The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutICTC Agenda and Packet 2017-05-22 AGENDA IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION CITY CABLE TV OFFICE, 10 S. LINN ST., TOWER PLACE PARKING FACILITY, LEVEL 3A MAY 22, 2017, 5:30PM 1. Call to order 2. Approval of minutes 3. Announcements of Commissioners 4. Short public announcements 5. REPORTS Consumer Issues Mediacom Report Local Access Reports City Cable TV Office Report 6. Municipal Broadband 7. Adjournment DRAFT MINUTES Iowa City Telecommunications Commission April 24, 2017 – 5:30 P.M. City of Iowa City Cable TV Office, 10 S. Linn St. - Tower Place, LEVEL 3A Call to Order:Meeting called to order at 5:30 P.M. Members Present:Nick Kilburg, Laura Bergus, Derek Johnk, Paul Gowder Members Absent: Staff Present:Ty Coleman Others Present:Bond Drager Recommendations to Council : NONE Approval of Minutes: Kilburg moved and Bergus seconded a motion to approve the March 27, 2017 minutes as presented. The motion passed unanimously. Announcements of Commissioners: None Short Public Announcements: None Consumer Issues: Coleman noted that one issue from the April 2017 Consumer Issues Report involved a customer who was waiting for a cable to be buried. Coleman said that the customer had since reported the cable had been buried sooner than expected. Johnk asked if the resident’s call to the City Cable TV Office helped to expedite the resolution. Coleman said that with many issues, it is simply a matter of notifying the right person. Coleman said that Mediacom’s Rick Karnes is very responsive and gets the issues resolved. Coleman noted that issues often present themselves when a customer communicates with an out-of-town call center representative. Mediacom Report: Coleman said he had not heard from Lee Grassley and that he was waiting for a response regarding Mediacom’s letter of credit. Local Access Reports: Drager said the Library’s new Bookmobile had been well covered by the media. Drager 1 DRAFT said the Bookmobile offers books, DVDs, free Wi-Fi, and more, noting that residents can ask for particular items to be made available at the stop of their choice. Drager said the public can go to icpl.org/bookmobile to find out where the Bookmobile will be. Official service is scheduled to start June 1, 2017. City Cable TV Office Report: Coleman said the Cable TV Office staff was getting ready to record a number of concerts this summer, many sponsored by the Summer of the Arts organization. Staff will be recording concerts from the Market Music series at the Iowa City Farmers Market as well as some of the concerts held as part of the Parks and Recreation Department’s Party in the Park events, which will be held in a number of Iowa City’s neighborhood parks. Municipal Broadband: Johnk stated a plan to hold a Telecommunications Commission work session once a meeting with the City Council was on the calendar. Coleman said he would check on the timeline for meeting with Council. Johnk noted that in the example of Cedar Falls’ municipal broadband utility, there was already a public electricity utility, but wondered whether easements would allow a municipality easy access to poles and underground infrastructure. Gowder suggested reading the book referred to in the document prepared by a law student and mentioned in the Council’s February 7, 2017 discussion of the topic as well as included in that meeting’s packet. Bergus said it isn’t just a matter of access to easements, but also owning poles, conduit, and other infrastructure. Bergus noted that a number of entities own poles in Iowa City and that building out a municipal network would be easier if the City already controlled the necessary elements. Adjournment: Johnk moved and Gowder seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment was at 5:41 P.M. 2 May 17, 2017 To: Iowa City Telecommunications Commission From: Ty Coleman, Media Production Services Coordinator (MPSC) Re: Cable Complaints April 2017 1.) Date: 04/10/17 Method of contact: Email Complaint/Comment Summary: This issue was a follow-up to a complaint submitted in the fall of 2016, wherein a resident at a newly-constructed residence reported he was told that cable-based service was not available. At that time, Mediacom’s construction coordinator said that a staff issue had resulted in a few areas where infrastructure was not put in place during construction. The MPSC was told that the build-out in this area would have to wait until after winter to be completed. The resident recently followed up with the MPSC to investigate the timeline for completion. Resolution Summary: MPSC checked in with Mediacom’s Tim Eagan, who reported that the project would be complete within 30 days. Mediacom’s Rick Karnes reported on May 15, 2017 that this project had been completed in the previous week. The resident confirmed this and said that he had an appointment set up to get connected to service. MPSC asked the resident to contact the Cable TV Office in the event of further complications. Date of Resolution: 05/15/17 2.) Date: 04/11/17 Method of contact: Phone call Issue/Comment Summary: A resident encountered some aerial lines that had come down during a recent storm. The resident said that MidAmerican Energy came to fix its own lines and told the resident they would contact Mediacom. The resident wanted to be sure that Mediacom received the message and repaired the cable connections in a timely fashion since it was in a pathway that serves as a fire access route to a local retirement