked that this be changed to one program produced per month for local producers. Blough stated that this would be agreeable to the Company. Ehninger asked that gender neutral terms be consistently used throughout. There was discussion of rights to unclaimed locally produced tapes. It was agreed that after one year, the ownership of the tapes would revert to the Company. Copyright rights and ownership of the content of the tapes would remain with the 1,1z4J 0 Broadband Tel ecommuni at ions Commission July 16, 1985 Page 3 producer. Sigrin moved and Ehninger seconded the Cablecast Guidelines be accepted effective July 16, 1985, with the stated revisions as per discussion dated July 16. Motion approved. TRIANNUAL REVIEW PREPARATION DISCUSSION: Shaffer distributed copies of a legal opinion from Dave Brown dated July 15, 1985. Brown's memo states that the issue of cable service to City Block 81 is one of "reasonable availability," rather than one of legal availability. Brown recommends that a cost analysis should be used to determine reason- ability, which should include costs of obtaining an easement or easements to install service, compared with projected return on investment. Projected return should include estimated number of subscribers times average monthly charges over remaining life of franchise. Memo also refers to subscribers sharing cost of providing service in event grantee's argument of non -reasonability holds. Sec. 4-79E provides cost formula but applies only to dwelling units, not commercial establishments. Eminent domain condemna- tion powers may be used as a last resort. (Copy of Brown's recommendation filed with City Clerk.) Terry said discussion of some items addressed in the memo will be discussed j in the Triannual Review meeting. UPDATE ON RFP: Shaffer spoke with Sue Buske at the recent national conference of the National Federation of Local Cable Programmers in Boston. Buske will send examples of NFLCP contracts with other cities. Those contracts should arrive in one to two weeks. This can be further discussed in the August 20 meeting. The August meeting will replace a meeting previously scheduled for July 30. Sigrin will be sent the material on the RFP for his consideration and recommendations to the Commission. BTS REPORT: The automatic playback director machine for Ch. 29 is in place and working. The director can be programmed with up to nineteen 60 -minute tapes. This will drastically increase the number and variety of programs played on Ch. 29. Blough is helping to arrange for a character generator to show data during tape changes. John Hess is a three-quarter time employee as of July 1. July 25 Shaffer's office will move to the Civic Center. Shaffer met last month with representatives from Heritage to discuss possible users of the INET. Shaffer and Johnson attended a recent satellite conference on the 1984 Cable Act. Johnson and Shaffer will confer and report their deductions on that conference to the BTC. Shaffer said he had been visited by Mr. William Brewster regarding plans for the cable operator. However, Mr. Brewster may be interested in having the VHF channel carried by the cable system. Shaffer said he hopes to complete a tally and breakdown of complaints received by his office since the last Triannual Review in 1982. Since the last meeting, Shaffer has received five complaints. All but one have been resolved, and that one will be dealt with in the Triannual Review meeting. Broadband Telecommuniations Commission July 16, 1985 Page 4 HERITAGE REPORT: The Council Chambers lights acquisition is still in progress. The ones Blough had planned to use are too powerful. Others have been arranged for and should arrive in a week or two. Ehninger asked about cable wire strung from a tree across from her home. The tree is slated to come down and Ehninger wondered what will happen to the wire. Blough said it would have to be rerouted. Shaffer asked what happened to the July cable guides. Blough said the late arrival of subscribers cable movie guides was due to human error. Someone "forgot" to mail them. In the future the guides will be mailed from Iowa City instead of from Des Moines so that they will arrive at j subscribers' homes faster and in better condition. Further discussion ensued on additional guides for people with more than one converter. Blough said if subscribers want more guides they can come to his office and get them or pay to have them sent. Blough said he is still considering free distribution of guides at local grocery stores. The recent outage of the local weather channel was caused by the company's "star" unit being hit by lightning. The lightning also knocked out the cable FM, ad insert equipment and temperature probe. Blough said a new star unit is being sent from Atlanta. Ehninger said she would like at some time this morning to make a resolution on renewed commitment of the BTC to the NPO and also on the 5% franchise fee. Shaffer said this should be done at the Triannual Review meeting later this morning. Ehninger also noted that a request for a public hearing on obtaining cable service made by a resident of Westgate had been withdrawn. NEW BUSINESS. None. I ADJOURNMENT: On motion made by Ehninger, seconded by Sigrin and approved, the meeting ! adjourned at 9:45 a.m. Respectfully submitted, 1 W. Drew Shaffer Broadband Telecommunications Specialist I I i I I � 3 i