November 19^th, 2001

MEMBERS PRESENT

Carlton Curry, Chairman
Stuart Rhodes, Member
Peter Blum, Member
Daniel Lynch, Member
Charlie Hiltunen, Member

OTHERS PRESENT

Carlton Curry brought the meeting to order at 2:30 P.M.

The first item on the agenda was the approval of minutes for the Cable Board’s November 19^th, 2001. Motion was made by Mr. Blum to approve the minutes. Motion carried unanimously.

The next item on the agenda was the Cable Agency Report. Mr. Maultra presented the Cable Agency Report, which highlighted the events that have taken place at the Cable Agency last month. Stating the Cable Agency continues to discuss the INET (institutional network) obligations for Comcast and their implementation. The Agency met with Comcast for discussion. The township fire departments stand to benefit from the implementation of this INET were represented by the President of the Marion County Fired Chiefs Association.

Cable Board Member Dan Lynch, Bob Borgmann and Rick Maultra have met at length and have had extensive follow up with regard to internal review of the City’s needs as it pertains to the monthly reports submitted by the cable operators. Mr. Maultra stated he beliefs they have pared this report down considerable so that it follows primarily the FCC Customer Service Standards and those items required for tracking per the franchise agreements and the 851 City Code that addresses cable TV issues. Stating they have met with Time Warner and Comcast.

The Agency has reviewed the proposals Time Warner has offered to the Educational Television Consortium (ETC) and has met with counsel and Chairman Curry in order to formulate support for the connection issue. Mr. Maultra stated the consensus recommendations are to offer a not to exceed $25,000 grant in 2001. Stating this amount will come out of the Cable Agency’s Character 3 budget. This appropriation will require approval by the City-County Council since it will take the form of a public purpose grant to Indiana University for the disbursement of funds. Stating they have secured bipartisan sponsorship for this measure to be heard before the Finance & Admin Committee. This grant should be funded from this year’s Budget.

The Cable Communications Agency has been serving as a consumer advocate to Indianapolis and Marion County cable subscribers in assisting them in mediating cable complaints on their behalf.

The next item on the agenda was the Channel 16’s Government Access programming report presented by Mr. Montgomery. Mr. Montgomery highlighted some activities of Channel 16 for the month October. In October there were 49-hours1 minute of Live and Tape delayed meetings. Special Events productions totaled 20 hours and 43 minutes. Series programming totaled 5 hours and 30minutes.

In-Kind Services was 3 hours and 49 minutes. Total New Productions was 79 hours and 3 minutes.

The next item on the agenda was the Cable Operator’s Management Report. Mrs. Shary Johnston stated Time Warner has met or exceeded all of national requirements of the FCC and NCTA.

The Community Involvement report supports a list of different community events and programming (see report).

Mr. Curry stated there are on going discussions with Time Warner in regards to Time Warner monthly report format.

The next item on the agenda was the Comcast Management Report. Mr. Mark Apple stated Comcast had a loss of customers in the month of September. Incoming calls for the month were 76,923 received and 74,537 handled. Comcast had 58 outages. Comcast received and scheduled 4,172 service calls and completed 2,520; 100% within 36 hours or by customer request. Installations: Comcast scheduled 4,413 and completed 3,224; 100% within 7 days or less. Comcast had 56 complaints for the month.

The Events and Sponsorships report supports a list of different events (see report).

The next item on the agenda was the TOTALink presentation. Mr. Roberts stated TOTALink of Indiana continues to be in a holding status regarding the commencement of construction of the proposed network for Indianapolis and Marion County.

TOTALink has completed the pre-construction work for two to three years of construction, and has requested the pole owners (IPL, Ameritech, and Time Warner, among others) suspend any additional work on poles to make space for attachments by TOTALink. No new agreements have been reached with any of the pole owners pending a reconciliation of work performed prior to TOTALink’s suspension of work.

TOTALink management continues to closely monitor the condition of the financial capital markets. Continued deterioration of equity and debt markets for telecom businesses have not indicated a near-term turnaround in these markets. TOTALink management is investigating alternatives to conventional debt financing as a means to advance the plans for competitive telecommunications in Indianapolis but cannot predict at this time the likelihood or timing of the success of such efforts.

