Minutes

1. Call to Order

Chair David Westbrook called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m.

Members Present: Rollin Bible, Jerry Brown, Scott Hugstad-Vaa, Dale Rodell, David Westbrook

Members Absent: John Magnusson

Others Present: Charles Grawe, Mike Beard, Todd Oliver

2. Approval of Agenda

Mr. Westbrook asked for changes to the agenda and there were none offered.

MOTION: Mr. Bible moved, second by Mr. Brown, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion passed unanimously.

3. Approval Minutes of September 11, 2006

MOTION: Mr. Hugstad-Vaa moved, second by Mr. Brown, to approve the minutes of September 11, 2006. Motion passed unanimously.

4. Telecommunications Legislation Presentation

Mr. Brown introduced State Representative Mike Beard of District 35A (Shakopee) to talk about past and pending future telecommunications legislation at the State level.

Representative Beard said that due to the change in party power from the November election, the membership of the committees is still being sorted out. He noted that many of the members are relatively new to the House and much institutional memory has been lost.

The Representative explained that two years ago, he proposed a bill that would remove the build-out requirement from cable franchises. His bill did retain the PEG support portion. He noted that he proposed to remove the "must" portion of the build-out requirement to allow local government discretion as to require or not require it. He said that the initial bi-partisan support for the bill eroded and eventually the bill was withdrawn. He said the Minnesota Telecommunications Association (MTA) and the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) supported his bill, but the cable television industry and the Minnesota Association of Telecommunications Administrators (MACTA) opposed it.

Representative Beard explained that Joe Atkins is the Chair of the new Commerce and Labor Committee that includes most of the regulated industries. He expects any cable legislation this session to come through that committee. He also noted that State action may be pre-empted by Federal action. However, absent Federal action, he expects a discussion at the State Legislature. He also expects the build-out requirement to be the main focus of bills that might come forth.

Mr. Bible asked what a state-wide cable franchise would mean. Representative Beard explained that it would likely mean removing franchising from the local jurisdictions and giving it to the Department of Commerce or the Public Utilities Commission.

5. 4th Quarter Complaint Log

Mr. Grawe briefly reviewed the complaint log. Mr. Rodell said he heard from one resident who contacted the customer service line and was connected to Quebec, Canada on his first call and was connected to the Philippines on his next call.

6. Charter Basic Rate Adjustment

Mr. Grawe said the City received notice of Charter's intent to adjust its basic cable rate. He explained that the rate adjustment is determined by forms and calculations created by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The non-basic service rates are not subject to regulation.

7. E-Commerce and Business Development Issues

Mr. Grawe noted there were several new wireless articles distributed with the packet.

Mr. Oliver said that he expected Frontier to approach the City with a revised wireless network proposal. Mr. Brown asked if the proposal would provide service to the entire City. Mr. Oliver said he was not sure, but would request that Chuck Bruns attend the next meeting.

Mr. Brown submitted a copy of an article on possible FCC action on cable franchising.

8. Adjourn

MOTION: Mr. Rodell moved, second by Mr. Hugstad-Vaa to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m.