January 5, 2022 Minutes
Final Minutes from the Cable Television Advisory Council
ZOOM Meeting for January 5, 2022
Advisors Present:
Peaches Quinn (New Haven) – Chair
George Alexander (Hamden) – Treasurer
Laurel Coleman (Hamden) – Vice-Chair
Johnes Ruta (New Haven) – Secretary
Anthony Cardo (Hamden) – Assistant Secretary
Yvonne Manning Jones (New Haven)
Tom Costa (New Haven Library System)
Advisors Absent:
Melissa Canham-Clyne (Hamden)
Providers:
Sharon Codeane – Comcast Representative
Joe Schofield – CTV Representative
I. Call to Order & Roll Call: 6:08 P.M Peaches Quinn presiding.
II. Review and Approval of Minutes for December 1, 2021, Zoom Meeting
- George Alexander had stated earlier that he had never received copies of the
November meeting Minutes, either in Draft or Final. Johnes replies that the
Draft of the November Minutes had been sent to the email CTACForward on
November 26, and that the November Minutes had still not been voted on as final.
Nov. Minutes, approved pending corrections, have now been corrected and submitted to George as Final for the website.b. Correction to December Minutes written by Anthony was submitted by email
earlier today by Laurel for correction to the spelling of her surname “Coleman.”
Anthony had corrected this and resubmitted the December Minutes.
Peaches makes Motion to accept the December Minutes. 2nded by Johnes.
Vote is unanimous.III. Treasurer’s Report
George states that the present balance of CTAC funds is still $5,006. No further updates.
George states that the End-of-Year Financial Report includes update of expenditures.IV. CTV – Citizens Television – No report.
a. Laurel reports that the CTV studio has not yet reopened to the public or for CTAC
meetings.V. Comcast Report – No report.
a. Comcast Representative Sharon Codeanne communicated to George Alexander to
inquire if the Annual Comcast Stipend of $2,000 to CTAC had yet been received at
the CTAC Post Office Box? George had replied to Sharon by email, yes in the
affirmative. - Frontier Report – No update.
a. Peaches at tends the statewide council meeting. She did not attend the last meeting
but will circulate the Minutes.
VII. Old Business
a. CTAC Public Service Announcement, video recorded in Feb. 2020, is still not on CTV,
as the CTV studios are still closed to non-staff due to ongoing pandemic.
b CTAC Facebook Page: Yvonne reports no news or issues on the CTAC Facebook
page.
c. Tom Costa provides news update of Internet issues addressed in passage of Pres. Biden’s $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill: $65 Billion was thereby addressed for High-Speed
Internet Access for all US locations. George Alexander questions Tom regarding how does this Bill provide for development of New Haven’s Internet Infrastructure ?
Tom replies that each state has a certain financial amount to apply for.
d. Peaches asks the council members about inviting the New Haven area CT State Senator Gary Winfield to attend the February CTAC meeting to learn more about
the stipulations of this Bill regarding the Internet. Johnes asks whether it is known
if this Bill has redefined the internet as a “Public Utility” as this change was never
addressed under the previous Pres.’s FCC policies. Tom Costa reads Summary of
the Congressional Bill passed with $1.2 Trillion that includes:
1. Broadband delivery to remote areas of the US,
2. High Speed Internet Cable deployment,
3. purpose to “close the digital divide.”
VIII. SSL Certificate purchase for CTAC’s website cableAdvisory.org
CTAC Website: Yvonne Manning-Jones asks for resolution to proposed purchase and installation of SSL Certificate. There was agreement that GoDaddy’s offer was acceptable. Peaches Quinn proposes a Motion for Yvonne to obtain and install a SSL
Certificate of her choice up to an expenditure of $150. Johnes 2nds this Motion.
Vote carried unanimously.
IX. CTAC Community Awards – $1,000
Laurel Coleman recommends Fischer House for our Community Award for 2022,
Peaches proposes possible award for one of our district’s school systems to purchase
video equipment. .
