1997-03-20 Board of Selectmen Minutes

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Board of Selectmen Meeting March 20, 1997 The meeting was convened at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Vice Chairman Camille Anthony, Secretary Bruce MacDonald, Selectmen Sally Hoyt and Dan Ensminger, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Cable TV Committee Chairman Jim Guarente, Cable TV Committee Members Richard Cohen and Bernice Svedo, Cathy Maloney and Mark Reiddy from Continental Cable TV. Joint Meeting with Cable TV Committee re: Franchise The Chairman noted that the purpose of this meeting was to get public input into the franchise renewal of Continental Cable TV. Jim Guarente, Chairman of the Cable TV Committee, noted that the public hearing is to gather the views of subscribers to see what direction they want to go. The primary issue identified to date is the studio. Should local programming expand. The programming is positive, and there are good comments about the volunteers and staff at the studio. The renewal process takes up to three years. Within the first six months, Continental Cable has to inform the Town that they want to renew the franchise. It is then up to the Town to ascertain what the community wants. This is done through public hearings such as this, through surveys, comments and annual reviews. The Cable TV Committee then develops a community needs document and gives it to Continental Cable. Continental Cable has sixty days to respond. The - parties then have sixty days to negotiate. A new contract can be between three and ten years. Rates and programming are not subject to local regulation. Cathy Maloney from Continental Cable noted that they welcomed this opportunity to hear from the community. The original franchise was granted on 12/29/80. Customer Service staff hours used to be 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The hours are now close to twenty- four hours a day. They are currently 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. but it will be expanding to a twenty-four hour Customer Service program. There are 6,856 customers in Reading, or 81% "penetration." Continental has provided an improved network programming lineup for Reading. Continental has spent $1.5 billion nationally, and Reading is one of the first areas to change over to the new service. In addition to offering new program services, improved picture quality is offered. Two way access is also available through Highway 1. Highway 1 has transmission speeds of one hundred times faster than other alternatives. The cost is $49.95 per month if you have cable. Continental Cable provides the equipment. There are no phone line charges. The Continental Cable studio in Reading has been nationally recognized, most recently for their Super Bowl coverage.