residence. Resolution Summary: MPSC checked on the issue with Mediacom’s Rick Karnes. Mediacom’s Kevin Washpun reported that a cable in that area had been taken care of, but would check the location to be sure no other lines were down. Date of Resolution: 04/12/17 3.) Date: 04/17/17 Method of contact: Online complaint form Issue/Comment Summary: A customer complained that he was not able to access billing statements older than one year and was being told by Mediacom that it would cost $58 to receive a 2016 statement. Resolution Summary: MPSC checked on the issue with Mediacom’s Betty Hartman. Hartman reported that only one year’s worth of billing information is contained within the primary billing system. She noted that getting access to older statements required staff time that is typically charged at a cost of $29 per hour with a one-hour minimum. Hartman said however, that due to the customer’s longevity with Mediacom, she could offer the older 2016 statements at no charge as a one-time favor to the customer. Hartman requested that the MPSC find out whether the customer would be willing to come to the local office to pick them up. MPSC contacted the customer and arranged with Hartman for the statements to be generated. Date of Resolution: 05/18/17 4.) Date: 04/24/17 Method of contact: Email Issue/Comment Summary: A resident reported that she and others in her neighborhood had been experiencing cable TV signal issues, including frozen or pixelated images and loss of sound. The resident stated that multiple technicians had been out to check the lines on her street, but due to the intermittency of the problem, the techs did not see a problem and claimed the problem was likely inside the house. Resolution Summary: MPSC forwarded the issue to Mediacom’s Rick Karnes. Karnes had a technician check the area that same evening and said they likely had the issue resolved, but would monitor it for a while. MPSC asked the resident to notify him if problems continued. The resident reported that the picture was much better, but also took note of several times where the picture froze or the sound cut out. MPSC contacted Karnes, who said he would contact the resident and schedule a time to further investigate. Karnes later reported that the issue had been resolved. The resident confirmed that she and her neighbors were now receiving a better signal. Date of Resolution: 04/28/17 PATV Report to Iowa City Telecommunications Commission May 2017 May has seen a nice increase in new members producing shows. PATV had the opportunity to capture Rainbow Grad, Iowa Dance 2017, Iowa Screen Dance Festival and the theater presentation of the play La Redencion. We also welcomed Megan O’Brien of Old Capital Opera with her show “The Intermission”. PATV, Bike Library and ThinkBicyle are collaborating on presenting this years Bike-In-Theater. PATV Board Meetings PATV Board of Directors next meeting June 15th, at 6 pm. Intro Workshop Guidelines orientation is the ﬁrst Thursday of every month, 6 pm at PATV or online @ www.patv.tv Next Guidelines is Thursday, June 1st at 6 PM. Video Workshops Schedule Studio Training – The second Tuesday of the month from 5 – 7 pm. HD Camera – The third Thursday of the month from 6 –8 pm. Digital Editing – The fourth Thursday of the month from 6 - 8 pm. Current and upcoming staff supported productions The Intermission Little Lady President Nora’s House of Dance Education Exchange Time For Soup GreenFire The LyleStyle Show PATV Presents: Thursday Night Live at Uptown Bills Tom’s Guitar Show Time for truth Submitted by Gerardo Sandoval 5/17/17 206 Lafayette St. • Iowa City, Iowa 52240 • Phone 338-7035 Fax 338-8456 • contact@patv.tv • http://www.patv.tv The Library Channel Report prepared for the Iowa City Telecommunications Commission monthly meeting by Beth Fisher, Program Librarian and Bond Drager, Equipment Specialist. May 2017 May 2017: Weber Days: May is Local History month here at ICPL when we celebrate the life and work of former Iowa City Historian Irving B. Weber with our series of events focusing on local history. This year we had a program on the History of Johnson County unions; a program about Himie Voxman and Charlie Eble’s friendship and their individual contributions to Iowa City and the University of Iowa; local author Linzee Kull McCrae’s reading from her new book Feed Sacks: The Colourful History of a Frugal Fabric; a program about Local history resources available here at ICPL; a lecture about Iowa City Artist Mildred Pelzer and the murals she painted for the Hotel Jefferson in Iowa City (one of which is currently on loan to ICPL), and a celebration of independent publishing in Iowa City. In children’s Weber programming we have a storytime with Ellen Buchanan (who interviewed hundreds of local notables and legends), a musical storytime with Marc Falk, and storytime with Iowa author David Cundy. Other programs in May include a Bike to Work Month talk from Lawyer Jim about legal cycling, Children’s Book Week storytime, Animal Adoption storytime, and Absolute Science, part of ICPL’s upcoming Steam Festival. Monthly Program Update: May 2016 June 2017 Live Children’s Programs • 8 • 8 Live Adult Programs • 7 • 5 Programs Cablecast • 697 • Programs videotaped by Govt. Channel/CTS • • Date: May 18, 2017 To: The Iowa City Telecommunications Commission From: Ty Coleman, Media Production Services Coordinator, City of Iowa City Cable TV Office Re: City of Iowa City Cable TV Office report for the May 2017 meeting Media Production Services Provided