TOTALink, along with its owners, Utilicom Networks, and partners, Vectren Corporation, continue to be optimistic about the ultimate development of a fiber-optic based broadband network by TOTALink for commercial and residential customers in Indianapolis.

The next item on the agenda was the ETC report. Mr. Harris stated discussions have continued with Time-Warner Cable on making the connection for the two Educational Channels. A revised quote from Time-Warner Cable was e-mailed on November 6, 2001 from Mike Sellers. Further discussions took place with Mr. Sellers after the quote was received. The contract wile be finalized soon.

ETC Programming

"The Art of Sport" is an informational piece about the National Art Museum of Sport located at IUPUI. It includes an introduction by Former President George Bush Sr. This program will begin rotation on ETC 2 in December.

Ivy Tech State College will be producing two new programs for ETC. "Bridge to the Test: Math GQE" is a program designed to prepare students who did not pass the math portion of the ISTEP Test. This program will begin on ETC 1 in January. "English in the Workplace (Part 2)" will begin in April. It is the follow-up to the current series seen on ETC 2. It is designed for the Hispanic Community. The interactive course allows students to enhance their workplace skills in verbal, oral, and written areas. This program will begin on ETC 1 in April.

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis has approached the ETC about producing a television program. The show is tentatively scheduled for a January 2002 start. Future updates will be provided.

ETC has been in communication RIFNET; a service of Reading is fundamental, about showing the series "RIF Exchange". The target audience is adults who work with or are involved in children’s lives. This includes parents, teachers, day care providers, community service workers, etc. These programs provide valuable information to communities by showcasing other communities’ literacy efforts form all facets of education, childcare and community organizations. Programming is expected to begin being seen in January.

Under Old Business, Mr. Maultra presented ETC request of $25,000 for Install B-cable connection stating the Cable Agency has reviewed the proposals Time Warner has offered to the Educational Television Consortium (ETC) and has met with counsel and Chairman Curry in order to formulate support for the connection issue. Mr. Maultra recommendation is to offer a not to exceed $25,000 grant in 2001. Stating this amount will come out of the Cable Agency’s Character 3 budget. This appropriation will require approval by the City-County Council since it will take the form of a public purpose grant to Indiana University for the disbursement of funds.

Mr. Earl Harris stated the monies would be used for the install of fiber connection for ETC and how the connection would operate with Time Warner

Motion was made by Mr. Hiltunen, seconded by Mr. Rhodes, to support a $25,000 grant to ETC for connectivity. Motion carried unanimously.

Under New Business, Mr. Montgomery presented the request of PEG grant funding for Channel 16. Stating the public bid process for new studio cameras was initiated on October 30^th the same day $92,000 was transferred into the Cable Agency 2001 budget from the PEG Grant Fund. Stating this follow initial approval b the Cable Franchise Board and bid for new cameras and related equipment will be advertised on November 5^th and 12^th and the bid responses will be opened on Monday morning, November 19^th. Ken reviewed the bids with City Purchasing and prepared a written recommendation (along with copies of all qualified bid proposals) for the Board’s consideration and approval on November 19^th.

Mr. Montgomery stated there were four responses to this bid. Stating there were three acceptable bids, which were Duncan Video, Roscor Corporation and MCSI. Stating Duncan Video is the low bidder on all items at $85,040. Mr. Montgomery asked the board to approve the Duncan Video bid.

Motion was made by Mr. Rhodes, seconded by Mr. Hiltunen, to approve the Duncan Video bid at $85,040. Motion carried unanimously.

Under public comments, Mr. Roberts stated that in the September minutes a motion to extend TOTALink’s date of construction, was inadvertently omitted and he would like to make sure the motion was recorded.

Ms. Marie Gergore-Smith stated Channel 16 was awarded for their help involving MADD (Mothers against Drunk Driver) and she proceeded by presenting a trophy to Alan Dhayer on behalf of Channel 16.

Mr. James Smashey complained about reception problems he has encountered and the usage of Channel 18. Stating he did not receive notice of changing operations of PPV and digital cable modification.

There were no further business to come before the board; Mr. Curry adjourned the meeting at 4:00p.m.