X. New Business
a. Peaches Quinn, as discussed in previous meetings, states she will invite CT Senator
Gary Winfield (D-New Haven) to attend and participate in our next Zoom meeting,
February 2, 2022, regarding CT Legislative issues of cable television and the internet, and to interpret how the passed US Congressional Bill on Infrastructure will affect
CT. Discussion follows Tom Costa’s recommendation for CTAC to invite the New
Haven City Engineer Director of City Infrastructure, named Giovanni Zinn, and
reads the news article of his award as New Havener of the Year.
Discussion about whether to invite Gary Winfield or Giovani Zinn first to our next
meeting. George makes a Motion to invite Gary Winfield to attend February or
March CTAC meeting according to his estimation of timing, and, to inquire of
Gary what the CTAC might do to help his work in the CT Legislature. And that
we should similarly contact Giovanni Zinn according to his availability.
Johnes 2nds this Motion. Vote carried as unanimous.
b. Subscriber correspondence: George states there was none in December.
c. Peaches questions the council about any desire to change the starting time of our
monthly meeting. Discussion brings forth no such proposals.
Peaches proposes possible CTAC dinner for the next meeting, possible pizza,
since there were only two dinner expenditures from the CTAC budget, in June
and October. It is agreed that this will be discussed among members during
January by email for February meeting.
XI. Next meeting : scheduled for Wednesday February 2.
Meeting adjourned at 7:14 pm.
Minutes Submitted by: _Johnes Ruta ______________________________
Johnes Ruta, Secretary
(Anthony Cardo, Assistant Secretary)
December 2, 2021 Minutes
CTAC Meeting Minutes December 2, 2020 – ZOOM TELECONFERENCE
(due to virus pandemic)
Advisors present:
Peaches Quinn – (New Haven) – Acting Chair
George Alexander – (Hamden) – Treasurer
Yvonne Manning-Jones – (New Haven) – Advisor
Laurel Colemen (Hamden) Advisor
Anthony Cardo (Hamden) Advisor
John Jessen (New Haven Free Public Library System – NHFPL)
Johnes Ruta – (New Haven) – Acting Secretary
Advisors absent:
Melissa Canham-Clyne (Hamden)
Sharon Codeane – Comcast Representative
Joe Schofield – CTV Representative
- Call to order 6:02pm. Teleconference members on Zoom.
All members have received XMAS benefit Grubhub delivered pizza items from De Legna
X Nolo at their residences. Requests received and ordered submitted by Acting Secretary
Johnes Monday and Tuesday. Ordering required reimbursement to Johnes debit-card for
$169.43 as the CTAC Connex Credit-Union credit-card would not register for payment
on Grubhub or either UberEats or DoorDash websites. Connex was contacted but card
problem not solved. Reimbursement completed by George.2. New Business
a. Yvonne reports that Comcast announcement that it will now charge for “excessive data usage.” $10 extra on bill for every 50GB over the 1.2 TeraByte threshold up to $100.Anthony Cardo concurs on this threshold report. Comcast claims that this will only
affect 5% of its customers. All CTAC members agree that this is a concern for older
people, especially during the current Covid-19 Pamdemic, when many subscribers,
especially elders in nursing home, are confined to indoors all the time.b. Johnes reports that Comcast has eliminated their free Norton AntiVirus download
for subscribers’ internet protection, effective December 31, 2020.c. George Alexander makes a Motion that CTAC writes to Sharon Codeanne, the Comcast
Representative for an explanation of this added “Excessive Data Usage” charge.
Johnes seconds this Motion. Vote unanimous.3. Old Business
a. Regarding New Haven Library System CTAC participation, Peaches Quinn questions
City Librarian Advisor John Jessen as to what will be the NHFPL agenda to interface
with the CTAC ? John Jessen provides his work cell phone number to confer with
Peaches and CTAC members.b. Peaches also asks John Jessen: “What about NHFPL provision for City-Wide WiFi?”
John Jessen replies: “Some schools have already installed WiFi antennae on roofs
for local coverage for up to a 3 city-block radius around a school.”
George asks John what is the cost to add a WiFi “hotspot” ?
