2000-12-19CABLE TV ADVISORY COMMISSION
City of Beverly, Massachusetts
Al Torsey, chairman; Dan Murphy, Amy Siemasko, Robert Lee, Arthur Crandall, George Johnson
Meeting of December 19, 2000
Beverly City Hall 8 a.m.
Present: Chairman Al Torsey, Dan Murphy, Amy Siemasko, Robert Lee, Arthur Crandall, George
Johnson.
Also attending: William August, Esq., attorney at law, Epstein & August, Boston;
Tom Scully, Director of Community Services; Jane Lyman for AT&T Broadband.
Members discussed possible locations for an Access Corp. studio should one be agreed in
negotiations. Locations include the current Tozer Road site, Beverly High School, Cummings Center,
GAR Hall and several others.
Scully said a comprehensive list of proposed sites for I-net was in the works and expected for the next
meeting.
Lyman acknowledged receipt of a letter from Atty. August outlining several non-compliance issues.
She said it would be answered. She asked for a proposed budget for the Access Corp. August said
such a budget was in the works. He said an Access Corp. might cost more than an estimated
$120,000 per year because of few economies of scale available to the city and start-up costs.
August and Lyman agreed that existing Beverly-designated equipment could be transferred to a new
operation. Lyman said discussion should ensue on proposed staffing, both interim and final staffing.
August said the entire cost could be about $400,000 for build-out, relocation and equipment.
Lyman generally agreed with the concept of mounting fixed cameras in the City Council Chambers.
She estimated the cost at $30,000 with a similar price on any additional sites. She inquired about
future planning for the cable channel at Beverly High School that has been used primarily for
character generation recently. She said the current studio at BHS is clearly inadequate.
Lyman said the current license contains no reference to data transmission on the I-net system. She
suggested eliminating data references in the draft license. August said data had been transmitted at
one time and that it would be wasteful to let this opportunity slip away.
Discussion ensued on how customer service is handled by AT&T Broadband and previously by
MediaOne. Several commission members suggested publicizing a local telephone number to handle
service or complaint calls. Currently no Beverly number is listed in the Verizon telephone director
for the studio or business office on Tozer Road.
August suggested compromise language that would provide a number and references to a call-center
and links to the local studio.
The next meeting will be Tuesday, January 9, 2001 at 8 a.m. in Beverly City Hall.