B. Franchise Renewal UpdateMr. Todd Gerhardt
October 16, 2012
Page 3
Staff recommends that the PEG fee remain in place in this franchise agreement.
Following is a list of other items that staff would like to accomplish through the
renewal process:
➢ Clarify requirement for cable to be installed in new developments concurrent
with other utilities
➢ Possibility of extending service to areas currently un- served (mostly south of
Pioneer Trail)
➢ Require Mediacom install a new modulator for Channel 8 broadcast
➢ Require Mediacom to broadcast Channel 8 in HD
➢ Require Mediacom to provide 10 hours of Video On Demand space for PEG
programming use.
➢ Clarify calculation of the franchise fee. We would like to better understand
how bundling and bad debt are addressed. We would also like Mediacom to
pay for the franchise fee audit if an error that exceeds 5% of annual revenue
is discovered.
➢ Clarify that City Code has precedence over franchise agreement.
PROPOSED TIMELINE
November - December 2012: Moss & Barnett draft franchise documents
January — February 2013:
February 2013:
February — July 2013:
August 13, 2013:
August 31, 2013:
RECOMMENDATION
City's review & modification of the documents
Finalize documents and forward to Mediacom
Final negotiations
Adoption of franchise documents
Existing franchise expires
Staff is looking for feedback on the outlined goals and timeline from the city
council. No action is required at this time.
ctc technotogy energy
engineering & business censu,t.ing
July 10, 2012
Via Electronic Mail
Laurie Hokkanen
Assistant City Manager
City of Chanhassen
7700 Market Blvd.
PO Box 147
Chanhassen, MN 55317
Re: Public and governmental access facility and equipment review
Dear Ms. Hokkanen:
The City of Chanhassen contracted CTC to review the current public /governmental
access facility in the City Council Chambers and the associated non - digital production
equipment. The following are our the findings and recommendations on facility and
equipment upgrades and updates needed within the next franchise period, as well as
cost estimates for these changes.
Current Access Facilities and Equipment
The current public and governmental access ( "access ") facilities are primarily set up to
record meetings that occur in the City Council Chambers. The Council Chambers is
equipped with three Panasonic robotic cameras controlled from the adjacent master
control room. Audio feeds are processed through a recently upgraded Biamp audio
processor. Additional video feeds come from an Elmo document camera, computers
being used for presentations, and a portable Sony camcorder for other video shots. All
of the video and audio devices support only analog signals, which was the standard for
audio and video when the equipment was purchased.
Video feeds are selected and routed using a Panasonic production switcher. Graphics
are added to meetings using a Compix character generator. When meetings are not
being shown on the channel, a Tightrope Cablecast system is used to generate a
bulletin board of local community news. A digital recorder and VHS and DVD recorders
are used for playback and recording of meetings.
Based on our experience, the City's entire access production system is consistent with
other small access programming systems that were purchased and installed five to
seven years ago. We note, though, that the City has also made some upgrades (e.g.,
new audio processors) that have improved the quality of production.
COLUMBIA TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION
Minnesota Office • 3939 Quail Avenue N • Robbinsdale, MN 55422 • 763 535 4565
Headquarters • 10613 Concord Street • Kensington, MD 20895. 301 933 1488
www. CTCnet. us
City of Chanhassen Review
Page 2
Recommendations for Future Upgrades
Given the age and type of technology used in the existing access production system,
and its likely lifetime, the City will need to completely upgrade its access production
equipment in the coming years. This is partly because high- definition (HD) video has
become the new standard, and analog video is quickly disappearing from the video
production landscape. It is also become increasingly more difficult to maintain analog
systems as manufacturers stop producing analog equipment. (On the positive side, the
price of HD equipment is Tess than comparable analog technology of previous years.)
We recommend that the City upgrade its entire video production system to HD as a
single upgrade. Consolidating the upgrade will reduce the complexity and long term cost
of operating the system, relative to attempting to incorporate some new HD equipment
into an environment with other analog equipment. A new production system would use
hard drives for storage and playback, eliminating the need for VHS and DVDs (except
for archiving purposes). A new HD system would also facilitate live streaming and
video -on- demand functions, which will enable meetings to easily be accessed on the
Internet.
We also recommend that the City upgrade the lighting system in the Council chambers
to increase video quality. Lighting is critical for improving HD video quality; a new
lighting system would also give more control over Tight levels in the Chambers.
Access Equipment Cost Estimates
Taking into account the current state of the access equipment and the recommended
upgrades, we have developed budgetary estimates for PEG equipment costs for the
next ten years. It is important to note that this is only a potential projection of costs, as
technology and City needs will continue to change over the next ten years.
Assuming that the City will do a complete upgrade to HD over the next three years, we
estimate a budgetary cost of $350,000, including the upgraded lighting system in the
Council Chambers.
In addition to the cost of the upgrade, we anticipate the City will need to spend
approximately $550,000 on maintaining and upgrading the PEG production systems
over the ten -year period, for a total of $900,000. This cost includes the replacement of
the production equipment every five to seven years. In addition, the presentation
equipment in the Senior Center and Conference Room will need to be upgraded and
replaced.
City of Chanhassen Review
Page 3
Our complete budgetary estimate is included as an attachment to this report. Please
feel free to contact Eric Wirth, Senior Engineer, at 301.933.1488 or Cheryl Johnson,
Senior Analyst, at 763.535.4565 with any questions, or to discuss our overall
assessment.
Sincerely,
CEO /Director of Engineering
City of Chanhassen Review
Page 4
ATTACHMENT 1
City of Chanhassen Budgetary Access Equipment Projections
City of Chanhassen Review
Page 5
City of Chanhassen Budgetary Access Equipment Projections
Functional Item Budgetary Estimate Years 1 -2 Years 3 -4 Years5 -6 Years 7 -8 (ears 9 -10
HD Robotic Cameras $40,000 r 3 0 0 r 0 3
HD Camcorder $8,000 r 1 r 0 0 0 1
HD Document Camera $4,000 r 1 0 0 0 1
HD Video Router $12,000 1 r r
0 0 r 0 1
r r r
HD Production Switcher /Camera Control /Character
Generation System $35,000 1 0 0 1 0
HD Encoder /Playback System $75,000 r r 1 0 0 1 0
Analog to Digital Converters /Audio Embedders $1,200 r 8 r 0 0 r 0 8
HD Input /Output Monitors $2,200 r 4 r 0 0 0 4
HD SDI Embedded Audio Monitor $7,500 r 1 r 0 0 r 0 1
Digital Audio Processor $8,000 r 1 r 0 0 P 0 1
Council Chambers Control System $15,000 r 0 r 0 1 0 1
Video and Audio Recorder $3,000 1 r 0 0 r 0 1
Council Chambers Monitors $2,500 r 0 4 r 0 0 0
HD Projector $3,500 r 0 2 • 0 0 0
HDScalers $2,000 r 5 r 0 0 r 0 5
Hearing Assistance System $4,000 0 1 0 0 1
Microphones $800 r 0 0 12 0 0
Speakers $3,500 r 0 r 0 30 0 0
Audio Amplifiers $1,200 • 0 0 3 0 0
Council Chambers Lighting System $30,000 r 1 r 0 0 r 0 1
Replacement Lights $1,000 r 0 r 2 r 2 r 2 r 2
Future Technologies Budget $20,000 r 1 0 1 1 r 0
$350,900 $23,000 $155,200 $132,000 $241,900
Total Equipment Budget $903,000