Agenda - Council - 11/27/1984 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Quad Cities Cable Minutes Oct. 18, 1984 Page 3 There was some discussion on the possiblility of consolidation with another system. Denise Durante reported that the North Central Commission was not particularly excited about the possibility of combining with Quad Cities, due to the low income projections. Mr. Sharrad asked the Commission to take two specific actions at the meeting. The first would be to standardize the use of direct buried armored cable rather that conduit in the system. The second action would be that the Commission would allow Group W to put additional line extensions and non-standard drops on hold for a period of time. After further discussion, Mr. Melrose moved to allow Group W to standardize their use of direct buried armored cable throughout the Quad Cities system. Mr. Relmann seconded the motion. All voted in favor, motion carried. Mr. Hartman stepped aside as Chair of the Commission and moved that for a period of time not to exceed six months, any additional extension of the existing trunk system would be put on hold. Service drops other than standard aerial or standard underground service drops would also be put on hold for the same period of time. Mr. Reimann seconded the motion. Misters Hartman, Dulgar, Reimann, Beissel, and Melrose voted in favor. Mr. Jacobson voted no because he felt the minutes would not reflect the nature of the entire discussion. Motion carried. Mr. Jacobson informed the Commission that after attending the NATOA Conference, he left with three major impressions. First, that the problems the Quad Cities system isexperiencingare not unique to this system. Secondly, that many people throughout the country feel there will have to be changes made in franchises, and thirdly, that he feels there will be a strong movement by cable companies to use the First Amendment to make their own programming and rate decisions. He felt that overall, there was "not a bright future for cable". Mr. Melrose echoed Mr. Jacobson's impressions of the conference. Mr. Reimann said that he really en- joyed himself in Tucson and felt that our system did not have the biggest problem compared to other systems. He also felt that attending the conference enabled him to be a better informed Commissioner. Mr. Creighton reported that the group that attended worked very hard and learned alot but also had a good time. He felt that one of the most beneficial things to come out of the conference was the opportunity for an informal network of staff and Commission members of Minnesota Group W systems to develop. Mr. Jacobson expressed a concern that some members of the Access Committee were not attending meetings. He asked that the Chair talk to appointed members and/ or cities about this. He would like a new meeting time to be discussed after the membership is re-organized. Mr. Jacobson reported that the group had met with the computer committee from the school district, and he directed the Commission's attention to the memo in the packet updating the currently funded grants. Mr. Creighton reported that the request for the cities budget contribution was sent to Group W corporate offices and is expected. He also told the Commission that H.R. 4103 had not yet been signed by the President. He will put together an analysis of how the bill will affect Quad Cities Commission. Regarding upcoming seminars, Mr. O'Connell said that he didn't feel any of the three classes offered through the Washington Program were very applicable. Com- mission members should let him know as soon as possible is they wish to attend the seminar sponsored by the Metro Area Interconnection Commission on Nov. 9-