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Minutes of the Sherburne/Wright County Cable Commission <br /> Thursday, October 9, 2014, 1:00 p.m. <br /> Watertown City Hall <br /> Present: Commissioners Mert Auger, Jim Bart, Terri Boese, Vice Chair Phil Kern, Peggy <br /> Carlson, Gina Wolbeck, and Lee Ann Yager. Also present: Carol Sindt <br /> Absent: Commissioner Cathy Schuman, and Chair Tina Allard. <br /> Also present: Technology Consultant Bill Bruce, Attorney Bob Vose, and Video Production <br /> Coordinator Mark Davis. <br /> 1. Call to Order -Vice Chair Phil Kern called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. <br /> 2. Approval of Minutes - May 1, 2014 <br /> Commissioner Yager motioned to approve the May 1, 2014 Sherburne Wright Cable <br /> Commission Meeting Minutes. Seconded by Commissioner Bart, unanimous ayes, <br /> motion carried. <br /> 3. Treasurer's Report - Mert Auger presented the financial statements as outlined in the staff <br /> report. <br /> Commissioner Wolbeck motioned to accept the Financial Statements as presented. <br /> Seconded by Commissioner Boese, unanimous ayes, motion carried. <br /> Commissioner Boese motioned to approve return of December Franchise payments to <br /> each member City to help defer cable expenses. Seconded by Commissioner Bart, <br /> unanimous ayes, motion carried. <br /> Commissioner Wolbeck questioned if Franchise Fees other than those received from <br /> Charter are calculated in the return. Commissioner Auger explained that historically, the <br /> Commission has only included Franchise Fees paid by Charter in the return calculation. <br /> 4. Attorney's Report <br /> a. Charter/Comcast Update - Commission Attorney Bob Vose reviewed the Charter and <br /> Comcast transaction agreement that is contingent on approval of the Time <br /> Warner/Comcast merger. Under the agreement, Charter will be restructured in a <br /> manner requiring the Commission's approval. Comcast is "spinning-off' all its <br /> system/subscribers in Minnesota to a newly formed company, GreatLand, which <br /> Charter will operate under the terms of an agreement between Charter and GreatLand. <br /> Charter will become the largest cable company in Minnesota in terms of subscribers its <br /> serves, and the 2°d largest cable company nationwide. Vose discussed the option to <br /> negotiate the needs of the Commission and member cities. Vose noted that Charter has <br /> not been responsive to our questions and that we need to impose conditions to protect <br /> citizens commission-wide. The general consensus of the Commission was to authorize <br /> Vose to draft a Consent Resolution to address our concerns and to delegate finalization <br /> of the Resolution to the Executive Committee. <br />