by Joel Bouwers, Media Production Asst. and Jack Brooks, Special Projects Asst. Recent production activities: ●Covered 3 Iowa City Foreign Relations Council lectures including topics such as exploring the world of 3-D design and Trump’s first 100 days. ●Recorded the first concert of the Summer of the Arts’ Friday Night Concert Series featuring Dave Zollo & the Body Electric. ●Recorded and cablecast live the Iowa City City Council work session and formal meetings of May 2 and 16. ●Covered the Iowa City Human Rights Commission’s Youth Human Rights Awards ceremony at the Englert Theatre. ●Produced 4 short weekly promo videos to highlight new and upcoming City Channel 4 programs. ●Covered 2 neighborhood visioning workshops for the Northside Neighborhood and South District of Iowa City. ●Shot and produced four episodes of Iowa City Update. Topics included the annual curb ramp project, changes at the Farmers Market, Bike to Work Week events, and a new parking app. ●Created a May edition of Iowa City In Focus. Topics included an officer celebrating 50-years of service, police training with Iowa wrestling team, Table to Table, and this year’s Summer of the Arts schedule. ●Completed Community Highlights videos on STEAM Fest, Craft Your Environment Fair, Flyover Fashion Fest, Car Bicycle Bus Race, and National Police Week Ceremony. ●Made a PSA on Iowa City’s weed/mowing ordinance. Upcoming productions: ●Record concerts from Summer of the Arts’ Friday Night Concert Series. ●Record the first performance at Market Music during the Iowa City Farmer’s Market and a performance for Party in the Park at Court Hill Park. ●Cablecast live and record the Iowa City City Council work session and formal meeting of June 6 and 20. ●Continue weekly episodes of Iowa City Update. Upcoming topics include a new sports court at Wetherby Park, First Avenue lane changes, and a fireworks ordinance. ●Iowa City In Focus for June will cover the new ICPL Bookmobile, Beginning Biking class, air disaster training, and Mayor Throgmorton’s recent trip to Baghdad. ●Upcoming Community Highlight videos will include Iowa Arts Festival and Rummage in the Ramp. Programming and Interactive Services Provided by Kevin Crawley, Communications Technician Recent and upcoming projects: We're now two months away from moving our streaming media provider from EarthChannel to YouTube, and I believe I've transferred the majority of videos that have long-term interest, as well as all new videos created in the past 9 months. I'm working on a way to automate moving our podcast library, and hope to have that done soon. InfoVision is still not stable under a newer OS, but we're working on a new way to access it as we continue to debug. I'll have details about InfoCast next month. Website: In April, we had 1,858 users access 3,909 pages in 2,818 sessions. Our most popular pages were Mediacom's channel lineup, our video page, our homepage, Mediacom's cable rates, our program schedule, and ICTC meeting packets page. Our streaming media provider reports 8,204 total hits, which includes 4,272 Events (player window was loaded), 370 Sessions (media was played), and 1,789 OnDemand Hits (media was scrubbed or index point was clicked). 1,657 podcasts were downloaded, and our HQ media was accessed 219 times. Our live stream was accessed 534 times. On our YouTube channel, we had 4,484 views, comprising 15,632 minutes (260 hours) of viewing. Our top videos included the Community Highlights video on ICPD officers practicing with the U of I wrestling team, the March and April editions of Iowa City In Focus, the Imam Mahdi presentation on Islam in the Bible, and the Taylor Mac episode of Obermann Conversations. We gained 14 subscribers, which brings us up to 152 total. Programming: We cablecast 138 programs produced in-house 821 times for 545 hours of programming, 38 locally-produced (DITV, Senior Center, Hoover Library, JC Board of Supervisors, Coralville, North Liberty and University Heights) programs 106 times for 114 hours of programming, and 20 imported programs 63 times for 27 hours of programming. We also showed 91 PSAs 1,169 times for 26 hours of programming. Programs Completed by the Cable TV Office in April 2017 ●Iowa City Foreign Relations Council ○Vietnam: 1968-1969 New Leadership, Same Stalemate ○Women's Health and the Environment: Going Up in Smoke ○Culinary Nationalism: Fighting With Food ○The International Order Under Fire: Old Problems and New Threats ●2017 Prairie Preview - Wild Bees of Iowa: Hidden Diversity in the Service of Conservation ●Geneva Lecture Series - Exhausted from Your Insta-Snap-Tweet-texting Life? Sociological & Theological Reflections on Technology ●The Gaza Flotilla ●Imam Mahdi Presents: Islam in the Bible ●2017 Excellence in Education Awards ●Iowa City City Council Meetings ○April 4, 2017 ○April 18, 2017 ●Iowa City City Council Work Sessions ○April 4, 2017 ○April 18, 2017 ●Economic Development Committee Meeting of 4/5/17 ●Community Police Review Board Annual Community Forum 2017 ●City Channel 4 Weekly Highlights Promos ○April 10 ○April 17 ○April 24 ○May 1 ●Economic Development Committee Meeting of 4/14/17 ●Gardening in an Urban Environment ●Tree Care ●Iowa City In Focus for April 2017 ○Stories included: ■Riverfront Crossings District ■Compost at the Curb ■Free Wheels program ■Beet juice used to treat road salt ●Iowa City Update ○Washington Street Construction ○Mercer Park Renovations ○Curb Ramp Project ○Spring Hydrant Flushing ●Community Highlights ○National Bookmobile Day ○STEAM Fest