03-25-2013 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, March 11, 2013 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 4 of 27 (4. LMCC UPDATE, Continued) This year the LMCC asked for new cameras and setups for city halls. The LMCC has not purchased the new equipment yet because we are waiting permission from the commission but we do feel the new equipment will enhance the council meetings. Huber indicated they are looking at going to HDSD cameras, which would help to ensure that they are looking forward with technology. The first step would be to go with an SD digital camera. These cameras are both SD and HD capable so when they are ready to make the transition to high-definition, the equipment will already be in place and they only have to make the purchase once. Koenecke noted the LMCC has not owned HD equipment in the past and have not made excessive expenditures in that area. At a mayor’s meeting, the LMCC was asked how the LMCC is keeping up with current technology. At the current time the LMCC does send people to the National Association of Broadcasters conference to hear about the latest trends and attempt to stay current with technology. The next priority is to provide for expansion of the existing I-Net capacity to provide current connections for live council meetings. Right now there are four dark fibers, which is really fiber for city use. That cable has never been activated or used. There has been discussion among the commissioners on what the LMCC wants to do with this fiber. Some cities have indicated they would like to have their city meetings video on demand or live on demand. If the LMCC is going to look at that, one possible option would be to use the dark fibers to implement that, which will be part of the negotiation process. The fibers are currently included in the franchise agreement and the LMCC should have access to those. The next priority is to require the system be upgraded to 750 megahertz and install universal battery backup. When Mediacom first came in, they upgraded the system to fiber. During that period, the LMCC was attempting to negotiate with them and allowed Mediacom to exchange some battery backup to build some areas. Koenecke indicated her understanding is that some was in Independence, some was in Orono, and some was in Medina. Mediacom did build some pockets in exchange for the battery backup. That was approximately 13 years ago and the LMCC feels they should now be getting the battery backup put back into place especially in light of the outages that have lasted more than 24 hours. Koenecke stated the LMCC is requesting that Mediacom evaluate the system and update the LMCC relating to corrective maintenance on a monthly basis, maintain a state-of-the-art system, provide outage logs to LMCC on a monthly basis, conduct periodic system testing, determine franchise fee calculation related to bundled services, clarify franchise enforcement provisions, continue the letter of credit, and pay liquidated damages, with an appeal to a third neutral without need for mediation. At the present time Mediacom pays audit expense on 5 percent underpayment of fees. The LMCC has done audits of the system three times. The highest amount related to underpayment of franchise fees was approximately $120,000, which means it is worthwhile to conduct the audits periodically. Finally, the LMCC would like to establish language confirming that Mediacom will discontinue delivery of LMCC programming to nonmember municipalities. Koenecke indicated those are the LMCC’s top priorities. McMillan asked if the LMCC normally sends out agendas on executive committee meetings and special meetings. McMillan stated the City needs to know exactly what is going on with the negotiations. Item #02 - CC Agenda - 03/25/2013 Approval of Council Minutes 03/11/2013 [Page 4 of 27]