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MINUTES <br />CITY COUNCIL <br />JANUARY 22, 2014 <br />COR WILSON <br />Shoots, Government Agencies and Non- Profits, the Youth Media <br />Program, and Community Training all increased from 2012 to 2013. She <br />also noted the increase in awards that were received in 2013. <br />Wilson then went on to report on the status of franchise renewal <br />negotiations with Comcast. She noted that the renewal process began in <br />February of 2013 for the franchise that was expiring at the end of 2013. <br />Given that the slow pace in negotiating the renewal, the Commission took <br />action to move from an informal renewal process to a formal process, and <br />also requested an extension of the franchise which expires at the end of <br />2013. Wilson reported that Comcast has now submitted their franchise <br />proposal, and the Commission has 4 months to review that proposal. She <br />indicated that the Comcast proposal is on NSCC /CTV's web site for <br />anyone interested in reviewing it. <br />Relative to some of the specifics of the renewal, Wilson reported that the <br />PEG (Public /Educational /Government) fee under the current franchise is <br />$4.15 per subscriber. This fee is paid by subscribers and is listed on their <br />invoices. Comcast is proposing a $.44 PEG fee as part of the franchise <br />renewal. With some additional city capital funding that Comcast is <br />offering, the fee would increase to $1.33. Wilson noted that this is <br />significantly less than the current fee. She also reported that Comcast is <br />offering little in the way of HD channels. With regard to the institutional <br />network, Comcast is offering to continue to provide fiber for video, but <br />proposing that cities pay for any non -video use, i.e. the internet, services <br />provided by the City of Roseville, etc. <br />Wilson reported that the goal is to have a recommendation to present to <br />member cities by the end of March, so that a counter- proposal can by <br />presented by Comcast by the current April 18th deadline. Member cities <br />will have to individual act on the counter - proposal, so Wilson requested <br />that the cities plan for this agenda item in early April. Wilson reported <br />that a January 30th meeting has been scheduled with Comcast, and NSCC <br />will be asking Comcast for agreement to suspend the formal negotiation <br />process and to continue negotiations informally. <br />Wilson reported that one additional problem is that there has been a huge <br />increase in the number of customer complaints against Comcast. Many of <br />these relate to Comcast beginning to charge for DTA and the fact that <br />notices of rate increases are difficult to find if a customer is paying their <br />bill electronically. Wilson reported that based on the complaints, NSCC <br />in conjunction with three other commissions conducted a rate review. <br />Based on the results of that review, changes were ordered, which Comcast <br />appealed to the FCC. Given that the FCC did not order a stay, Comcast is <br />obligated to comply with rate orders, which they have not done. Wilson <br />2 <br />