John reports the charge of $30 per month, so that five hotspots will cost $150.George reminds us that CTAC has a “mission” to be mindful of community needs,
such as school children needing internet access during the pandemic school closings
and on-line teaching. .George questions whether there are funding donors that can be contacted to defer these
costs ? Laurel Coleman mentions the on-going CT State initiative for expanded WiFi coverage, scuh as the state Technology Group, and the New Haven IT Group.c. Johnes questions the privacy and security of public hotspots, especially regarding
retail purchases made with credit-cards ?d. Peaches requests John Jessen to enhance the request letter from City-Wide WiFi before
it will be submitted to the Mayors’ offices for to New Haven, Hamden, and West Haven,
and the CT State Legislature Communications Committee taskforce. John agrees to this
request. This process will be addressed in three steps: - Follow-up draft of letter to mayors of the three towns in our district,
2. We should make contact the CT State IT Committee and invite them to the
January CTAC Zoom meeting.3. John Jessen will reach out to the Legislative Office.
Johnes Ruta makes Motion to pursue these objectives during December.
Yvonne Manning-Jones seconds this Motion. Vote unanimous.4. Treasurer’s Report – George Alexander
Treasurer’s Report. Peaches asks if there is any news to report for November. George:
“Not at this time.” -
COMCAST Sharon Codeanne – Comcast Representative – not in attendance.
6. CTV Report Joe Schofield – Executive Director CTV – not in attendence.
No report.7. Next CTAC Meeting by Zoom, scheduled for January 6th, 2021, 6:00pm.
December 2nd, 2020 CTAC Meeting Minutes respectfully submitted by Johnes Ruta, (New Haven)
Acting Secretary, December 22, 2020.
November 3, 2021 Minutes
Minutes from the Cable Television Advisory Council
Zoom Monthly Meeting for November 3, 2021
Advisors Present:
Peaches Quinn (New Haven) – Chair
George Alexander (Hamden) – Treasurer
Tom Costa (New Haven Library System Representative)
Laurel Colman (Hamden) – Vice-Chair
Johnes Ruta (New Haven) – Secretary
Yvone Manning Jones – Advisor (New Haven)
Sharon Codeanne (Comcast Representative)
Advisors Absent:
Melissa Canham-Clyne New member – (Hamden Library System Representative)
Anthony Cardo (Hamden) – Assistant Secretary
- Call to Order 6:03 PM, , Zoom Roll Call, and Review of October Minutes
Draft of Minutes had been distributed October 24, with request for any member’s
modifications. No modifications have been requested. Secretary Johnes Ruta had
released October Minutes by email to members as “Final.”Yvonne Manning-Jones makes a Motion to Approve the October Minutes.
Tom Costa seconds this Motion. Vote is unanimous, carried.II. Treasurer’s Report
George states that the September balance of CTAC funds was $5,006.30, and was reduced by the dinner check of the October 6 meeting at Ristorante Luce’ in Hamden
by $570.34, including service tip, to the current balance of $4,435.79.Peaches makes Motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report; Johnes Seconds this Motion.
Vote unanimous, and carried.
III. CTV – Citizens Television
* Joe Schofield, Exec Director of CTV has not communicated with CTAC.
Laurel reports that the CTV studio has not yet reopened to the public or for
CTAC meetings.
- Comcast Report – COMCAST Report – Representative Sharon Codeanne attending.
Community Impact
• Comcast has provided a $15,000 MyFuture grant and a $25,000 Lift Zone Opportunity Fund grant to the Boys & Girls Club of New Haven
• Comcast has provided a $15,000 Digital Equity grant to LEAP
• Comcast has provided a $10,000 Internet Essentials Digital Skills grant to the New Haven Free Public Library
• Comcast has provided a $5,000 grant to ARTE, Inc.
• Comcast has provided a $2,500 grant to Concepts for Adaptive Learning
• Comcast has provided a $5,000 grant to the United Way of Greater New HavenProgramming Updates
• Effective November 16th G4 will be added to Digital Starter and the Entertainment Genre Pack
• Effective December 31st NBC Sports Network will cease operations.Sharon asks the question of where to send the 2022 Comcast check for this Cable Television
Advisory Council support, as this will normally be sent to George Alexander the Treasurer,
and George will be moving his residence at the end of January to a new apartment location, also in Hamden ? George responds that he will notify Sharon of his new address.Peaches Quinn asks about the “Rise” Program Grants for minority-owned businesses,
and how these will be processed?Sharon replies that these grants will be processed through
a designated bank in our district, specifically the Cross Point Credit Union.Peaches asks Sharon about the outstanding case of a Comcast subscriber with a so-called
“revolving-door penalty” for compounding late charges on one payment that was late ?
Sharon states that this case is being investigated by the accelerated Customer Service
supervisory. Tom Costa asks if there is a Customer Service telephone number on the
Comcast Bill ? Sharon answers that yes there is a valid number. Sharon further states that
it is the customer’s responsibility to read their Bill.. And also that Comcast will sent a
notification of a shutoff before the scheduled termination.George asks Sharon whether New Haven possibly offering “City-Wide High-Speed WiFi ?
Sharon replies that she will look into this possibility.
Sharon Codeanne reports: “PURA has done-away with Franchise Agreements legislation –
substituting with a “Certificate of Franchise Authority” which must offer services in
accordance with CT State Law. Regarding other cable options in the New Haven 3-town area, Comcast also offers pole-by-pole RENTAL, requiring payment for each pole carrying
other Cable company lines.Peaches asks Sharon what is the so-called “Internet Adoption” ? Sharon explains that it
is also called “Internet Essentials” – a plan of $10.99 per month for low-income households.
This retains the video quality of “29 down and 3 up.” (?)Peaches asks Sharon the status of the Data-Caps limits to 300 Tera bytes per month on
internet download usage. This was a new Comcast policy proposed in the months before
the Covid-19 quarantine public shut-down, and had been prospectively blocked by a Legislative Bill put forward by Governor Lamont, which had died with the end of the 2020
Legislative Session. Sharon replies that there is no current plan to implement Data-Caps.Peaches asks Sharon about wording changes on the State-wide Advisory documentation.
Sharonwill investigate this issue.V. Frontier Cable Report
Peaches Quinn reports that she was unable to attend the State-Wide Cable Advisory meeting due to her family health issues at that time. Therefore, she has no new to report of this meeting.
George Alexander states: “Frontier Customer Service is totally uneducated. Example:
the rep advised a customer to only reboot their router when actually a tree had fallen
on the wires during a wind storm. The Service man did not fix the phone even though
there was no dial-tone.” George posted a Public Complaint on the Nextdoor blog.VI. Old Business
By-Laws:
A new By-Laws document was edited by Johnes Ruta, clarifying a policy to allow
CTAC members representing district City Library Systems and Boards of Education
even if they live in a different town that their system. Also to clarify to allow members
of each town in the district, where previous By-Laws rules were unclear on this allowance.
Peaches makes Motion to approve By-Laws document. George seconds this Motion.
Vote – all in favor. Carried.Yvonne reports that she has contacted the City of New Haven Mayor’s Office for a
link on the City website to CTAC website and Minutes pages.The CTAC PSA – Laurel reports that the CTV video PSA is not yet on the CTV channels
26. 27, or 96. But there is a mention of CTAC reference on a CTV Notice-board.George has updated the CTAC membership webpage with the new By-Laws and the Minutes
now up to date.Broadband Access: Tom and Melissa were waiting for the Mayoral elections of Tuesday
November 2nd to be settled before contacting their respective City Halls about this issue.VII New Business
CTAC records archiving:
Tom Costa presents three opportunities for long-term storage of CTAC documents running back to the early 1990s, that George transferred in two boxes to Johnes on October 6 for disposition: Tom’s options:
1. Materials to be stored in New Haven Local History Archives in the New Haven Ives Library.
2. Hamden Public Library Historical Room – storage would be cost-free. Melissa will
pursue this possibility.
3. New Haven Museum – preservation archives. What would be the limitations of this option?
Question: are these papers and documents in chronological order ? Johnes will check.
The December CTAC Meeting will not be a dinner, as was done in October.
Next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday December 1st at 6:00 pm via ZOOM.
Peaches makes Motion to accept this plan, concerning the CTAC budget. Johnes seconds this Motion. All in favor.
Peaches makes Motion to adjourn presnt meeting at 7:30 pm. Johnes seconds. Carried.
November 3, 2021 CTAC Minutes respectfully submitted by Johnes Ruta, Secretary CTAC
on Friday November 26, 2021.